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VvJUu^^JUo    (U^>tlji^     t-JUj^^Jic^ 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 


Some  smaller  inaccuracies  in  the  previous  Editions  have 
been  corrected  in  this  Edition ;  but  no  other  changes 
haye   been   made. 

Mount  St.  Bernard,  *i*  JOHN   HEALY,   D.D., 

October,  1902.  Bishop  oi  Oionfert 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  First  Edition  of  this  work  has  been  very  favourably 
received  both  by  the  critics  and  by  the  public.  It  was 
exhausted  nearly  twelve  months  ago  ;  but  other  engrossing 
occupations  left  the  author  little  time  to  revise  the  text  and 
prepare  a  new  edition.  In  this  Second  Edition  many 
errors  of  the  press  have  been  corrected  ;  several  explanatory 
notes  have  been  added,  and  some  few  inaccuracies  have  been 
rectified.  Maps  of  the  Aran  Islands  and  Clonmacnoise  have 
been  inserted,  and  the  Index  has  been  greatly  enlarged.  It 
is  hoped  also,  that  the  lower  price  of  the  present  edition  will 
bring  it  within  the  range  of  a  wider  circle  of  readers,  and 
still  further  carry  out  the  author's  purpose  of  vindicating 
and  enlarging  the  just  renown  of  Ireland's  ancient  Saints 
and  Scholars. 


Mount  St.  Bbbnabd,  ^    jqjjj^  HEALY,  D.D. 

EMier,   1893. 


PEEFAOE. 


In  the  following  pages  it  has  been  the  author^s  purpose  to 
give  a  full  and  accurate,  but  at  the  same  time,  as  he  hopes,  a 
popular  account  of  the  Schools  and  Scholars  of  Ancient 
Ireland.  It  is  a  subject  about  which  much  is  talked,  but 
little  is  known,  and  even  that  little  is  only  to  be  found  in 
volumes  that  are  not  easily  accessible  to  the  general  reader. 
In  the  present  work  the  history  of  the  Schools  and  Scholars 
of  Celtic  Erin  is  traced  from  the  time  of  St.  Patrick  down  to 
the  Anglo-Norman  Invasion  of  Ireland.  The  first  three 
centuries  of  this  period  is  certainly  the  brightest  page  of 
what  is,  on  the  whole,  the  rather  saddening,  but  not  inglorious 
record,  of  our  country's  history.  It  was  not  by  any  means 
a  period  altogether  free  from  violence  and  crime,  but  it  was 
certainly  a  time  of  comparative  peace  and  security,  during 
which  the  religious  communities  scattered  over  the  island 
presented  a  more  beautiful  spectacle  before  men  and  angels, 
than  anything  seen  in  Christendom  either  before  or  since 
It  is  an  epoch,  too,  whose  history  can  be  studied  with  pleasure 
and  profit,  and  in  which  Irishmen  of  all  creeds  and  classes  feel 
a  legitimate  pride. 

It  has  been  questioned,  indeed,  if  the  Monastic  Schools  of 
this  period  were  really  so  celebrated  and  so  frequented  by 
holy  men,  as  justly  to  win  for  Ireland  her  ancient  title  of  the 
Insula  Sanctorum  et  Doctorum — the  Island  of  Saints  and 
Scholars.  The  author  ventures  to  hope  that  the  following  pages 
will  furnish,  even  to  the  most  sceptical,  conclusive  evidence 
on  this  point.  It  has  been  his  purpose  to  show  not  merely  the 
extent,  the  variety,  and  the  character  of  the  studies,  both 
iiuorc  d   and   profane,  pursue<i  in  our  Celtic  Schools,  but  also 


PREFACE,  Vll 

the  eminent  sanctity  of  those  learned  men,  whose  names  are 
found  in  all  our  domestic  Marty rologies. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  in  their  character, 
speaking  generally,  was  their  extraordinary  love  of  solitude 
and  mortification.  They  loved  learning  much,  it  is  true  ;  but 
they  loved  God  and  nature  more.  They  know  nothing  of 
what  is  now  called  civilization,  and  were  altogrther  ignorant 
of  urban  life  ;  but  still  they  had  a  very  keen  perception  of 
the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  God's  universe  ine  voice  of 
the  storm  and  the  strength  of  the  sea,  the  majesty  of  lofty 
mountains  and  the  glory  of  summer  woods,  spoke  to  their 
hearts  even  more  eloquently  than  the  voice  of  the  preacher, 
or  the  writing  on  their  parchments. 

The  author  has  sought  throughout  ty  put  all  the  infor- 
mation, which  he  could  collect  in  reference  to  his  subject,  in 
a  popular  and  attractive  form.     At  the  same  time  he  has 
spared  no  pains  to  consult  all  the  available  authorities  both 
ancient  and  modern ;  and  he  has  always  gone  to  the  original 
sources,  whenever  it  was  possible  to  do  so.     He  does  not 
pretend  to  have  avoided  all  mistakes  in  matters  of  fact,  nor 
to  be  quite  free  from  errors  in  matters  of  opinion.     But  he 
can   say   that   he   has   honestly  done  his  best  to  make   the 
study  of  this  portion  of  our  Celtic  history  interesting  and 
profitable  to  the  general  reader.     And  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  study  of  the  holy  and  self-denying  lives  of  our  ancient 
Saints  and  Scholars  will  exercise  a  purifying  and  elevating 
influence  on  the  minds  of  all,  but   more  especially  of   the 
young  ;  will  teach    them  to  raise  their  thoughts  to  higher 
things,  and  set  less  store  on  the  paltry  surroundings  of  iheir 

daily  life. 

With  the  single  exception  of  lona,  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  an  Irish  island,  this  volume  deals  only  with 
our  Monastic  Schools  at  home.  Irishmen  founded  during 
this  period  many   schools    and    monasteries     abroad ;    but 


VUl  .     PREFACE. 

it  would  require  another  volume  to  give  a  full  account  of 
those  monasteries  and  their  holy  founders. 

There  are  many  friends  to  whom  we  owe  thanks  for 
assistance ;  but  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  they  would 
prefer  not  to  have  their  names  mentioned  in  this  preface. 

In  conclusion,  we  have  only  to  add,  that  these  pages  have 
not  been  written  in  a  controversial  spirit ;  because  in  our 
opinion  little  or  nothing  is  ever  to  be  gained  by  writing 
history  in  a  spirit  of  controversy,  which  tends  rather  to 
obscure  than  to  make  known  the  truth.  It  is  better  from 
every  point  of  view  to  let  the  facts  speak  for  themselves ;  and 
hence  not  only  in  quoting  authorities,  but  also  in  narrating 
events,  we  have,  as  far  as  possible,  reproduced  the  language 
of  the  original  authorities. 

A  few  of  the  papers  here  published  have  appeared  in  the 
Irish  Ecclesiastical  Recordy  but  they  are  now  presented  in  a 
more  popular  form. 


►i'JOm^  HEALY,  D.D 


Palmekston  House,  Portumka, 
May,  1890, 


FEB    !    11^^' 
go   m-DAt)    uLiAn    OeA]vtA  -pAoi    Asni*   11a.oitii. 

*•  May  the  tougue  of  ISage  aud  Saint  be  lasting." 

/TV7I 


LA 
TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


] 

paoe 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I. 

Schools  at  Tara      

23 

Book  of  Aicill 

25 

STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN 

Death  of  Cormuc  ... 

26 

IRELAND    BEFORE    ST. 

Torna  Eigas 

28 

PATRICK. 

I. — The  Druids 

1 

II. — Sedulitis 

29 

Learning  of  the  Druids     ... 
Religious  Worship 
Sacrifice  of  Human  Victims 

1 

Evidence  of  Irish  Birth    ... 

29 

2 
3 

Religious  Training 
Writings  of  Sedulius 

32 
35 

Worship  of  the  Elements... 
Enchantments        

3 
4 

Carmen  Pasehale    ... 
Elegiac  Poemt 

36 
37 

Acquaintance  with  Letters 
Sun-Worship          

4 

5 

III.  — Caelestius  and  Pelagius 
Caelestius  not  an  Irishman 

39 
39 

II. — The  Bards... 

7 

Pelagius  of   British  Birth, 

The  Files 

7 

but  of  Scottish  Origin  ... 

40 

The  Ollamh-Poet 

7 

1           No  evidence  to  show  that 

Historic  Poet 

8 

Caelestius   was  either   a 

Neidhe 

9 

Briton  or  Scot— His  Cha- 

OUioU Olum           

10 

racter 

41 

Ossian         

10 

CHAPTER  III. 

III. — The  Beehons      

Office    of    Brehon    thrown 

ill                                 • 

11 

LEARNING    IN   IRELAND    IN 
THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

open    to    all    possessing 

necessary    qualifications 

11 

I. — St.  Patrick's  Education... 

43 

Morann 

12 

Lifeat  Marmoutier 

44 

.  Their  Course  of  Instruction 

12 

St.  Germ  anus  of  Auxerre... 
Patrick  accompanied  Ger- 

46 

IV,— The  Ogham  Alphabet  ... 

13 

manus  on  his  journey  to 

Inscribed  Stones    ... 

13 

Britain,  a.d.  429 

48 

Invention  of  the  Ogham  ... 

14 

St.  Patrick  in  the  Island  of 

Letters     of     the     Ogham 

Lerins 

49 

Alphabet 

Id 

St.    Patrick   commissioned 
by  St.  Celestine  to  Preach 

CHAPTER  IL 

the  Gospel  in  Ireland  ... 

iO 

IRISH      SCHOLARS     BEFORE 

II,— St.     Patrick's    Literary 
Labour  in  Ireland 

50 

ST.   PATRICK. 

Arrival  in  Ireland... 

60 

I. — CoRMAC  Mac  Art 

16 

He  lights  the  Paschal  Fire 

51 

Battle  of  Magh  Mucruimhe 

17 

Miraculous  Destruction  of 

Fenian  Militia        

18 

the  two  Chief  Druids  of 

Finn  Mac  Cumhail 

19 

Erin         

61 

FeisofTara           

19 

Patrick  bums  the  idolatrous 

The  Teach  Miodchuarla   ... 

21 

books  at  Tara  and  over- 

Writings ascribed  to  Cormac 

23 

turns       the      idols      in 

Salt  air  0/  Tar  a     

23 

Leitrim   ...         

52 

TART.F  OF  CONTEXTS. 


III.— St.  Patbiok  Reforms  thk 
Brehon  Laws     ... 

The  Se7ichus  Mor 

Commission  of  Nine 

Benignus    ... 

Church  Organization 

Friendly  Alliance  with  the 
Bards 

Church  Music 

St.  Patrick  accompanied  by 
Bisliops  and  Priests  in 
his  Mission  to  Ireland  ... 

Synod  of  Patrick,  Auxilius 
and  Iserninus     ... 

Holy  See  Supreme  Judge  of 
Controversies 

Duties  of  Ecclesiastical 
Judges  and  Kings 

Oral  Instruction  communi- 
cated by  St.  Patrick  to  his 
Disciples  during  Mission- 
ary Journeys 

Books  used  by  St.  Patrick 

Elements,  or  "Alphabets" 
of  Christian  Doctrine    ... 

Equipment  of  the  young 
Priest  beginning  his  Mis- 
sionary  Work 

Patrick's  Household 

Patrick's  Artificers 


60 


61 


62 
63 

63 


64 
65 
66 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  WRITINGS  OF  SAINT 
PATRICK  AND  OF  HIS  DIS- 
CIPLES. 


I.— St.  Patrick's  Confession... 

Evidf^iice  in  favour  of  its 
authenticity 

The  Saint's  motive  in  writ- 
ing it 

Patrick's  parents  in  Britain 

Patrick  met  opposition  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  in 
Ireland     


67 

68 

69 
71 


72 


II, — The  Epibtlb  to  Corgticus  73 

III.— Thk     Lorica,     or     the 

Deer's  Cry        75 

IV.— Skotinaix's  Hymn  of  St. 

Patrick   ...         ...         ...  77 

Seoimdinus  ...         ...          ...  77 

Sechnall,    son   of  Patrick's 

sister,  Darerca    •,.          ...  79 

Sechnall'H  father 79 


page     I  FAOB 

v.— The  Hymn  Sancti  Venite...  HO 
St.  Sechnall  the  first  Chris- 
tian Poet  in  Erin           ...  81 

VI. — St.  Fiacc  of  Sletty  ...  81 
Fiac«    receives     grade      ot 

orders       ...         ...         ...  83 

He  founds  two  Churches...  83 
Fiacc' H  Metrical  Life  of  St. 

Patrick     85 

VII. — The   Sayings  of    Saint 

Patrick       87 

VIII.— The    Tripartite  Life    of 

St.  ratrick           88 

Its  date  and  authorship  ...  89 


52 
5i 
53 
54 
35 

57 
58 


59 


60 


CHAPTER    V. 

IRISH   MONASTIC  SCHOOLS 
IN  GENERAL. 

I. — General  View  of  an  Irish 

Monastery         ...         ...     91 

Monasticism  always  existed 
and  always  will  exist  in 
the  Church         92 

St.  Martin  of  Tours,  the 
Father  of  Monasticism 
in  Gaul 93 

11. — Thk  Buildings      94 

Cells  of  the  Monks 95 

Monastic  Hospitality       ...     9a 

III. — Discipline  ...         ...     97 

The  Abbot 98 

The  Monastic  Family       ...     99 

The  Rule     99 

Food 101 

Ordinary  Dress       ...         ...    102 

IV. — The    Daily     Labour    of 

the  Monastery  ...         ...  102 

Religious  Exercises  ...  103 

Study  103 

Writing       104 

Manual  Labour     ...  ...  104 

Church  Furniture..  ...  105 

\' .—  Thk     Three     Orders     of 

Irish  Saints      106 


CHAPTER  VI 

SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH 
CENTURY. 

I. — The  Schools  OF  Armagh...  110 

Emauia        ...         ...         ...  Ill 

Daire  Ill 

Patrick  t'ouuds  Armagh   ...  112 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XI 


PAGE 

Ecclesiastical  Buildings  at 
Armagh  ...  ...  ...   113 

St.  Benignus  114 

Death  of  Benignus  ...   116 

Tlie    Book  of  Rights  attri- 
buted to  Benignus         ...   116 
The    School    of     Armagh, 
primarily  a  great  i'he(>lo- 
gical  Seminary  ...         ...   117 

The  Moralia  of  St.  Gregory 

the  Great  117 

Gildas  the  Wise     118 

His  Destruction  of  Britain  119 
English  Students  at  Armagh  119 
Churches   and    Schools   of 
Armagh  burned  and  plun- 
dered  between   a.d.   670 

and  1179 120 

Imar  O'Hagan       121 

The  Book  of  Armagh         ...   122 
The  Mac  Moyres 124 

11,  —The  School  of  Kildabe...  125 

St.  Brigid 125 

St.  Mathona  126 

St.  Ita  127 

St.  Brigid  born  at  Faugh- 

art 128 

Events  of    her   marvellous 
history      ...         ...          ...   129 

Brigid's  religious  vows     ...   130 
Brigid  founds  Kildare      ...   130 
Brigid  the  "Mary  of  Ire- 
land"         131 

Monastery  of  Men  at   Kil- 
dare ...         ...         ...  132 

St.  Conlaeth  132 

St.  Ninnidhius        ...          ...   132 

Great  Church  of  Kildare...    133 
Six  Lives  of  St.  Hrigid    ...    133 

St.  Brogan  Cloen 134 

Cogitosus     ...         ...          ...   135 

Round  Tower  of  Kildare...   138 
Perpetual  fire  of  Kildare...   io8 
Art  of  Illumination  in  the 
Monastic  Schools  of  Kil- 
dare   139 

The  Book  of  Leinster         ...  140 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS 
OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

I.— The  School  of  Noendrum  141 

St.  Mochae 141 

St.  Colman  of  Dromore    ...   143 
Mochae   of  Noeudrum  en- 
chanted for  150  years  by 
the  song  of  a  Blackbird   144 


II. — The  School  of  Louih 

St.  Mochta 

School  founded 
The  Druid  Hoam  ... 
Book  of  Cuana 


page 

.  145 
.  145 
.  147 
.  147 
.  149 


III.— The  School  of  Evly  ...   149 

St.  Ailbe      149 

Pre-Patrician     Bishops    in 
Ireland     ...  ...          ...   15C 

Life  of  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly...  161 
Ailbe  preached  the  Gospel 
in  Connaught     ...          ...  152 

Life  of  St.  De3lan 153 

Sts.  Ciaran,  Ailbe,  Declan, 
and  Ibar  yield  subjection 
and  supremacy  to  Patrick  153 
Difficulties  against  the 
authenticity  of  the  Lives 
of  St.  Ciaran,  St.  Declan, 
and  St.  Ailbe     155 

IV. — St.  Ibar     155 

Beg-h.ri       156 

School  of  Beg-Eri lo7 

Beg-Eri  no  longer  an 
Island      168 

V. — Early     Schools     in     the 

West  of  Ireland         ...   159 
College  at  Cluainfois        ...   160 
School    of    St.   Asicus     of 
Elphin     161 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SCHOOLS  OF   THE   SIXTH 
CENTURY. 

THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF 
ST.  EN  DA  OF  ARAN. 

I. — Life  of  St.  Enda  of  Aran  163 
Monastic  Character  of  the 

Early  Irish  Church       ...   163 

Family  of  St.  Enda  ...   164 

His  Sister,  St.  Fanchea    .,     165 

He  goes  to  Candida  Casa  167 

Goes  to  Aran     169 

II. — The  Isles  of  Aran        ...  169 
Aran  Mor 170 

ill. — Pagan   Remains   in  the 

Isles  of  Aran 172 

Dun  JEngusa          ...  ...   173 

Dun  Conchobhair  ...          ...   175 

These  Islands  in  ancient 
times  the  stronghold  of  a 
Warrior  Race     ...         ...  176 


Xll 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

IV. — Cheistiaw   Aran   of   St. 

Enda 177 

The  Curragh  Stone  ...   1^^ 

Enda    founded    his     First 

Monastery  at  Killeany...  177 
Scholars  of  St.  Enda  ...  178 
Columbu    and    Ciaran    at 

Aran         179 

The  Life  of  Enda  and  his 

Monks,  simple  and  austere  180 

V. — Ancient       Chueches      in 

Aban        181 

Churches  in   Townland  of 

Killeany 181 

Telagh-Enda          182 

The  "Seven  Churches"  ...  182 

The  Tomb  of  St.  Brecan  ...  183 

The  Septem  Rvtnani           ...  184 

Ruins  at  Kilmurvey  ...  185 
Temp  all      n  a  -  Cheathair- 

Aluinn      186 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN 
OF  CLONARD. 

L — Pbeliminaby     Sketch    of 

Christian  Schools      ...   188 
The  First  Christian  Schools  188 
Schools  of  the  Pagans       ...   189 
Episcopal  Schools  ...         ...   190 

School    founded    by    John 

Cassian  near  Marseilles  190 
Monastery  of  Lerins         ...  192 

FL — St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  193 

Finnian's  birth       194 

Goes  to  Britain      ...         ...  196 

Dubricius    ...         ...         ...  196 

St.  David 196 

Cathraael     197 

Finnian  returns  to  Erin   ..  198 

III. — Thb  School  op  Clonard  199 
Scholars  of  Clonard  ...  201 

Instruction  altogether  oral  202 
Knowledge  of  the  Sacred 

Scriptures  203 

"Tutor  of    the   Saints  of 

Ireland" ...  203 

Remains  at  Clonard  ...  205 

St.  Aileran  the  Wise        ...  206 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

I. — St.   iiilKNDAN  OF  CLONFiiKT      -09 

Fostered  by  St.  Ita  ...  21  > 


FAoa 


Brendan's  progress  in  learn- 
ing under  St.  Ero 

Seminary  at  Cluainfois     ... 

Brendan's  Rule 

St.  Brendan's  Oratory  on 
the  summit  of  Brandon 
Hill  

Brendan's  Voyages 

He  goes  to  Britain 

The  Cursing  of  Tara 

He  founds  the  Monastery 
of  Inchiquin 

Founds  Clonfert     ... 

Death  of  Brendan ... 


211 
212 
213 


2U 
215 
217 
218 

219 
220 
221 


XL— St.  Moinenn        222 

St.  Fintan 224 

The  Abbot  Seanach  Garbh    225 

St.  Fursey 226 

Birth  of  Fursey      227 

III. — St.   Cummian  the  Tall, 

Bishop  of  Clonfebt     ...  228 

Birth  of  Cummian 229 

Pupil  of  St.  Finbar  ...  230 

Cummian  and  King  Domh> 

nail  232 

Paschal  Controversy         ...  233 

The  Irish  Usage 234 

Main       charge       brought 

against  the  Irish  ...  235 

A  National  Synod  at  Magh 

Lena         ...         236 

Cummian' s  Paschal  Epistle    237 
He  appeals  to  the  authority 

of  the  Church     238 

Quotes  the  Syuodical  De- 
crees of  St.  Patrick       ...  239 
The  Liber  deMensura  Poeni- 
tentiarum ...         240 

IV. — Subsequent    Histoey  of 

Clonfebt  ...         ...  242 

Turgesius  and  the  Danes...  242 
Old  Cathedral  of  Clonfert     243 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVILLE. 

L — St  Finnian  op  Mo v ills    ...  245 
His  Boyhood  and  Education  246 
Candida  Casa         ...         ...  246 

llnnian  at  Candida  Caaa...   247 
He  goes  to  Romn  ...         ...  2*8 

Koturns     to     Ireland    and 

founds  a  Suiiuoi  at  Muville  249 
Coluuuiilo's    Copy  of     St. 

Finuiun'a  roullery         ...  16i 


TABLE  OF  CONTKNTS. 


Xlll 


PAGE     ! 

The  Cathach  "o2 

St.  Finnian's  Rule 253 

His  Death 254 

The  Ilymn  of  St.  Colman  ...  255 


II.  — Mabiantts  Scotus... 


CHAPTER  XII. 


..  256 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONMAC- 
NOISE. 

I. — St.   Ciaban    of    Clonmac- 

NoiSE        ...  258 

Clonmaonoise  ...         ...  25S 

St.  Oiaran  at  the  School  of 

Olonard 259 

He  sroea  to  Aran    ...         ...  "^60 

Visits  St.  Senan  at  Scatter V  261 
Founds   Churches   at  Isell 
Ciaran  and  Hare  Island, 
and    the    Monastery    at 
Clonmacnoise      ...         ...  261 

Origin   of  the    Diocese   of 
Clonmacnoise      ...  ..  262 

Death  of  St.  Ciaran  ..  263 
Festival  of  St.  Ciaran  ...  264 
The  Eclais  Beg:      265 


II. 


-The  Ruined  Churches  at 
Clonmaonoisb    ...         ...  266 


Round  Tower 
O'Rourke's  Tower... 
De  Lacy's  (Jastle    ... 
Inscribed  Tombstones 


267 

258 
269 
269 


ni.— The  Scholars  of  Clon- 
macnoise   270 

Grants  to  the    School    of 

Clonmacnoise      271 

Colgan,  or  Colgu  the  Wise  272 

Alcuin  272 

The  Ferleginds      273 

The  Prayer  of  St.  Colgu  ...  273 
Scuap  Chrabhaigh  ...  ..„  274 
Plundered  by  the  Danes  ...  274 
Felim  Mac  Criffan 275 

I V.  — Annalists    op    Clonmac- 

noise          ...  276 

Tighernach 276 

Chronicon  Scctorum  ...  278 

Gilla-Christ  O'Maeileon  ...  279 

Annals  of  Clonmacnoise       ...  279 

V.  — Thk      ' '  Lkabhab  -  na  -  h  - 

Uidhrk"  ...  ..  ..  280 

Conn-na-m-Bocht    .  ,    280 


page 
VI.  - -DiouiL,  THE  Qeoqrapher    281 
The    De     Mensura     Orbis 

Terrarum 281 

His  Learning         ...         ...  284 

Irish  Pilgrimage  to  Jeru- 
salem                o..  285 

The  "  Bams  of  Joseph"  ...  286 
Dicuil' 8  reference  to  Iceland  287 
Love  of  the  Ancient  Irish 
Monks    for    island   soli- 
tudes         288 

Iceland  and  the  Faroe  Isles 
occupied  by  Irish  Monks 
prior  to  discovery  of  these 
islands  by  the  Danes  ...  289 
Dicuil's  testimony  that 
Sedulius<was  an  Irishman  290 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE    COLUMBIAN    SCHOOLS 
IN  IRELAND. 

I. — St.  Columba's  Education...  291 

St.  Columba,  a  typical  Celt  291 

Early  History         292 

Goes   to  the  School  of   St. 

Finnian  at  Moville  ...  294 
Columba  at  the   School  of 

Clonard    ...         ...         *"  295 

Columba  at  Glasnevin  ...  296 
He  returns  to    his  native 

territory 297 

11. — Columba  founds  Derry  ...  298 
Coluracille's  original  Church  298 
Personal      description      of 
Columba  ...         ...         ...  299 

HI. — The  Schools  op  Duerow 

AND  Kells         301 

Columba       founded        the 

Monastery  of  D arrow...  301 
Interesting  incidents  ...  302 
Cormac  Ua  Liathain  ...  303 
The  Book  of  Burrow  ...304 

Ancient  remains  atDurrow  305 
Assassination  of  De  Lacy     306 

IV. — The  Foundation  of  Kells  306 
King  Diarmait      ...  ..   306 

St.  Columba's  House  ..  308 
Round  Tower  of  Kells     . . .  309 

Book  of  Kells  309 

This  MS.  caused  the  Battle 

of  Cuil-Dreimb'ie  ...  310 

Columba's  departure  from 

Derry  ...  ,.  ...  312 
Port-a-Churraich 314 


XIV 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAG  v. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL 
IN  ALBA. 

I.— loNA 315 

Columba  settles  in  lona  ...   316 

Reilig-  Odhran        317 

Columba's  Monasteries    ...  318 
Scribes  in  lona       ...  ...  319 

Rule  in  Zona  ...         ...  319 

II  —Columba    Peotkct3     ^wb 

Baeds       ...  ..  ...  320 

Threatened  <^es<■iUction  of 
the  Bards 320 

Convention  of  Drumceat ...   321 

Columba's  defence  of  the 
Bards       322 

The  Bardic  Schools  ...  323 


III.  -Death  of  Columpa 


324 


I  v.- -  Wkitings  of  Columba  ...  326 

The  Alius  Prosator 327 

In  te  Chris^e           328 

Noli  Pater 328 

Irish   Foems   attributed  to 

Columcille           329 

Coluriba's  Prophecies       ...  329 

V. — Lives  op  Columcillb      ...  330 

VJ.— Othkb  Scholars  of  Iona  331 

Baithen       331 

Death  of  Baithen  ...         ...  333 

Laisren        ...         ...         ...  333 

Seghine        ...         ...         ...  333 

Suibbne       334 

CuiD-iiie  the  Fair  ...          ...  334 


Vll.  -AoAMNAN,  Ninth  Abbot 

OF  Hy         ...  

Greek    Tongue   taught   in 

the   School    of  Hy   1170 

years  ago 
Adamnan's  Birth... 
His  Parentage 
King  Finnachta     ... 
Adamnan  goes  to  Iona 
Vita  Columba e 
Adamnan     introduces    the 

new  Ptf.schal  observance 

into  Ireland 
Dispute  between  Adamnan 

and  Finnachta    ... 
Canon  of  Adamnan 
Death  of  Adamuau  -  reliuB 

transferred  to  Trelhnd   ... 
Adamnan's  writings 
l)f.  Loci$  SaucU* 


335 


336 
336 
337 
337 
338 
339 


341 

342 

342 

343 
314 

344 


PAOB 

Expulsion  of  the  Coin. a- 
biaii  Monks  by  the  Pict- 
ish  King  Nectan  ...  345 

The  "  Gentiles  "  make  their 
first  descent  on  the  He- 
bridep        346 

Martyrdom  of  St.  Blaith- 
nia(5  ...          ...          ...   347 

The  Ride  of  Columba         ...  347 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  LATER  COLUMBIAN 
SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

I. — Kells  Head  of  the  Colum- 
bian Houses       348 

Kells  pillaged  by  the  Danes  348 
The  Cathach  348 

11. — Maeianus  ScoTUS 349 

Comtnenfaries  on  the  Ejpistles 
of  JSt.  Faul  351 

III. — The    Later    School    op 

Derby      ...         ...         ...  352 

The  Ua  Brolchain 352 

St.  Maelisa  O'Brolchain  ...  353 
Flaithbhertach  O'Brolchain  354 
The  Abbot  of  Derry  resolves 
to  renovate  his  monastery 
and  collects  funds  for  the 
purpose    ...         ...         ...  365 

Synod  of  the  Clergy  of  Ire- 
land convened  at  Bri  Mac 
Taidgh  in  Laeghaire    ...  356 
See  of  Derry  established  ...  357 

IV— Gelasius 368 

His  name  of  Mac  Liag  ...  358 
Gelasius  becomes  Abbot  of 

Derry       359 

He  reforms  the  morale  of 

clere:v  and  people  ...  359 

Synod^'of  Kells        360 

Synod  of  Mellifont  ...  361 

Synod     of      Brigh     Mac 

Taidgh      361 

Synod  of  Clane       ...         ...  362 

Gelasius     consecrates     St. 

Laurence  O  Toole  ...  362 

Death  of  Gelasius  ...         .«.  368 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

I.  — St.  CoMtJAM.  OF  Banook    ...   o61 
Birth  and  pttrentage  ..   366 

Comgail  enters  the  Moiias- 
tery  of  l^'intan  .     366 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XV 


PA.OE 

He  visits  Clonmacnoise,  and 
receives  the  pri^^sthood       367 

Description  of  Bang-or      ...   367 

St.  Columba  visits  Comgall 
at  Bangor  ...         ...  368 

The  fame  of  Comgall  at- 
t"act8  crowds  to  Bangor    369 

n^-ath  of  Comgall 370 

II. — St.  Columbanhs 370 

His  early  life  371 

Groes    to     Cluaninis      and 

places  himself  under  the 

care  of  Sinell      372 

He  enters  Bangor  ...         ...  372 

Preaches  the  Gospel  in  Ga  ul  3  ?  3 
He   buries   himself   in  the 

depths  of  the  forest  ...  373 
Increase  of  Disciples  ...  J 74 
Founds    a     monastery     at 

Luxeuil   ...         ...         ...  375 

Columbanus  and  his  Irish 

Monks     banished      from 

Luxeuil    ...         ...         ...  370 

They  establish  themselves 

at  Bregentz         376 

H«   founds    the    Monastic 

Church  of  Bobbio  ...  378 

Death  of  Columbanus  ...  378 
His  writings  ...         ...  379 

The  Bobbio  Missal 380 

The  Antiphonarium  Bencho- 

rerue         ...  381 

EH.— DuNQAL 381 

Theologian,  astronomer  and 

poet  381 

Dungal  was  an  Irishman...  382 
Probably  educated  in  the 

School  of  Bangor  ...  382 

Dungal  goes  to  France    ...  382 
His  Letter  to  Charlemagne 
on  the  two  solar  eclipses 
said  to  have  taken  place 

in  A.D.  810  383 

He  opens  a  school  at  Pavia  385 
The  last  struggle  of  West- 
em  Iconoclasm  ...         ...  385 

The  Libri  Carolini 386 

Synod  of  Frankfort  ...  386 

The  Council  of  Nice  ...  387 
The  Paris  Conference  ...  388 
Claudius  of  Turin  ...  389 

Dungali  Hesponsa  contra  per- 
versas  Claudix  Taurinensis 
Episcopi  Senteuiias         ...  390 
Character      of       Dungal's 

writings ...  391 

Hig  death 392 


PA.6E 

IV.— St.  Malachy        393 

Sketch  of  his  life   ...         ...  393 

He  rebuilds  the  monastery 

at  Bangor  ...         ...  394 

Becomes  Bishop  of  Connor  394 
Founds     the     Monasterium 

Ibracence  ...         ...         ...  396 

Malachy  transferred  to  the 

Primatial  See      395 

Difficultif/8  in  Armagh  ...  395 
Malachy  honoured  at  Rome 

by  Pope  Innocent  III.  ...  396 
Death  at  Clairvaux  ...  397 


CHAPTER  X7II. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONE- 
NAGH. 

L— St.  FiNTAN 398 

Churches    founded    round 

the  base    of    the  Slieve 

Bloom  mountains  ..  398 

Clonenagh 398 

Fintan's  Rule  401 

St.  Comgall  a  pupil  of  the 

School  of  Clonenagh  ...  402 
Miracles  of  St.  Fintan  ...  403 
Fintan,    "Father    of     the 

Irish  Monks"     404 

II. -St.  ^NGUS  404 

A  CeileDe 405 

He  leads  a  solitary  life     ...  405 

Dysert-Enos  406 

Penitential  Exercises        ...  407 

iEngus  arrives  at  Tallagh  407 

Martyrology  of  Tallagh      ...  408 

TheFelire  409 

Fothadh-na-Canoine         ...  410 

Invocation  of  the  Saints  ...  411 

The  Snltair-na-Rann  ...  412 

Opinions  of  Dr.  Stokes  with 
regard  to  the  writings  of 

.ffingus  412 

Death  of  iEngus 412 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDA- 
LOUGH. 

I. — St.  Kevin     414 

Sketch  of  his  Life 414 

Kevin  is  placed  under  the 

care  of  St.  Petroc  ...  415 

He  goes  to  Glendalough  ...  416 
Description  u£  Giendaluugh417 


VVl 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

St.  Kevin's  Bed     418 

TempuU-na-Skellig  ...  419 

Glendalough,   a   Seminary 

of  Saiits  and  Scholars...  420 
Kevin      meets      Columba, 

Comgall  and    Canice   at 

the  hill  of  Uisnech        ...  421 

Death  of  Kevin     421 

Writing*      attributed      to 

Kevin       422 

II. — Ruins  at  Glbndalouoh...  422 

The  Cathedral        423 

St.  Kevin's  Kitchen  ...  423 
Our  Lady's  Church  ...  424 
Trinity  Church  ...  .  424 
Kevin's  Yew  Tree 426 

III.— St.  Moling         425 

St.  Moling 426 

Teach  Moling         426 

Moling  becomes  Bishop  of 

Ferns        427 

Kemission  of  the  Cow-Tax  428 
Writings      attributed      to 

St.  iloling  429 

Glendalough  ravaged  by  the 

Danes       429 

•'  G-illa-na-naomh  Laighen"  430 

CHAPTER  XVIll.—(eontinued}. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDA- 
LOUGH. 

St.  Laueencb  O'TooLB     ...  432 

Ris  Parentage        433 

He  goes  to  Glendalough  ...  434 
Lorcan  as  a  Student         ...  435 
He  is  placed  at  the  head  of 
St.  Kevin's  Great  Estab- 
lishment   436 

Consecrated  Archbishop  of 

Dublin ..  437 

Synod  of  the  Irish  Prelates 

atClane 437 

He  reforms  the  Clergy  ...  437 
His  Spirit  of  Mortification 

and  Prayer         438 

Dermott  McMurrough  and 
Maurice  Fitzgerald  attack 

Dublin     440 

He  stimulates  the  slothful 
king,  Rory  O'Connor,  to 
action  ...  ..  441 
Laurence  0' Toole  attends  a 
General  Council  in  Rome, 
and  secures  many  privi- 
legeH  for  the  Ohuroh  iu 
Ireland 443 


FAon 
He  travels  to  England  iu 
the    interests    of     Rory 
O'Connor  the  discrowned 
king  ...  ...  ..  444 

Detained  a  prisoner  in  the 

monastery  of  Abingdon     444 
His  death    ...         ...         ...  44 1^ 

Canonization  ...         ...  446 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SCHOOLS    OF  THE  SEVENTH 
CENTURY. 

1. — The    School   of    Lismore, 

St.  Cakthach     447 

He    visits    the    School    of 

Bangor     ...         ...          ...  448 

He  founds  a  monastery  at 

Rahan      449 

**Effugatio"    of    Oarthach 

from  Rahau        ...         ...  450 

He  founds  Lismore  ...  453 

Retires     from    community 

life  to  prepare  for  death  454 
Miracles       ...  ...  ...  454 

Jiule  of  Carthack  ...  ...   455 

U. — St.  Oath  ALDUS  of  Tabsn- 

Tuic           457 

Th*  Life  of  St.  Cathaldus  ...  457 

His  Birth-place      ...          ...  458 

A  Student  at  Lismore      ...  460 

He  becomes  a  bishop         ...  461 

See  of  Rachau        ...         ...  462 

Pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  ..  462 

Taranto        463 

Cathaldus     endeavours    to 
reform  the  licentious  in- 
habitants of  Taranto     ...  4G3 
His  death  at  Taranjo        ...  464 
Invention    of    the    Saint's 
Relics       464 

III. — Otheb  Scholars  of  Lis- 
more       ...  ..         ...  -165 

St.  Cuanna ...  465 

St.  Colman  O'Leathain     ...  46/ 
Aldf  rid,  King  of  Northum- 
bria  468 

IV. — Subsequent    History    cf 

Lismore ...  466 

Lismore    ravaged    by    tiie 

Danes       469 

Scenery  at  Lismore           ...  471 

Inscribed  stoiu^n     ...         ...  472 

The  Croiier  of  Liamore    ...  472 

The  Book  q/ Lix>nor4  479 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


XVU 


FiOE 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    SCHOOLS    OF 

DESMOND. 

I. — The  School  of  Coek 

...  476 

St.  Einbarr 

...  476 

Gougane  Barra 

...  478 

Cork  in  a.d.  1600  ... 

...  480 

Death  of  St.  Finbarr 

...  482 

His  character 

...  483 

PAGE 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


Assassination  of  Mahoun...  484 
GioUa  Aedha  O'Mnidhin...  486 

II. — St.  Colman  Mac  XJa  Clua- 

SAIGH        487 

Pestilence  in  Ireland         ...  487 
St.  Colman's  Hymn  ...  488 

III.— The  School  OP  Ross       ...  490 

St.  Fachtna 490 

Geographical  Poem  of  Mac 
Cosse        494 

IV. — The  School  of  Innisfal- 

len  ...         ...         ...  495 

St.  Finan  the  Leper          ...  496 
St.  Finan  Cam        497 

V. — The  Annals  of  Innisfal- 

LEN 

Maelsuthain  O'Cearbhail...  500 
Curious  anecdote  of  Mael- 
suthain   ...         ...         ..  502 

Annals  of  Innis fallen         ...  503 

Description  of  Innisfallen  605 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND. 

I. — The  School  OF  MuNGRRT...  506 

St.  Nessan  507 

St.  Munchin  608 

Mung-ret  plundered  by  the 
Danes       ...          ...         ...   610 

*'The  Learning  of  the  Wo- 
men of  Mungret "  ...  61  i 

II.— The  School  of  Iniscaltba  631 
Island  of  Iniscaltra  ...  513 

St.  Columba  of  Terryglass    513 
Death  of  St.  Columba      ...  515 

St.  Caimin 517 

Round  Tower  of  Iniscaltra    519 
St.  Cftimin's  Church         ...  519 

Sculptured  stones 530 

Iniscaltra  ravaged  by  the 
Danes       ...         ...         ...  621 

III. — Otheb  Monastic  Schools 

opThomond        622 

St.  Brendan  of  Birr  ..  622 

St.  Cronan  of  Roscrea       ...  623 
BookofDimma      ...  534 


LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE 
WEST. 

I. — St.    Colman's    School    of 

Mato       627 

The  Easter  Controversy  ...  627 

Inisboffin     631 

Death  of  Colman  ...         ...  633 

II. — St.  Gerald  op  Mayo      ...  634 

Life  of  St.  Gerald 634 

Adamnan  promulgates  the 
celebrated    '*Lex    Inno- 

centiae"  ...         ...  ...  537 

Date  of  St  Gerald's  Death  537 

III. — SuBSEauENT   History    of 

THE  School  op  Mayo     ...  538 
Cele  O'Duffy  539 

IV.— The  School  op  Tuam     ...  540 
St.  Jarlath 541 

•'Mead(.wof  Retreat"     ...  542 
St.      Brendan      visits     St. 
Jarlath's        School       at 
Cluainfois  ...         ...  543 

St.  Jarlath  founds  Tuam...  644 

CHAPTER    TSIl.— {continued), 

CELTIC  ART  IN  THE  WEST- 
ERN MONASTERIES  DURING 
THE  REIGN  OF  TURLOUGH 
O'CONNOR. 

L— The  O'DuFPYS        ...         ...  647 

II. — Celtic  Art  at  Clonmac- 

NOISB         660 

The  Ollamh-builder  ...  661 

Gobban  Saer  ...         ...  661 

Religh-na-Cailleach  ...  652 

Crosses  and   Architectural 
Ornaments  in  Sculpture 
at  Tuam  and  Cong        ...  654 
Turlough      rebuilds       the 

Cathedral  of  Tuam       ...  557 
The  Abbey  of  Cong  ...  558 

The  Cross  of  Cong 560 

The  Chalice  of  Ardagh     ...  562 
The  Shrine  of  St.  Manchan  564 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD 

I. — St.  ViBaiLius,  Archbishop 

OP  Salzburg      666 

Country  of  St.  Virgilius  ...  666 
Accusations    against     Vir- 
(^-iliuti        ...         ..,         ...  669 


xviu 


TABLE  or  CONTEM'S. 


PAOE 

Doctrine  of  the  Antipodes  570 
Virgiliu8,    the    Apostle   of 

Carinthia ...  572 

Discovery  of  the  Tomb  of 

Virgilius 573 

IT.  —  Sedulius, Commentator  on 

SCRIPTUBK  ...  ...   674 

Writings  of  Sedulius         ...  574 

III.— John  Sootus  Erioena.  ...  57C 

Born  in  Ireland      ...          ...  576 

Patronised  by  Charles  the 

Bald         579 

His   Liber  de  Praedestina- 

tione         ...         ...         ...  581 

Alleged  Errors    about  the 

Keal  Presence     ...         ...  583 

His     Translation    of      the 

Pseudo-Dionysius  ...  584 

His  Treatise   Be  Livisione 

Naturae 586 

This  Book  condemned  a.d. 

1225  587 

His  Death 588 

IV. — Foreign      Scholars     in 

Ireland 589 

College  of  Slane     590 

Dagobert,  a  Pupil  of  Slane  590 

Egbert  in  Ireland 591 

Studies  in  Connaught       ...  592 

St.  Chad  in  Connaught    ...  593 

St.  Willibrord  in  Ireland  ...  594 
Agilbert,  Bishop  of  Paris, 

in  Ireland  ...         ...  595 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND 
SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT 
ERIN. 

I.  — Oboanization  op  the  Gaedh- 

Lio  PaopBasioNAL  Schools  597 

rhe  Learned  Professions  in 
Erin         ..  598 

Degrees  in  Poetry,  in  Lav\, 
in  liiuiury  .^^         ...  600 


PAGB 

11. — School  op  Tuaim  Drecatn  602 
Throe    Schools     at   Tuaiui 
Drecaiu    ...         ...  ...  602 

Cennfaeladh,  Professor    in 
all  the  Faculties 604 

III. — CoBMAc  Mac  Ctjlltnan...  605 

Disert-Diarraada 606 

CormHc,  Kinsrof  Cashel  ...  607 

Not  Bishop  of  Cashel       ...  809 

Cashel  then  a  Royal  Dun  610 

Battle  of  Ballaghmoon     ...  611 

IV. — Writings  op  Cormac  Mac 

CULLINAN  ...  ...   612 

Psalter  of  Caiseal  ...  ...  613 

Cormac's  Glossary 612 


CHAPTER  ^KXIV.— {continued). 

I. — Gaedhlic  Scholars  op  the 
Sixth       and      Seventh 

Centuries  614 

Amergin  Mac  Awley        ...   615 
Dalian  Forgaill      616 

II.  — Gaedhlic  Scholars  op  the 
Ninth  and  Tenth  Cen- 
turies               ...  617 

Maelmura  of  Fathan         ...  617 

Flann  Mac  Lonan...  ...  618 

Eochaid  O'Flinn 619 

III. — Gaedhlic    Scholars    op 

THE  Eleventh  Century    620 
Mac  Liag    ...         ...         ...  620 

His  writings  ...  ...  623 

Cuan  O'Lochain     ...         ...  624 

The  Monastery  of  huiu        6'?.fi 

IV. — Discipline    op  the   Lay 

COLLBGBS  628 

Relations  between  pupils 
and  Teachers  laid  down 
in  the  Senchus  Mor         ...    629 

Corporal  puui.shnient  some- 
iimeH  inflicted    .^         .^  6;»v. 


CHAPTER    I. 

STATE  OE  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE 
ST.  PATRICK. 

*'  The  wrath  of  Crom  spoke  in  the  storm, 
The  blighted  harvests  felt  his  eye  ; 
The  cooling  shower,  the  sunshine  warm, 
Answered  the  Druid's  plaintive  cry." 

—T.  D.  McGee. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  at  length  the  state  of 
learning  and  civilization  in  Ireland  before  the  coming  of 
St.  Patrick.  It  is  a  question  about  which  much  difference 
of  opinion  exists  even  amongst  learned  men.  A  few  remarks, 
however,  on  this  subject  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand 
more  clearly  the  literature  and  history  of  the  Christian 
Schools  of  Ancient  Ireland. 

It  is  admitted  by  all  that  whatever  learning  existed  in 
Erin  during  the  pagan  period  of  her  history,  was  the 
exclusive  possession  of  certain  privileged  classes  amongst 
the  Celtic  tribes.  They  may  be  included  in  the  three  great 
orders,  so  familiar  to  the  students  of  our  ancient  history — 
the  Druids,  Bards,  and  Brehons.  We  shall  offer  a  few  brief 
observations  about  each  of  these  highly  privileged  classes.^ 

I. — The  Druids. 

In  Ireland,  as  in  all  the  Celtic  nations,  the  Druids  were 
priests  and  seers,  and  frequently  poets  and  judges  also, 
especially  in  the  earliest  periods  of  our  history.  We  know 
from  Caesar  that  their  learning,  at  least  in  Gaul,  consisted 
for  the  most  part  in  rather  fanciful  theories  about  the 
heavenly  bodies,  the  laws  of  nature,  and  the  attributes  of 
their  pagan  deities.  These  doctrines,  like  their  religious 
tenets,  were  not  committed  to  writing,  but  were  handed 
down  by  oral  tradition  ;  for  they  wished  above  all  things  to 
keep  their  knowledge  to  themselves,  and  to  impress  the 
common  people  with  a  mysterious  awe  for  their  own  power 
and  wisdom.     It  has  been  said^  by  some  writers  that  druidism 

1  "It  would  be  futile,"  says  O'Curry,  "to  attempt  to  give  any  close 
and  detailed  account  of  the  state  of  education  in  this  country  before  the 
Christian  era." — Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  page  49, 

a  See  Dr.  O'Rorke'a  excellent  History  of  Sligo,  vol.  ii.,  page  7. 

A 


2        STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK . 

was  a  philosopliy  rather  than  a  religion  ;  but  this  statement 
cannot  be  admitted  against  the  express  tcstimon}^  of  Caesar,^ 
who  must  have  often  seen  the  Druids  both  in  Gaul  and 
Britain.  He  asserts^  most  distinctly  that  they  attended  to 
religious  worship,  ofi'ered  sacrifice  both  in  public  and  in 
private,  and  also  expounded  omens  and  oracles.  Cajsar's 
statement  in  this  single  sentence  offers  a  text  for  our  obser- 
vations. We  must  bear  in  mind  what  he  saj^s  of  the 
Druids  of  Gaul,  as  well  as  of  the  British  Druids ;  because  it 
is  quite  evident  that  the  Druids  of  the  three  great  Celtic 
nations  about  this  period  had  practically  the  same  religion. 
He  says  that  they  had  exclusive  charge  of  public  worship, 
sometimes  even  offered  human  sacrifice  ;  and  we  shall  show, 
notwithstanding  O'Curry,^  that  they  did  the  same  in  Ireland 
also.  A  similar  long  course  of  instruction,  generally 
extending  to  twenty  years,  was  required  for  their  disciples 
in  Ireland  as  in  Gaul.  As  judges,  too,  the  Druids  enforced 
their  decisions  bj''  a  kind  of  social  excommunication,  which 
few  people  dared  to  despise.  It  is  curious  how  the  Celtic 
races,  even  to  this  day,  have  recourse  to  similar  excommuni- 
cations, both  in  things  social  and  political.  The  Druids  of 
Gaul  were  subject  to  an  Arch-Druid,  who  was,  like  the 
Jewish  High  Priest,  elected  for  life.  But  above  all,  the 
Druids  of  Gaul  taught  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  as  also 
its  transmigration,  and  appeared  most  anxious  to  inculcate 
these  doctrines  on  all  their  disciples.  This  is  the  one  saving 
doctrine  of  druidism,  which  thus  prepared  the  way  for 
Christianity. 

There  were  Druids  amongst  all  the  Celtic  tribes  of 
France,  Britain,  and  Ireland.  The  British  Druids  in  the 
time  of  Caesar  were  very  iamous  both  as  priests  and  scholars ; 
so  that  it  was  customary  for  the  young  Druids  of  Gaul  to  be 
sent  over  to  Britain  to  finish  their  education  in  the  colleges 
of  the  British  Druids.  Their  chief  establishment  was  in  the 
Island  of  Anglesey,  anciently  called  Mona ;  so  at  least  it  is 
called  by  Tacitus,  although  Caesar  seems  to  give  that  name 
to  the  Isle  of  Man.  During  the  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland,  it  seems  highly 
probable  that  Mona  was  occupied  by  a  colony  of  the  Irish 
Celts.  It  is  certain,  at  least,  that  very  frequent  and  friendly 
intercourse  took  place  between  Ireland  and  Anglesey,  from 

1  Cresar,  De  Bello  Gallico,  Liber  iv.,  c.  13  and  14. 

2  Illi  rebu8  diviuis  iutersunt,  aacrifioia  publiea  et  privata   proouraui, 
religionvH  intt'rpretantur. 

•  Vol.  ii.,  page  222. 


THE  DRUIDS.  O 

whicli  it  may  be  safely  inferred  that  if  the  druidism  of 
Anglesey  was  not  of  Irish  origin,  Irish  as  well  as  Gaulish 
Druids  were  certainly  educated  in  that  island. 

The  Druids  worshipped  not  in  temples  made  with  hands. 
As  in  Palestine,  and  many  Eastern  countries,  these  pagan 
priests  conducted  their  religious  services  in  '  groves '  and 
*  high  places  *  under  the  shade  of  the  spreading  oaks,  from 
which  some  writers  derive  their  name — derw  being  the 
Celtic,  not  the  Greek  name  for  oak.  Hence  this  tree  was 
sacred  in  their  eyes  ;  their  dwellings  were  surrounded  with 
oak  groves,  whose  dark  foliage  threw  a  sombre  and  solemn 
shade  over  the  rude  altars  of  unhewn  stone  on  which  they 
offered  their  sacrifices.  The  yew,  blackthorn,  and  quicken 
were  also  regarded  as  sacred  trees,  at  least  by  the  Irish 
Druids,  who  made  their  divining  rods  in  some  cases  from  the 
yew,  but  oftener  from  oaken  boughs.  The  mystic  ogham 
characters  were  also  cut  by  the  Druids  on  staves  made  from 
the  yew,  at  least  so  we  are  informed  in  some  of  our  oldest 
Irish  tales.^ 

Our  knowledge  of  Irish  druidism  is  derived  chiefly  from 
incidental  references  in  the  old  romantic  tales,  and  also  in 
the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  and  especially  in  the  Lives  oj 
St.  Patrick,  who  came  into  direct  antagonism  with  their 
entire  system.  It  is  certain  that  in  other  countries  the 
Druids  sometimes  offered  human  victims  in  sacrifice;  and 
there  is  some  evidence  that  the  same  custom,  although, 
perhaps,  more  rarely,  prevailed  in  Ireland.  There  is  a 
passage  in  the  Book  of  Leinster^  which  expressly  states  that 
the  Irish  used  to  sacrifice  their  children  to  Crom  Cruach, 
or  more  correctly,  Cenn  Cruaich,  the  great  gold-covered  idol 
of  Magh  Slecht,  on  the  borders  of  Cavan  and  Leitrim. 
Hence  it  was  called  the  Plain  of  Slaughter,  and  the  sight  of 
the  foul  idol  so  excited  the  righteous  zeal  of  St.  Patrick  that 
he  smote  it  deep  into  the  earth  with  a  blow  of  his  crozier. 
We  also  know  from  the  Saint's  "  Confession"  that  the  Irish  to 
whom  he  preached  the  Gospel,  had  previously  worshipped 
idols  and  unclean  things,^  which  goes  to  prove  that  idol- 
worship  was  a  part  of  the  druidical  ritual  in  Ireland. 

There  is  no  doubt  also  that  the  worship  of  the  elements 
was  a  part  of  the  druidical  religion.  Their  most  terrible 
oaths  were  sworn  on  the  Sun  and  the  Wind ;  and  it  was 
confidently  believed  that  the  perjurer  could  never  escape  the 
vengeance  of  these  mighty  elements.     The  account  given  in 

*  See  O'Curry's  Lectures,  vol.  ii.,  p.  203.  Tolio  213^. 

2  "  Idola  et  immunda." 


4         STaTK  of  learning  in  IRELAND  BBFOHE  ST.  RATRICK. 

the  Tripartite  of  St.  Patrick's  interview  with  the  daughters 
of  King  Laeghaire  by  Cliabach  Well,  on  the  slopes  of 
Cruachan,  shows  that  the  worship  of  fairy  gods,  or  elves, 
was  a  part  of  the  druidical  religion  ;  and  the  same  is  expressly 
stated  in  the  very  ancient  metrical  Life  of  the  Apostle,  by 
St.  Fiacc  of  Sletty.^ 

It  is  evident  also  not  only  from  Coesar's  statement,  but 
also  from  several  passages  in  our  earliest  extant  writings, 
that  one  of  the  principal  functions  of  the  Druids  was  to  act 
as  haurispices,  that  is,  to  foretell  the  future,  to  unveil  the 
hidden,  to  pronounce  incantations,  and  ascertain  by  omens 
lucky  and  unlucky  days.  Hence  we  always  find  some  of 
them  living  with  the  king  in  his  royal  rath  ;  they  ^e  not 
only  his  priests,  but  still  more  his  guides  and  counsellors  on 
all  occasions  of  danger  or  emergency.  King  Laeghaire  had 
at  Tara  Druids  and  enchanters,  who  used  to  foretell  the 
future  by  their  druidism  and  heathenism;^  and  they  an- 
nounced the  coming  of  the  tailcend,  or  shaven -crown,  that  is 
St.  Patrick,  long  before  his  arrival.  They  were  powerful  in 
charms  and  spells.  They  could  bring  snow  on  the  plain,  but 
could  not,  like  Patrick,  take  it  away  ;  they  could  cover  the 
land  with  sudden  darkness,  but  could  not,  like  him,  dispel  it. 
They  were  powerful  for  evil,  but  not  for  good;  they  could 
with  the  charm  called  the  '  Fluttering  Wisp,'  strike  their 
unhappy  victim  with  lunacy,  or  afflict  him  by  the  elements; 
they  would  even  promise  to  make  the  earth  swallow  him  up, 
as  they  said  it  would  swallow  St.  Patrick  when  he  was  preach- 
ing on  the  banks  of  the  Moy  in  Tyrawle3^  Their  incantations, 
too,  were  in  some  instances  not  only  wicked,  but  filthy  and 
unclean,^  and  as  such  were  of  course  strictly  prohibited  by 
St.  Patrick. 

The  Druids  of  Gaul,  although  unwilling  to  commit  their 
doctrines  to  writing,  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of  the 
Greek  letters.  The  British  Druids  of  Anglesey  were  even 
more  learned ;  and  we  must  infer  that  the  Irish  Druids 
possessed  a  similar  culture.  They  had  '  books,**  when 
St.  Patrick  met  them  at  Tara ;  and  two  of  them  were 
entrusted  with  the  education  of  the  king's  daughters  at 
Cruachan.  They  were  also  skilled  in  medicine,  and 
possessed  a  knowledge  of  healing  herbs  ;  they  discoursed  to 
their  disciples  on  the  nature  of  things,^  and  had  some  know- 

*  "  On  Ireland's  folk  lay  darkness,  the  tribes  worshipped  fairies 
(siVf)."     Line  21. 

'^  Tripartite,  Stokea,  p.  33       »  See  O'Curry,  vol.  ii.,  p.  209. 

*  Tripartite,  Stokea,  p.  67.      "  Caeaar,  Dn  Bdlo  Gallico. 


THE  DRUIDS. 


ledge  of  astronomy  Tlius  vested  with  mysterious  and 
supernatural  powers,  and  possessed  of  an  esoteric  learning, 
that  was  exclusively  their  own,  the  Druids  were  held  in 
great  reverence  and  fear.  "  Tara  was  the  chief  seat  of  the 
idolatry  and  druidism  of  Erin,"^  but  we  also  find  them  at 
Cruachan  in  Con  naught,  and  at  Killala  beyond  the  Moy^ — 
both  royal  seats  of  the  kings  of  that  province.  They  ac- 
companied the  kings  in  their  journeys  and  were  present 
sometimes  on  the  field  of  battle.^  They  were  generally 
dressed  in  white,  but  wore  an  inner  tunic  to  which  reference 
is  sometimes  made.  It  is  probable  that  one  or  more  of  thera 
abode  in  the  Raths  of  all  the  great  nobles,  who  claimed  to 
be  righSj  or  kinglets,  in  their  own  territories.  They  were 
sworn  enemies  of  Christianity,  and  frequently  attemj)ted  to 
take  St.  Patrick's  life  by  violence  or  poison.  In  the  remote 
districts  of  the  country  some  of  them  remained  for  several 
centuries  after  the  island  generally  became  Christian ;  and 
to  this  day  we  can  find  traces  of  ancient  druidism  in  the 
superstitions  of  the  people. 

Their  New  Year's  Day  was  about  the  10th  of  March,  anl 
was  deemed  holy  as  the  great  day  on  which  they  .cut  the 
mistletoe  from  the  sacred  oak.  The  first  of  May  was  kept  as 
a  festival  in  honour  of  the  Sun-God  ;  and  probably  gave 
origin  to  that  custom  of  lighting  fires  in  honour  of  the  god, 
which  was  afterwards  transferred  to  the  eve  of  the  24th  of 
June,  in  order  to  do  honour  to  St.  John. 

St.  Patrick  in  his  Confession  clearly  refers  to  this 
sun-worship  as  an  idolatrous  practice  prevalent  amongst  our 
pagan  forefathers.  "That  sun,"  he  says,  *' which  at  His 
bidding  we  see  rising  daily  for  our  sake  will  never  reign,  and 
its  splendour  will  not  last  for  ever ;  but  those  who  adore  it 
will  perish  miserably  for  all  eternity."  The  great  November 
festival  called  Samuin,  seems  to  have  been  held  especially  in 
honour  of  the  szde^  or  fairy-gods,  who  dwelt  in  the  bosom  of 
the  beautiful  green  hills  of  Erin,  and  were  supposed  to  hold 
high  revel  throughout  all  the  land  on  November  Eve.  But 
the  Druids  had  influence  even  with  these  gods  of  the  hills; 
and  we  are  told  that  when  Edain,  the  lovely  queen  of  royal 
Tara,  was  stolen  away  from  her  husband,  and  hidden  in  the 
Land  of  Youth  under  Bri  Leith,  near  Ardagh,  in  Longford, 
she  was  restored  to  her  home  and  her  husband  by  the  mighty 
\aagic  of  Dalian  the  Druid. 


1  Tripartite,  p.  40.  2  At  Tulach-na-Druadh. 

*  See  the  account  of  the  battle  of  Cuil-dreimhne. 


b    STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

We  find  reference  made  to  the  Druids  as  present  with 
every  colony  that  came  to  Erin,  which  shows  at  least  that 
the  old  bards  and  chroniclers  regarded  them  as  an  essential 
element  of  the  nation.  They  were  endowed  with  lands  for 
their  maintenance,  and  enjoyed  special  privileges  and 
immunities,  like  the  Bards  and  Brehons.  But,  as  they  were 
the  priests  of  a  false  and  idolatrous  religion,  it  was  sought  as 
far  as  possible  to  remove  every  trace  of  their  existence  from 
the  minds  of  the  people  ;  and  hence  after  the  revision  of  the 
Brehon  Laws  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  we  find  all  refer- 
ence to  the  Druids,  their  rights,  and  their  privileges,  entirely 
expunged  from  that  ancient  code.  Accordingly  we  know 
nothing  about  the  Irish  Druids,  except  what  maybe  gathered 
from  such  accidental  references  as  those  to  which  we  have 
already  referred. 

II.— The  Bards. 

Under  this  term  we  include  both  poets  and  chroniclers 
that  is,  the  Fileadh  and  the  Fer-conigne}  Sometimes  history 
and  poetry  are  represented  as  distinct  branches  of  learning 
in  ancient  Erin ;  it  is  certain,  however,  that  in  pre-Christian 
times,  and  long  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  the 
chronicler  made  poetry  the  medium  of  preserving  and  com- 
municating to  posterity  both  the  genealogical  and  historical 
records  of  his  tribe  or  clan.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  Intro- 
duction to  the  Senchiis  Mor  makes  a  careful  distinction  between 
the  chronicler  and  the  poet.  "  Until  Patrick  came,  only  three 
classes  of  persons  were  permitted  to  speak  in  public  in  Erin : 
a  Chronicler  to  relate  events  and  to  tell  stories ;  a  Poet  to 
eulogise  and  to  satirize  ;  a  Brehon  to  pass  sentence  from  pre- 
cedents and  commentaries.^'  It  is  added  that  since  Patrick^s 
arrival,  each  of  these  professions  is  subject  to  his  censorship  ; 
and  it  is  noteworthy  that  no  reference  at  all  is  made  to  the 
Druids  after  Patrick  came  to  Erin,  and  this  Brehon  Code 
came  to  be  purified.  The  commentator  on  the  SencJtiis  also 
notes  that  for  a  long  time  the  judicature  had  belonged  to  the 
poets  alone,  that  is,  from  the  time  of  Amergin,  the  first  poet- 
judge,  down  to  the  time  of  the  Contention  at  Emhain  Maeha  . 
between  the  two  Sages,  Ferceirtne  and  Neidhe.  The  langu- 
age which  the  poets  spoke  on  that  occasion  was  so  obscure, 
that  the  chieftains  could  not  understand  what  had  passed 
between  the  rival  Sages.  It  was  therefore  ordained  by  Con- 
chobhar  (Connor)  and  his  chieftains,  that  theucelorwurd  tho 


1  See  Introductiou  to  Senchus  Mor,  p.  1 8. 


THE    BARDS.  7 

poets  should  be  deprived  of  tliat  exclusive  privilege  which  they 
had  hitherto  enjoyed,  andmade  too  exclusive ;  and  that  the  men 
of  Erin  in  general  should  be  entitled  to  have  their  proper 
share  in  the  judicature.  This  dim  tradition  clearly  represents 
a  protest  against  the  technical  language  of  an  exclusive  and 
privileged  class,  who,  for  their  own  purposes,  sought  to  keep 
secret  their  traditionary  lore.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that 
thenceforward  the  profession  of  the  judge  and  poet  became 
quite  distinct,  and  the  judge  assumed  the  post  of  official  chro- 
nicler and  keeper  of  the  records  of  his  tribe. 

The  function  of  the  Bard,  or  poet,  afterwards  was  *  to 
eulogize  and  to  satirize ; '  and  in  this  more  restricted  sense 
of  the  word  the  term  poet  or  Bard  is  frequently  employed  in 
Christian  times.  We  know,  however,  that  as  a  matter  of 
fact  all  our  historical  documents  down  to  the  tenth  century 
are  written  in  poetry,  that  is,  in  a  certain  metre  and  rhythm, 
which  would  help  to  preserve  these  compositioD  s  even  without 
the  aid  of  writing  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,-  that  is  to  say, 
the  Chronicler  was  also  a  poet. 

The  Fihy  or  poet  in  the  more  restricted  sense  of  the  word, 
soon  became  a  pest  and  a  nuisance.  He  was  willing  enough 
to  eulogize  when  he  expected  liberal  rewards  ;  but  if  he  were 
disappointed  in  his  hopes,  or  if  from  any  other  cause  he 
wished  to  inflict  the  lash  of  his  satire  on  any  person,  he  never 
spared  the  poisoned  shafts  of  his  flashing  wit.  Hence  Cormac 
Mac  Cullinan,  who  knew  the  tribe  well,  derives  File,  the  old 
Irish  word  for  poet,  from  fi,  poison,  and  //,  brightness ; 
because  in  eulogy  the  poet  is  bright,  but  in  satire  he  is 
venomous.  The  poets  were  extortionate,  too,  in  exacting 
rewards  for  their  eulogistic  verses,  so  that  the  order  came  to 
ba  more  feared  than  loved,  and  at  length  incurred  the  danger 
of  extinction,  as  we  shall  see  further  on.  Hence,  too,  ic  is 
expressly  ordained  in  the  Senchns  Mor  that  the  poet  who 
demands  an  excessive  reward,  or  claims  an  amount  to  which 
he  is  not  entitled,  or  composes  unlawful  satire,  is  to  be  de- 
prived of  half  his  *  honour  price'  for  the  first  and  second 
offence,  and  of  his  full  honour  price,  or  social  status,  for  the 
third.  Among  the  four  dignitaries  of  a  territory  who  might 
be  degraded,  besides  the  false-judging  king,  the  stumbling 
bishop,  and  the  unworthy  chief,  was  the  fraudulent  poet,  who 
demanded  an  exorbitant  reward  for  his  compositions. 

No  man  was  qualified  to  become  Chief -poet,  or  Doctor  in 
Poetry — '  Ollamh-poet ' — who  was  not  able  to  compose  an 
extempore  stanza  on  any  subject  proposed  to  him.  And  the 
way  in  which  it  is  done  is  this:  "When  the  poet  sees  the 


8         STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  liEEORE  ST.  I'ATRICK. 

person  or  thing  before  liim  he  makes  a  verse  at  once  with 
the  ends  of  his  fingers,  or  in  his  mind  without  studying,  and 
he  composes  and  repeats  at  the  same  time."^  This,  however, 
was  after  the  reception  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  time  of 
St.  Patrick.  ''Before  Patrick's  time  tlie  poet  placed  his 
(divining)  staff  upon  the  person's  body,  or  upoii  his  head,  and 
found  out  his  name,  and  the  name  of  his  father  and  mother, 
and  discovered  everj^  unknown  thing  that  was  proposed  to 
him  in  a  minute  or  two  or  three."  But  St.  Patrick  abolished 
these  profane  rites  amongst  the  poets  when  they  believed,  for 
they  could  not  be  performed  without  offering  to  idol  godf<, 
and  thenceforward  he  made  the  profession  pure.'^ 

The  chief  duty  of  the  Historic  Poet,  or  Chronicler,  was  to 
register  the  genealogies  of  the  men  of  Erin,  and  to  recite  lays 
of  battle,  and  rhymed  stories  or  tales  of  Courtships,  Voyages, 
Cattle-spoils,  Sieges,  Slaughters,  and  other  moving  incidents 
by  field  and  flood.  The  Ollamh-poet,  or  Doctor  of  Poetry, 
was  required  by  law  to  spend  at  least  twelve  years  in  careful 
preparation  for  his  final  degree,  and  to  have  prepared  for 
public  recitation  seven  times  fifty  tales  or  stories  of  the  cha- 
racter already  indicated.  He  was  also  required  to  be  perfectly 
familiar  with  the  pedigrees  of  the  principal  families,  their 
topographical  distribution,  the  synchronisms  of  remarkable 
events  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  the  etymologies  of 
names  in  Erin.  He  was  besides  required  to  know  the  artistic 
rules  of  poetr}^,  and  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  seven  kinds 
of  verse  and  their  various  metres.  It  is  evident  that  these 
manifold  accomplishments  required  long  and  careful  study ; 
and  the  necessity  of  this  training  explains,  what  many  per- 
sons think  incredible,  the  wonderful  accuracy  of  our  ancient 
historical  and  genealogical  records,  which  the  evidence  of 
facts  now  proves  to  be  on  the  whole  undoubtedly  authentic 
and  trustworthy  documents. 

In  the  Book  of  Ballymote  there  is  a  long  list  of  great 
historians  and  poets,  who  flourished  in  ancient  Ireland  ;  many 
of  them,  however,  are  now  known  only  by  name.  All  our 
ancient  records  point  to  the  fact  that  the  Tuatha  de  Danaan, 
who  colonized  this  country  before  the  Milesians,  were  a  people 
of  considerable  civilization.  Their  royal  family  seems  to  have 
possessed  great  cidture.  Daghda,  the  king,  and  his  wife  the 
Great  Queen — Mor  Iligan — are  both  rei)resented  as  distin- 
guished poets,  who  flourished  more  than    1,000  years  before 

1  Senchus  Mor — Introduction.      The  ends  of  liia  fingers  were  probably 
employed  to  count  the  ByllableH  and  feet. 
*  See  Introduction  to  the  Senchus  Mor. 


THE    BARDS.  \f 

Christ.  Diancecht,  the  royal  physician,  was  also  a  distin- 
guished judge  and  poet ;  his  daughter,  the  princess  Etan, 
was  a  poetess;  and  her  son  was  no  less  remarkable  for  poetic 
talent.  About  the  same  period  flourished  the  poet  Ogma,  the 
traditional  inventor  of  the  Ogham  alphabet. 

The  Milesians  cultivated  poetry  with  equal  zeal.  We  have 
already  referred  to  the  poet- judge,  Amergin,  and  we  are  told 
that  a  poet  called  Cir,  and  a  harper  named  Ona,  were  amongst 
the  first  Milesian  colonists.  After  the  conquest  of  the  country 
by  the  brothers  Heber  and  Heremon,  it  was  resolved  to  cast 
lots  for  the  possession  of  these  distinguished  bards.  The  poet 
fell  to  Heremon  and  the  harper  to  Heber,  whence  it  came  to  pass 
thattheNorthernswere,in  after  times,  distinguished  for  poetry; 
but  the  gift  of  music  remained  with  their  Southern  brothers. 

There  is  still  extant^  a  curious  genealogical  poem  attri- 
buted to  Conor  of  the  Eed-Brows  (about  B.C.  6)  which 
O'Curry  seems  to  have  regarded  as  genuine.  But  the  most 
remarkable  remnant  of  pre-Christian  literature,  if,  indeed,  it 
can  be  regarded  as  such,  is  the  Dialogue  of  the  two  Sages, 
which  is  attributed  to  the  reign  of  Conor  Mac  Nessa,  king  of 
Ulster,  about  the  period  of  the  birth  of  Christ.  These  two 
sages  were  Ferceirtne,  the  royal  poet  of  Emania,  and  Neidhe, 
son  of  Adhna,  the  predecessor  of  Ferceirtne  in  the  Chair  of 
Poetry.  The  young  Neidhe,  after  completing  his  education 
at  home,  went  to  Scotland,  where  he  still  further  pursued  his 
studies.  Upon  learning  the  death  of  his  father  he  returned 
home,  and  happening  to  find  the  chief  poet's  chair  just  then 
empty  by  the  temporary  absence  of  the  Professor  Ferceirtne, 
who  had  succeeded  his  father,  he  put  on  the  poet's  Gown 
which  he  found  lying  on  the  chair,  and  sat  down  himself  in 
state  in  the  vacant  seat.  Thereupon  Ferceirtne  returned,  and 
finding  his  place  occupied,  asked  in  poetic  phrase  who  w»s 
the  distinguished  stranger  upon  whom  rested  the  splendour  of 
the  poet's  Gown.  Neidhe  answered  him  in  language  as 
poetic  as  his  own,  and  thereupon  began  the  famous  Dialogue, 
in  which  the  rival  poets  displayed  all  their  various  accom- 
plishments in  literature,  history,  and  druidism.  The  victory 
was  finally  gained  by  the  youthful  Neidhe,  who  proved  him- 
self fully  worthy  of  his  father's  Chair ;  but  with  modest  con- 
descension he  yielded  the  place  to  the  elder  Ferceirtne,  and 
consented  to  become  his  pupil  and  destined  successor.  The 
language  of  the  Dialogue  shows  its  great  antiquity  ;  but  the 
frequent  allusions,  although  only  bj^  way  of  prophecy  to 
Christian  usages,  throw  grave  doubt  on  its  authenticity. 

^  In  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford, 


10   STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 


Learning  is  said  to  have  greatly  flourished  in  Erin  during 
the  reign  of  Conor  Mac  Nessa.  He  was  certainly  a  bounti- 
ful benefactor  to  the  poets  ;  and,  when  their  numbers  and 
avarice  raised  loud  complaints  against  them  in  other  parts  of 
the  country,  he  invited  the  whole  tribe  to  his  own  kingdom  .>f 
Ulster,  where  he  entertained  them  hospitably  for  seven  years. 

Ollioll  Olum,  that  is  Ollioll  the  Sage,  was,  as  his  name 
implies,  a  learned  poet,  who  flourished  from  a.d.  186  to 
234.  He  is  said  to  have  written  several  poems  of  great  merit, 
three  of  which,  according  to  O'Curry,  are  still  preserved  in 
th.e  Book  of  Leinster.  It  is  said  also  that  Finn  Mac  Cum- 
haill  was  a  poet  as  well  as  a  warrior ;  and  several  poems  are 
attributed  to  him  in  our  ancient  books. 

He  was  at  least  the  father  of  Erin's  greatest  poet — from 
him  and  "  Graine  of  the  golrlen  hair  the  primal  poet  sprung." 
Finn  flourished  during  the  later  heroic  period,  which  corres- 
ponds to  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Ossian,  or 
more  properly  Oisin,  his  son,  is  the  Homer  of  Gaedhlic  song, 
whose  name  and  fame  have  floated  dowTi  to  us  on  the  stream 
of  time  from  those  far  distant  and  misty  ages.  Many  poems 
still  extant  are  attributed,  and  perhaps  justly,  to  the  grand  old 
warrior  Bard  of  Erin.  The  publications  of  the  Ossianic 
Society  have  done  much  to  make  the  history  of  the  heroic 
period  familiar  to  modern  readers.  More  than  one  of  our 
Irish  poets,^  too,  have,  with  the  quick  ear  of  genius,  caught 
up  the  faint  echo  of  Ossian's  song,  and  once  more  attuned  the 
harp  of  Erin  to  the  thrilling  melodies  of  her  heroic  youth. 
Once  more  the  F'enian  heroes  begin  to  tread  the  hills  of  fame, 
and  the  spirit  of  Ossian's  vanished  muse,  like  the  quickening 
breath  of  spring,  is  felt  over  all  the  land. 

Ossian  !  two  thousand  years  of  mist  aud  change 
Surround  thy  nauie — 

Thy  Fenian  heroes  now  no  longer  range 
The  hills  of  fame. 

The  very  name  of  Finn  and  GoU  sound  strai) go- 
Yet  thine  the  same, 

By  miscalled  lake  and  desecrated  grange, 
Remains,  and  shall  remain. 

The  Druid's  altar  and  the  Druid's  creed 

We  scarce  cati  trace  ; 
There  is  not  left  one  undisputed  deed 

Of  all  your  race, 
Save  your  majestic  sonj^,  which  hath  their  speod 

And  strenf:jth  and  grace, 
In  that  sole  sunj^  they  live  ami  love  and  bleed, 

It  bears  them  on  tlirou«;h  space.  — T.  D,  M  (Ice, 


Notably  Forgusoa  aud  Da  Vore,  with  Mauguu  aod  T.  D.  M'Geo. 


THE    BREHONS.  11 

II  [. — The  Brehons. 

They  formed  the  third  of  the  learned  and  specially  privi- 
leged Orders  in  ancient  Erin.  During  the  pre-Christian  period 
the  customary  laws,  by  which  the  Celtic  tribes  were  governed, 
were  formulated  in  brief  sententious  rhymes.  These  rhyth- 
mical maxims  of  law  were  at  first  transmitted  orally,  but 
afterwards  in  writing  from  each  generation  of  Poets  to  their 
successors.  For  up  to  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era 
the  Files  or  Poets  had  not  only  the  custody  of  the  laws,  but 
also  the  exclusive  right  of  expounding  them  to  the  people, 
and  pronouncing  judgments  both  civil  and  criminal.  Even 
when  the  King  himself  undertook  to  adjudicate,  the  File  was 
his  official  assessor,  and  the  royal  judge  was  guided  by  his 
advice  in  the  administration  of  justice.  The  Poets  were 
exceedingly  jealous  of  this  great  privilege,  and  in  order  to 
exclude  outsiders  from  any  share  in  the  administration  of  the 
law  they  preserved  the  archaic  legal  formula  with  the  greatest 
secrecy  and  tenacity. 

But  as  we  have  already  seen,  this  jealous  spirit  over- 
reached itself,  and  in  the  reign  of  Conor  Mac  Nessa  the  men 
of  Erin  resolved  to  deprive  the  Poets  of  this  exclusive 
privilege,  and  throw  open  the  office  of  Brehon  to  all  who 
duly  qualified  themselves  by  acquiring  the  learning  necessary 
to  enable  them  to  discharge  its  duties. 

It  was  after  the  office  was  thus  thrown  open  to  men  of 
talent  and  industry  that  some  of  those  ancient  judges  flour- 
ished in  Erin,  whose  names  and  decisions  are  spoken  of  with 
the  greatest  reverence  in  the  Senchus  Mor.  ''It  was,''  we 
are  there  told,  "  Sen,  son  of  Aigbe,  who  passed  the  first  judg- 
ment respecting  Distress  at  a  territorial  meeting  held  by  the 
three  noble  tribes  who  divided  this  island."  This  points  to 
legislation  on  the  subject  of  Distress  formulated  at  a  tribe- 
assembly  by  a  great  jurist,  and  then  solemnly  ratified  by 
popular  consent.  The  gloss  on  this  text  adds  that  Sen  was  of 
the  men  of  Connaught,  and  that  the  meeting  was  held  at 
Uisnech  in  Westmeath.  Another  distinguished  judge  was 
Sencha,  son  of  Ailell,  on  whose  face  three  permanent  blotches 
appeared  whenever  he  pronounced  a  false  judgment.  Connla 
Cainbrethach  (of  the  Fair  Judgments)  was  the  chief  legal 
doctor  of  Connaught ;  he  excelled  the  men  of  Erin  in  wisdom, 
for  he  was  "  filled  with  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost. "^  He 
it  was  who  said  that  it  was  God,  and  not  the  Druids,  who 
made  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  the  sun  and  the  moon  and 

*  Introduction  to  the  Senchus  Mor, 


12       STATE  OV  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

the  sea.  This  seems  to  imply  that  Connla  was  wise  and 
courageous  enough  to  reject  the  pliilosophy,and  probably  also 
the  worship  of  the  Druids.  The  Light  had  already  arisen  in 
the  east,  and  the  first  faint  dawnings  of  Christianity  were 
beginning  to  illumine  the  horizon  of  Erin.  Morann,  another 
great  judge,  who  flourished  during  the  first  century  of  our 
era.  wore  a  chain  around  his  neck,  and  if  ever  he  pronounced 
a  false  judgment  the  chain  tightened  around  his  neck ;  but  it 
began  to  expand  again,  when  he  came  to  speak  what  was  just 
and  true.  These  and  other  great  judges  of  the  same  period 
appear  to  be  undoubted  historical  characters,  whose  wisdom 
and  learning,  hallowed  by  the  reverence  of  ao^es,  appeared  to 
their  successors  to  be  in  some  way  divinely  inspired.  They 
were,  it  is  true,  at  the  time  without  the  light  of  Revelation 
to  guide  them,  but  as  the  gloss  says,  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  would  not  be  wanting  to  help  men,  who  were  striving 
according  to  their  conscience  to  be  just  and  good. 

Cormac  Mac  Art,  of  whose  writings  we  shall  presently 
speak,  did  much  to  encourage  the  systematic  siudy  of  law 
amongst  the  Brehons.  He  appears  to  have  been  the  first  who 
reduced  to  writing  the  traditional  legal  maxims  of  the 
Brehon's  court,  and  thus  may  be  regarded  as  the  author  ol' 
the  earliest  Code  of  Laws  in  pagan  Ireland.  This  great  worl' 
was  afterwards  purified  and  perfected  in  the  time  of  8t. Patrick, 
when  the  Seiidius  Alor,  as  it  is  now  known,  was  first  compiled. 

These  three  Orders  of  Druids,  Bards,  and  Brehons  were, 
as  we  have  seen,  close  corporations,  invested  with  many 
privileges,  and  communicating  a  professional  knowledge  for  the 
most  part  by  oral  instruction  to  their  disciples.  This  course 
of  instruction  was  very  long  and  elaborate,  sometimes  extend- 
ing to  a  period  of  tw'enty  years.  It  included,  as  in  more 
modern  times,  various  steps  or  degrees  of  learning,  the 
highest  of  which  always  was  that  of  Ollamh  or  Doctor, 
whether  in  law,  poetry,  or  divinity.  The  ordinary  course  was 
tw^elve  years,  and  each  yearns  work  seems  to  have  been  as 
carefully  fixed  as  in  a  modern  college  or  university.  A  great 
portion  of  the  work, after  the  purely  elementary  studies, con- 
sisted in  getting  off  by  rote  either  the  bardic  tales,  or  legal 
maxims  with  their  leading  cases,  or  historical  poems  and 
genealogies.  This  included  a  very  perfect  knowledge  of 
topography,  chronology,  and  family  histoiy.  Yersitication  of 
a  very  artificial  and  {'omplicated  etuuacter  was  also  a  ])ortiou 
of  the  programme.  Besides  the  students  had  undoubtedly, 
at  least  in  pre-Christian  times,  some  kind  of  'secret/  language 
known  only  to  the  initiatcnl.       It  would  s(»em  as  it'  (\irli  pro- 


THE    OGHAM  ALPHABET.  13 

fessvon  or  school  had  its  own  peculiar  Oghamic  alphabet,  the 
key  of  which  was  known  only  to  themselves;  but  in  this 
matter  we  have  no  certain  knowledge,  and  are  left  almost 
entirely  to  pure  conjecture.  Hereafter  we  shall  see  that 
the  legal  relations  between  the  professor  and  his  pupils  were 
definitely  ascertained,  and  are  laid  down  in  that  portion 
of  the  Brehon  Code  which  deals  with  the  Law  of  Social 
Connections. 

TV. — The  Ogham  Alphabet. 

We  shall  see  presently,  when  treating  of  the  literary  historj^ 
of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  that  the  use  of  letters,  and  most  probably 
of  Roman  letters,  was  quite  common  in  Erin  befor'e  the 
coming  of  St.  Patrick.  Besides  the  Roman  alphabet  there 
was,  however,  an  earlier  and  ruder  alphabet,  which  seems  to 
have  been  used  in  Erin  even  in  the  pre-historic  times.  This 
is  called  the  Ogham  alphabet  which  has  had  a  very  strange 
and  curious  history.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  all  knowledge 
of  the  Ogham  alphabet,  as  well  as  of  the  existence  of  any 
inscriptions  written  in  its  peculiar  characters,  had  for  a  con 
siderable  period  completely  disappeared  from  the  minds  of 
Irish  scholars.  Yet  the  Ogham  score  was  all  the  time 
contained  in  the  I^oo^  of  Bally  mo  te}di,\idi  the  key  to  its 
interpretation  also.  Inscribed  stones  too  were  thrown  about 
unnoticed  in  various  parts  of  the  country  down  to  the  year 
1820,  when  Mr.  John  Windele  discovered  the  first  inscrip- 
tion in  the  co.  Cork. 

Since  that  time  no  less  than  200  inscribed  stones  have 
been  discovered  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  but  especially 
in  tho  South  and  West ;   and  Irish  scholars  have  directed 
their  attention  to  decipher  and  explain  these  mysterious  and 
time-worn  lines.      Twenty-two  stones  inscribed  with  similar 
characters  have  been  found  in  Wales  and  Devonshire,  that  is 
in  the  South  and  West  of  England,  and  ten   in  Scotland. 
Almost  all  these  inscriptions  have  been  examined  by  the  late 
Mr.  Brash  of  Cork,  a  most  painstaking  and  accurate  investi- 
gator, who  has  published  the  result  of  his  labours  in  a  very 
interesting  work  on  the   subject.^     His  conclusions  may  be 
briefly  summed  up  as  follows  ^: — 

The  inscriptions  have  boon  invariably  found  on  pillar 
stones  and  flaus,  and  are  nearly  all  of  a  sepulchral  character. 
The  letterrng  is  in  a  style  peculiar  to  the  Gaedhlic  race,  and 
represents  a  very  ancient  dialect  of  the  Gaedhlic  language. 
The  inscribed  stones  are  found  only  in  those  districts,  where 

'  And    also  in  the  Bjok  of  Leinster.      ^  "  Ogham  Inscribed  Mcnuments.'* 

sPa^e  373. 


14      STATE  OF  LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

the  Gaedhils  are  known  to  have  established  themselves  ;  and 
the  mode  of  forming  the  characters  and  formulating  the 
inscriptions  is  the  same  in  Ireland,  in  Wales,  and  in  Scotland. 
He  asserts,  moreover,  that  no  Ogliani  monument  hitherto 
discovered  bears  any  trace  of  any  Christian  formula,  or  any 
symbol  of  Christian  hope;^  that  any  such  symbols  when  found 
upon  an  Ogham  stones,  are  manifestl}'  of  later  date  than  the 
original  iascription ;  and  that  the  allusions  in  our  ancient 
MSS  to  the  Ogham  mode  of  writing  have  reference  only  to 
pre-Christian  times.  He  thinks  too  that  the  Ogham  mode  of 
writing  'was  not  invented  in  Ireland,  but  carried  to  this 
country  by  a  colony  that  landed  on  our  south-western  shores, 
and  moved  gradually  from  West  to  East,  and  thence  across 
the  Channel  to  Wales.  He  adds  that  in  all  probability  this 
colony  came  originally  from  the  East,  then  settled  for  some 
time  in  Egypt,  and  migrated  thence  to  Spain — conclusions 
that  are  all  in  conformity  with  the  common  traditional  account 
of  the  advent  of  the  Milesian  race  to  this  country,  as  con- 
tained in  our  own  ancient  Books. 

The  invention    of   the    Ogham  is  attributed   in  bardic 
history  to  Ogma,  son  of  Elathan,  a  prince  of  the  Tuatha  de 
Danaans,  that  people  whom  all  our  national  traditions  repre- 
sent as  a  more  cultured  race  than  any  of  the  other  colonies 
that  took  possession  of  this  island  in  primitive  times.     The 
most  singular  fact  connected  with  the  Ogham  inscriptions  is 
their  geographical  distribution.      They  are  in  Ireland  almost 
all  confined  to  the  South  and  West,  and  to  those  parts  of 
Wales  and  England  that  could  be  most  easily  reached  from 
the  South  of  Ireland.      The  few  inscriptions  found  elsewhere 
in  Ireland  are  only  found  in  those  places,  to  which  we  have 
reason  to  know  that  families  from  the  South- West  migrated 
in  early  times.      This  certainly  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
an   immigrant   colony   landed    somewhere   in    Kerry ;    and 
gradually  diffusing  themselves  through  the  country  carried 
this  archaic  form  of  writing  along  with  them;  but  either  they 
never  succeeded  in  occupying  the  whole  country,  or  before 
the  occupation  of  the  remoter  parts  they  gradually  gave  up 
the  Ogham,  and  adopted  a  form  of  writing  more  suitable  for 
general  use,  but  not  so  well  adapted  for  brief  permanent  in- 
scriptions in  stone.     Mr.  Brash  has  declared  that  no  Oghams 
of  a  Christian  character  have  yet  been  discovered,  nor  is  there 
any  coeval  reference  to  any  Christian  symbols  on  the  Ogham 
pillar-stones,  a  fact  wliich,  if  true,  clearly  proves  that  all  the 
Oghams  date  from  Pagan   times.     In  most  caaos  they  are 
sepulchral  inscriptions  of  the  briefest  character,  merely  giving 

*The  Scottish  Ogham  Btouos,  or  at  least  somo  of  thorn,  oertaiuly  hour 
ChriHtian  aymbols.     -Soo  AntlorMon's  l^ectures^  'Jml  8orio«,  Leoturo  V. 


THE    OGHAM    ALPHABET.  15 

the  name  of  tlie  deceased  and  the  name  of  his  father  with,  in 
u  few  instances,  one  or  two  short  laudatory  epithets. 

The  letters  of  the  Ogham  alphabet  are  divided  into  four 
groups  of  five  letters  each,  twenty  in  all.  Taking  the 
angular  edge  of  the  upright  pillar  to  be  represented  by  a 
straight  line  the  following^  is  the  score  : — 


h  d  t    c      cjr 


^^^^ '  nimiiiiiiiH  "'^^^'^ 


b  1  f     s     n 

Besides  these  we    find  a  few  dipthongal  symbols,    but 
apparently  of  later  date  :  — 


^e-9" 


Jitil 


Id.       ^ 

ea        01  ui        1QX         ae 

The  line  on  which  the  letters  are  written  is  nearly  always  the 
rectangular  line  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  upright  flag, 
facing  the  spectator.  The  inscription  begins  below  at  the 
left  hand  corner,  and  is  read  upwards,  but  sometimes  it  is 
continued  downwards  on  the  right  hand  angular  line  of  the 
pillar  on  the  same  face.  The  vowels  are  generally  not  much 
larger  than  points  on  the  very  angle  of  the  stone,  or  very  short 
lines  cutting  the  angular  line  ;  the  consonants  are  much  longer 
scores  drawn  to  the  left  or  to  the  right  of  the  angular  line  as 
the  word  requires ;  the  last  five  scores  are  longer  lines  across 
the  angular  line  and  oblique  to  it.^ 

From  various  references  in  our  ancient  MSS.  it  appears 
that  the  Oghams  were  written  not  merely  on  stones,  but  also 
on  rods  and  tablets  of  wood,  which  could  be  easily  tied  up  in 
bundles  and  carried  from  place  to  place.  A  letter  written  to 
a  friend  might  thus  consist  of  a  bundle  of  rods,  duly  marked 
and  numbered.  The  bark  of  trees,  being  easily  notched,  was 
probably  used  for  the  same  purpose,  and  thus  even  before  the 
introduction  of  parchment  and  Roman  letters,  there  would  be 
no  want  of  writing  materials.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
before  the  introduction  of  Roman  letters  there  was  any  other 
kind  of  alphabet  in  use  except  the  Ogham.  But  as  the 
Druids  of  Gaul,  in  the  time  of  Caesar,  were  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  the  Greek  letters,  w^hy  should  not  the  '  more 
learned '  Druids  of  Britain  and  Ireland  be  familiar  with  the 
Greek  or  Roman  alphabet?  It  will  be  seen  in  the  next 
chapter  that  there  is  every  reason  to  conclude  that  at  least 
after  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain,  they  were  quite 
familiar  with  Roman  letters  and  Roman  writing. 

*  Dr.  Graves  has  proved  that  this  score  or  key  of  the  Ogham  is  correct 
by  a  priori  reasoning,  showing  what  ought  to  be  the  value  of  the  symbols 
ftom  the  frequency  of  the  recurrence  of  the  letters  which  they  represent  in 
old  Irish. 


CHAPTER    II. 
IRISH  SCHOLARS  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

**  Crom  Cruach  and  his  sub-gods  twelve," 
Said  Cormac,  ''  are  but  carven  treene  ; 
The  axe  that  made  them,  haft  and  helve, 
Had  worthier  of  our  worship  been." 

— Ferguson, 

We  are  frequently  told  tliat  before  tlie  time  of  St.  Patrick 
the  Irish  were  an  utterly  barbarous  people  like  the  North 
American  Indians.  They  had  of  course  an  unwritten 
language,  but  neither  scholars,  learning,  nor  even  letters. 
Vague  statements  of  certain  Roman  writers  are  cited  in  proof 
of  these  assertions — we  shall  appeal  to  the  evidence  of  facts. 
The  Roman  writers  of  that  period  knew  far  less  of  ancient 
Ireland  than  even  we  do  at  present.  It  was  beyond  the 
sphere  of  their  knowledge,  as  well  as  of  their  empire.  But 
as  a  matter  of  fact  the  statements  of  Roman  historians,  so 
far  as  they  go,  tend  to  prove  that  a  considerable  amount  of 
civilization  existed  in  Erin  during  the  time  of  the  Roman 
occupation  of  Britain  ;  and  in  proof  of  this  statement  it  i? 
quite  enough  to  examine  the  history  of  Cormac  Mac  Art. 

I. — Cormac  Mac  Art. 

The  reign  of  Cormac  Mac  Art  furnishes,  perhaps,  the 
most  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  pre-Christian 
Ireland.  He  may  be  regarded  with  justice  as  the  greatest 
king  that  ever  reigned  in  ancient  Erin.  He  was,  as  our 
poets  tell  us,  a  sage,  a  judge,  and  a  scholar,  as  well  as  a  great 
prince  and  a  skilful  warrior.  His  reign  furnished,  indeed, 
many  rich  themes  for  the  romantic  poets  and  story-tellers  of 
subsequent  ages,  in  which  they  greatly  indulged  their  per- 
fervid  Celtic  imagination.  But  the  leading  facts  of  his  reign 
are  all  within  the  limits  of  authentic  history,  and  are  provable 
by  most  satisfactory  evidence. 

Cormac  was  the  son  of  Art  the  Solitary,  or  the  Melancholy, 
as  he  is  sometimes  called,  and  was  grandson  of  the  celebrated 
Conn  the  Hundred-Fighter.  Hence  ho  is  sometimes  culled 
Cormac  O'Cuinn,  as  well  as  Cormac  Mac  Art.  His  father 
was  slain  about  the  year   a.d.   195,   in  the  great  buttle  ol 


CORMAC  MAC  ART.  17 

Magh  Mucruimhe  wKere,  as  at  the  battle  of  Aughrim  in  the 
same  county,  a  kingdom  was  lost  and  won.  Magh 
Mucruimhe  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  great  limestone 
plain  extending  from  Athenry  towards  Oranmore  ;  and  the 
spot  where  King  Art  was  killed  has  been  called  Tulach.  Art 
even  down  to  our  own  times.  It  was  between  Oranmore  and 
Kilcornan,  and  close  to  the  townland  of  Moyvaela.^  The 
victor  in  this  great  battle  was  Lughaidh,  surnamed  Mac  Con, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  a  refugee  in  Britain,  and  now 
returned  with  the  king  of  that  country  and  a  host  of  foreigners 
to  wrest  the  kingdom  from  Art,  who  was  his  maternal  uncle. 
The  flower  of  the  chivalry  of  Munster  perished  also  on  that 
fatal  field  ;  for  the  seven  sons  of  Ollioll  Olura  who  had 
come  to  assist  King  Art,  their  mother's  brother,  were  slain 
to  a  man  on  the  field  or  in  the  rout  that  followed. 

Fortunately  for  young  Cormac,  the  king's  son,  he  was 
just  thtn  at  fosterage  in  Connaught,  probably  with  Nia  Mor, 
who  was  his  cousin,  and  one  of  the  sub-kings  of  the  province 
at  that  time.  So  Mac  Con,  the  usurper,  found  no  obstacle  to 
prevent  him  assuming  the  sovereignty  of  Tara ;  and  we  are 
told  that  he  reigned  some  30  years,  from  a.d.  196  to  226. 

Meantime  young  Cormac  was  carefully  trained  in  all 
martial  exercises,  as  well  as  in  all  the  learning  befitting  a 
king,  until  he  came  to  man's  estate.  Then  he  came  to  Tara 
in  disguise,  and  according  to  one  account,  was  employed  in 
herding  the  sheep  of  a  poor  widow,  who  lived  close  to  Tara, 
when  some  of  the  sheep  were  seized  for  trespassing  on  the 
queen's  private  green  or  lawn.  When  this  case  of  trespass 
was  brought  before  the  king  in  his  court  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Hill  of  Tara,  ho  adjudged  that  the  sheep  should 
be  forfeited  for  the  trespass.  "  JNTo,"  said  Cormac,  who  was 
present,  *'  the  sheep  have  only  eaten  of  the  fleece  of  the 
land,  and  in  justice  only  their  own  fleece  should  be  forfeited 
for  that  trespass."  The  bystanders  murmured  their  approval, 
and  even  Mac  Con  himself  cried  out — "  It  is  the  judgment  of 
a  king" — for  kings  were  supposed  to  possess  a  kind  of 
inspiration  in  giving  their  decisions.  Then  immediately 
recognising  Cormac,  whom  he  knew  to  be  in  the  country,  he 
tried  to  seize  him  on  the  spot.  But  Cormac  leaped  the 
mound  of  the  Claenfert,  and  not  only  succeeded  vn  effecting 
his  escape,  but  also  in  raising  such  a  body  of  his  own  and  his 
father's  friends,  that  he  was  able  to  drive  the  usurper  from 
Tara.  Mac  Con  fled  to  his  own  relatives  in  the  South  of 
Ireland,  where  he  was  shortly  afterwards  killed,  at  a  place 
called  Gort-an-Oir,  near  Cahir,  in  the  Co.  Tipperary. 

^  So  vivid  is  the  local  tr^ition  that  a  poor  woman  came  and  showed  me 
the  very  spot  on  which  the  King  was  slain  beside  the  weir  at  which  he  • 
stopped  his  horse  to  snatch  a  driuk. 

B 


18  nnsH  8(1101, Alls  nKFOnE  st.  Patrick. 

So  Corinac,  disclj3lincd  in   iidvcrsit}^  came  to  the  tliroiie 
in   the     year   a.d.   227,    according   lo   tbe   Four    Masters.^ 
During  the  earlier  years  of  his  rei^n  lie  was  engaged  in 
continual  wars  with   the  provincial  kings,  who   liad   yet  to 
learn  that  Cormac  was  their  master  in  fact  as  well  as  of 
right.     We  are  told  that  lie  fought  no  less  than  fifty  battles 
against  these  turbulent  kings  to  vindicate  his  own  position  as 
High  King  of  Eriu.     The  accurate  Tighernach  furnishes  us 
with    brief  noi/ces    of    those   various    battles    against    the 
refractory  sub-kings.     In  one  year  he  fought  three  battles 
against  the   Ultonians.     In    another  he   fought   four  times 
against   the    Momonians.      The   Leinster   King,    Dunlaing, 
taking  advantage  of  Corraac's  absence  from  Tara,  attacked 
the  royal   rath  itself,  and  wantonly  slaughtered  thirty  noble 
maidens  with  their  attendants — thirty  for  each — who  lived 
in  a  separate  building  on   the  north-western   slope   of  Tara. 
Cormac  promptly  aA^enged  this  awful  massacre  b}^  invading 
,]:jeinster,    and   putting  to   death   twelve   sub-kings   of  that 
province  ;  and  besides  he  increased  and  enforced  the  payment 
of   the    ancient  Borumean   or   cow-tribute   imposed    by   his 
pre Jecessors  on  the  same  province      The  Ultonians,  however, 
were   his   most   inveterate   foes ;  and   twice,  it  seems,  they 
succeeded  in  ""  deposing  ^^  him,  that  is,  in  driving  him  for 
some  months  from  Tara.     At   length,    however,    the   king 
gained  a  complete  victory  over  his  northern  rivals,  with  the 
aid  of  Tadhg,  a  grandson  of  Ollioll  Oluin,  and  his  Munster 
auxiliaries.     Cormac  rewarded  the  Munster  hero  bj^  giving 
him,  as  he  had  promised,  as  ranch  of  the  territory  of  Meath 
as  Tadhg  could  drive  round  in  his  chariot  from  the  close  of 
the  battle  till  sunset.     The  veteran  hero,  spent  with  loss  of 
blood  and  battle-toil,  still  contrived  to  drive  his  chariot  round 
a  district  extending  from  Duleek  to  the  Liffey,  which   was 
afterwards  called  Cianachta — the  land  of  Cian's  descendants. 
Tadhg's  father  was  Cian,  son   of  Ollioll  Glum,  hence  the 
name. 

Cormac,  now  undisputed  master  of  his  kingdom,  took 
measures  to  preserve  the  })ublic  peace  and  secure  the  pro- 
sperity of  his  dominions.  He  was  the  first,  and  we  may  i?ay 
olso,  the  last  king  of  Erin,  who  maintained  a  standing  ai'iny 
to  check  the  arrogance  of  his  turbulent  sub-kings.  This 
Fenian  militia  was,  it  is  said,  modelled  after  the  llomaii 
V-^gions,  which  Cormac  might  have  feoen,  or  heard  of  at  that 
time  in  Britain.     They    were  quartered   on    the  people   in 

^  It  was  AT*.  218  according-  to  Tighenmoh. 


CORMAC  MAC  ART.  19 

winter ;  but  in  summer  they  lived  on  the  produce  of  the 
chase,  and  gave  all  their  leisure  to  martial  exercises.  By 
this  means  they  became  most  accomplished  in  all  feats  of 
arms,  so  that  the  fame  of  these  Fenian  heroes  has  come 
down  to  our  own  time  in  the  living  traditions  of  the  people. 
The  celebrated  Finn  Mac  Cumhail  was  their  general — a  poet 
too,  it  was  said,  he  vras,  and  a  scholar,  as  well  as  a  renowned 
warrior.  Ossian,  the  hero-poet,  was  his  son;  and  the  brave 
and  gentle  Oscar,  who  fell  in  the  fatal  tield  of  Gabhra,  was 
his  grandson. 

We  are  also  told  that  Cormac  kept  a  fleet  on  the  sea  for 
three  years,  and  doubtless  swept  away  the  pirate  ships  of 
Britain  and  the  islands,  that  used  to  make  descents  from  time 
to  time  on  the  eastern  coasts  of  Ireland. 

But  it  is  with  the  literary  history  of  King  Cormac*s  reign 
we  are  most  concerned,  and  to  this  we  invite  the  special 
attention  of  the  reader.  His  first  work  was  to  re-establish 
the  ancient  Feis  of  Tara. 

Tara  even  then  had  been  the  residence  of  the  High  Kings 
of  Erin  from  immemorial  ages.  Slainge,  the  first  king  of 
the  Firbolgs,  was  its  reputed  founder;  and  all  the  kings  of 
that  colony,  as  well  as  of  the  Tuatha  De  Danaan  and 
Milesian  race,  had  usually  dwelt  on  the  same  royal  hill. 
Ollamh  Fodhla,  one  of  the  most  renowned  kings  in  tbe  bardic 
history,  "  reigned  forty  years  and  died  in  his  own  house  at 
Tara."  It  is  said  that  this  king  was  the  first  who  convened 
the  great  Feis  of  Tara  to  legislate  in  solemn  assembly  for  all 
the  tribes  of  Erin.  O'Flaherty  adds  that  the  same  ancient 
monarch  founded  a  *'  Mur  Ollamhan,"  or  college  of  learned 
doctors  at  Tara  ;  but  Petrie  could  find  no  authority  for  this 
statement  except  the  term  "  Mur  OUamhan,''  which  might, 
however,  simply  mean  the  7n?ir,  or  fortified  house  of  Ollamh 
Fodhla  himself. 

During  the  shadowy  period  that  follows  down  to  the 
Christian  era,  we  hear  little  of  Tara  even  in  bardic  history. 
An  undoubtedly  historical  king,  Tuathal  Teach tmar,  about 
the  year  85  of  the  Christian  era,  took  a  portion  of  each  of  the 
tour  provinces  to  make  a  mensal  demesne  for  the  High  King 
of  Tara.  He  convened  the  states  of  the  kingdom,  too, 
on  the  royal  hill  in  solemn  assembly,  and  induced  the 
assembled  kings  and  chiefs  to  swear  by  all  the  elements 
that  they  would  always  yield  obedience  to  the  princes  of  his 
own  race. 

The  Feis  of  Tara,  then,  was  in  existence  before  the  time 
of  Cormac  ;  but  it  was  seldom  convened,  and  had  almost 


20  IRISH  SCHOf.ARS  MEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

fallen  into  disuse.  Cormac  it  was,  who  made  arrangements 
for  tlie  regular  meetings  of  that  great  parliament  of  the 
nation,  and  provided  adequate  accommodation  for  the 
assembled  notables.  Here  we  are  on  firm  historic  ground 
and  can  enter  into  more  minute  details  with  securit3\ 

The  object  of  this  Feis  of  Tara  was  mainly  three-fold.^ 
First,  to  enact  and  promulgate  what  was  afterwards  called 
the  cai?i-\i\\\,  which  was  obligatory  in  all  the  territories  and 
tribes  of  the  kingdoin,  as  distinguished  from  the  tirradJius^ 
or  local  law.  Secondly,  to  test  and  sanction  the  Annals  of 
Erin.  For  this  purpose  each  of  the  local  Seanachies  or 
historians  brought  in  a  record  of  the  notable  events  that 
took  place  in  his  own  territory.  These  were  publicly  read 
for  the  assembl}^,  and  when  duly  authenticated  were  entered 
on  the  great  record  of  the  King  of  Tara,  called  afterwards 
the  "  Saltair  of  Tara."  Thirdly,  to  register  in  the  same 
great  national  record  the  genealogies  of  the  ruling  families, 
to  assess  the  taxes,  and  settle  all  cases  of  disputed  succession 
among  the  tribes  of  the  kingdom.  Too  often  this  was  done 
\y^  the  strong  hand ;  but  it  was  Cor  mac's  idea  to  tix  the 
succession,  as  far  as  possible,  according  to  definite  principles 
amongst  the  ruling  families.  The  absence  of  a  strong 
central  government  to  enforce  this  most  wise  provision 
was  one  main  cause  of  the  subsequent  distracted  state  of  the 
kingdom. 

This  great  national  assembly,  convened  for  these  purposes, 
met  once  every  three  years.  The  session  continued  for  a 
week,  beginning  the  third  dav  before,  and  ending  the  third 
day  after  November  day.  Whf^n  so  many  turbulent  chieftains, 
oftentimes  at  feud  amongst  themselves,  met  together,  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  the  peace  of  Tara  by  very  stringent  regu- 
lations, enforced  under  the  mo->t  rigorous  penalties.  It  is  to 
Cormac's  prudent  forethought  we  owe  these  regulations, 
which  were  afterwards  inviolably  observed  as  the  law  of 
Tara.  Every  provincial  king  and  every  sub-king  had  his 
own  fixed  place  allotted  to  him  near  the  High  King  by  the 
marshals  of  Tara;  and  every  chief  was  bound  to  take  his 
seat  under  the  place  where  his  shield  was  hung  upon  the 
wall.  Brawling  was  strictly  forbidden,  and  to  wound  another 
was  a  capital  crime. 

In  order  to  provide  suitable  accommodation  for  this  great 
assembly,  Cormac  erected  the    Teach  Miodhcliuarta^  which 

'  *  See  O'Curry's  Lectures,  vol.  ii.,pago  14,  and  Kerttin^',  AVi'/t;  of  Tuuthal 
Teachtmar. 


CORMAC  MAC  ART..  21 

was  capable  of  accommodating  1,000  persons,  and  was  at 
once  a  parliament  house,  banquet  hall,  and  hotel.  We  have 
two  accounts  of  this  great  building,  as  well  as  of  the  other 
monuments  at  Tara,  written  about  nine  hundred  years  ago — 
one  in  poetry,  the  other  in  prose.  The  statements  made  by 
these  ancient  writers  have  been  verified  in  every  essential 
point  by  the  measurements  of  the  o£B.cers  of  the  Ordnance 
Survey,  who  were  enabled  from  these  documents  to  fix  the 
position  and  identity  of  all  those  ancient  monuments  at 
Tara. 

''  The  Teach  Miodhchuarta^^  says  the  old  prose  writer 
in  the  DiiniseancJmSy  '*  is  to  the  north-west  of  the  eastern 
mound.  The  ruins  of  this  house — it  was  even  then  in  ruins 
— are  situate  thus  :  the  lower  part  to  the  north;  and  the 
higher  part  to  the  south  ;  and  walls  are  raised  about  it  to  the 
east  and  to  the  west.  The  northern  side  of  it  is  enclosed  and 
small ;  the  lie  of  it  is  north  and  south.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
long  house,  with  twelve  doors  upon  it,  or  fourteen,  seven  to 
the  west  and  seven  to  the  east.  This  was  the  great  house  of 
a  thousand  soldiers.^'^  We  ourselves  have  lunched  on  the 
grass-green  floor  of  this  once  famous  hall  ;  and  we  can  of  our 
own  knowledge  testify  to  the  accuracy  of  this  ancient  writer. 
The  openings  for  the  doors  can  still  be  traced  in  the  enclosing 
mound;  and  curiously  enough,  one  is  so  nearly  obliterated 
that  it  is  difiicult  still  to  say  whether  there  were  six  or  seven 
openings  on  each  side.  The  building  was  seven  hundred  and 
sixty  feet  long,  and  originally  nearly  ninety  feet  wide, 
according  to  Petrie's  measurements.  There  was  a  double 
row  of  benches  on  each  side,  running  the  entire  length  of  the 
hall.  In  the  centre  there  was  a  number  of  fires  in  a  line 
between  the  benches,  and  over  the  fires  was  fixed  a  row  of 
spits  depending  from  the  roof,  at  which  a  very  large  number 
of  joints  might  be  roasted.  There  is  in  the  Book  of  Leinster 
a  ground-plan  of  the  building,  and  tho  rude  figure  of  a  cook 
in  the  centre  turning  the  spit  with  his  mouth  open,  and  a 
ladle  in  his  hand  to  baste  the  joint.  The  king  of  Erin  took 
\iis  place  at  the  head  of  the  hall  on  the  south  surrounded  by 
the  provincial  kings.  The  nobles  and  officers  were  arranged 
on  either  side  according  to  their  dignity  down  to  the  lowest, 
or  northern  end  of  the  haU,  which  was  crowded  with 
butlers,  scullions^  and  retainers.  They  slept  at  night  on  the 
couches,  but  not  unfrequently  under  them. 

The  appearance  of  Cormac  at  the  head  of  this  great  hall 

*  See  Petrie's  Antiquities  of  Tara  Hill,  p.  129. 


22  IRISH  SCHOLARS  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

is  thus  described  in  an  extract  copied  into  the  Book  of  Bally- 
mote  from  the  older  and  now  lost  Book  of  NavcDi" : — 

**  Beautiful  was  the  appearance  of  Cormac  in  that  assembly. 
Flowing  and  slightly  curling  was  his  golden  hair.  A  red  buckler 
with  stars  and  animals  of  gold,  and  fastenings  of  silver  upon  him. 
A  crimson  cloak  in  wide  descending  folds  around  him,  fastened  at  his 
neck  with  precious  stones.  A  neck  torque  of  gold  around  his  neck. 
A  white  shirt  with  a  full  collar,  and  intertwined  with  red  gold  thread, 
upon  him.  A  girdle  of  gold  inlaid  with  precious  stones  was  around 
him.  Two  wonderful  shoes  of  gold,  with  golden  loops,  upon  his  feet. 
Two  spears  with  golden  sockets  in  his  hands,  with  many  rivets  of  red 
bronze.  And  he  was  himself  besides  symmetrical  and  beautiful  of 
form,  without  blemish  or  reproach." 

This  might  be  deemed  a  purely  imaginary  description,  if 
the  collection  of  antiquities  in  the  E-oyal  Irish  Academy  did 
not  prove  beyond  doubt  that  golden  ornaments  similar  to 
those  referred  to  in  this  passage  were  of  frequent  use  in 
Ireland.  In  the  year  1810  two  neck  torques  of  purest  gold, 
the  yame  as  those  described  above,  were  found  on  the  Hill  of 
Tara  itself,  and  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Academy's  col- 
lection. 

"Alas,"  says  an  old  writer,  "  Tara  to-day  is  desolate;  it  is 
a  green  grassy  land;  but  it  was  once  a  noble  hill  to  view,  the 
mansion  of  warlike  heroes,  in  the  days  of  Cormac  O'Cuinn — 
when  Cormac  was  in  his  glory." 

Everything  at  Tara,  even  its  present  desolation,  is  full  of 
interest,  and  reminds  us  of  the  days  "when  Cormac  was  in 
his  glory."  His  house  is  there  within  the  circle  of  the  great 
Rath  na  Riogh.  The  mound  where  he  kept  his  hostages  may 
still  be  seen  beside  his  Rath.  The  stream  issuing  from  the 
well  Nearnhnach,  on  which  he  built  the  first  mill  in  Ireland 
for  his  handmaiden,  Ciarnaid,  to  spare  her  the  labour  of 
grinding  with  the  quern,  still  flows  down  the  eastern  slope  of 
Tara  Hill,  and  still,  says  Petrie,  turns  a  mill.  Even  the  well 
on  the  western  slope,  beside  which  Cormac's  cucJitair^  or 
kitchen,  was  built,  has  been  discovered.  The  north-western 
claenfert,  or  declivity,  where  he  corrected  the  false  judgment 
of  King  Mac  Con  about  the  trespass  of  the  widow's  sheep 
may  still  be  traced.  The  Rath  of  his  step-mother,  Maeve,  can 
be  seen  not  far  Iroan  Tara;  and  to  the  west  of  the  Teach 
Miodhchuarta  may  be  noticed  Rath  Graine,  the  sunny  palace 
of  his  daughter,  the  faithless  spouse  of  Finn  Mac  Cunihail. 

O'Flaherty  tells  us  on  the  authority  of  an  old  noeni  fouml 

^  i.e.    The.  Book  of  the  Ua  ClijtgiLhail.  kept  probably  lu  aixuient  Uiucd  at 

Iftidai'b. 


CO^MAC  MAC  ART.  2b 

in  the  Book  of  Shane  Mor  0^ Dugan,  wlio  flourislied  about 
A.D.  1390,  that  Cormac  founded  three  schools  at  Tara — one  for 
teaching  the  art  of  war,  the  second  for  the  study  of  history, 
and  the  third  was  a  school  of  jurisprudence.  It  was,  doubt- 
less, the  first  regular  college  founded  in  ancient  Erin,  anJ 
like  the  school  of  Charlemagne,  was  within  the  royal  palace. 
The  fact  is  extremely  probable,  especially  as  Cormac  himself 
was  an  accomplished  scholar  in  all  these  sciences.  This  brings 
us  to  the  literary  works  attributed  to  Cormac  Mac  Art  by 
all  our  ancient  Irish  scholars. 

The  first  of  these  is  a  treatise  still  extant  in  manuscript 
entitled  Teagusc  na  Rioghy  or  Institiitio  Principiim.  It  is 
ascribed  to  King  Cormac  in  the  Book  of  Leinster  written 
before  the  Anglo-Norman  Invasion  of  Ireland.  It  takes  the 
form  of  a  dialogue  between  Cormac  and  his  son  and  successor, 
Cairbre  Lifeachair ;  "and,'^  says  the  quaint  old  Mac  Geogh- 
egan,  *'  this  book  contains  as  goodly  precepts  and  moral 
documents  as  Cato  or  Aristotle  did  ever  write."  The 
language  is  of  the  most  archaic  type  ;  some  extracts  have  been 
translated  and  published  in  the  Dublin  Penny  Journal. 

A  still  more  celebrated  work,  now  unfortunately  lost,  the 
Saltair  of  Tara^  has  been  universally  attributed  to  Cormac 
by  Irish  scholars.  Perhaps  we  should  rather  say  it  was  com- 
piled under  his  direction.  "  It  contained/'  says  an  ancient 
writer  in  the  Book  of  Bally  mote  ^  "  the  synchronisms  and 
genealogies,  as  well  as  the  succession  of  the  [Irish]  kings  and 
monarchs,  their  battles,  their  contests,  and  their  antiquities 
from  the  world's  beginning  down  to  the  time  it  was  written. 
And  this  is  the  Saltair  of  Tara,  wJiicJt  is  the  origin  and  foun- 
tain of  the  histories  of  Erin  from  that  period  down  to  the 
present  time."  ''  This,"  adds  the  writer  in  the  Book  of  Bally- 
mote^  ''is  taken  from  the  Book  of  Ua  ChongbhaiP' — that  is 
the  Book  of  Navan-a  still  more  ancient  but  now  lost  work. 
Not  only  do  the  writer  in  the  ancient  Book  of  Navan,  and 
the  copyist  in  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  expressly  attribute  this 
work  to  Cormac,  but  a  still  more  ancient  authority,  the  poet 
Cuan  O'Lochain,  who  died  in  a.d.  1024,  has  this  stanza  in  his 
poem  on  Tara : — 

*'  He  [Cormac]  compiled  the  Saltair  of  Tara; 
In  that  Saltair  is  contained 
The  best  summary  of  history,- 
It  is  the  Saltair  which  assigns 
Seven  chief  kings  to  Erin  of  harbours,"  (fee,  &c. 

And  it  is,   indeed,  self-evident  to  the  careful  student  of 
our   annals   that   there  must  have  been  some  one   ancient 


24  IRISH  SCHOLARS  BKl-Ollt:  ST.  rATHlCK. 

"origin  and  fountain"  from  which  the  subsequent  historians 
of  Erin  have  derived  their  information — which  existing 
monuments  prove  to  be  quite  accurate — concerning  the  reign 
of  Cormac  and  his  more  immediate  predecessors  in  Ireland. 
The  man  who  restored  the  Feis  of  Tara,  and  who,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  was  also  a  celebrated  judge  and  lawyer,  was 
( xactly  such  a  person  of  forethought  and  culture  as  would 
gather  together  the  poets  and  historians  of  his  kingdom  to 
execute  under  his  own  immediate  direction  this  great  work 
for  the  benefit  of  posterity.  Keating  tells  us  that  it  was 
called  the  Saltair  of  Tcu^a  because  the  chief  Ollave  of  Tara 
had  it  in  his  official  custody  ;  and  as  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan's 
Chronicle  was  called  the  Saltair  of  CasJiel,  and  the  Biblical 
Poem  of  Aen^usthe  Culdee  was  called  the  Saltair  na  Rami, 
so  this  great  compilation  w^as  named  the  Saltair  of  Tara. 
This,  as  O'Curr}^  remarks,  disposes  of  Petrie's  objection  that 
its  name  w^ould  rather  indicate  the  Christian  origin  of  the 
book.  The  answer  is  simple — Cormac  never  called  the  book 
by  this  name,  as  surelv  the  compilers  of  the  great  works 
kno^vn  as  the  Book  of  Ballymote  or  the  Book  of  Leinster 
never  called  those  famous  compilations  by  their  present  names. 
Cormac  was  also  a  distinguished  jurist — of  that  we  have 
conclusive  evidence  in  the  Book  of  Aicill,  which  has  been 
published  in  the  third  volume  of  the  Brehon  Law  publica- 
tions. The  book  itself  is  most  explicit  as  to  its  authorship, 
and  everything  in  the  text  goes  to  confirm  the  statements  in 
the  introduction,  part  of  which  is  worth  reproducing  here. 

"The  place  of  iliis  book  is  Aicill  close  to  Temh air  [Tara],  and 
its  time  is  the  time  of  Coirpri  Lifechair,  son  of  Cormac,  and  its 
author  is  Cormac,  and  the  cause  of  its  having  been  composed  was  the 
blinding  of  the  ej'e  of  Cormac  by  JEngus  Gabhnaidech,  after  the 
abduction  of  the  daughter  of  Sorar,  son  of  Art  Corb,  by  Cellach,  son 
of  Cormac." 

The  author  then  tells  us  how  the  spear  of  Aengus  grazed 
the  eye  of  Cormac  and  blinded  him. 

"Then  Cormac  was  sent  out  to  be  cured  at  Aicill  [the  Hill  of 
Skreeii]  .  .  .  and  the  sovereignty  of  Erin  was  given  to  Coirpri 
Lifechair,  son  of  Cormac,  for  it  was  prohibited  that  anyone  with  a 
blemish  should  be  king  at  Tara,  and  in  every  diflBcult  case  of  judg- 
ment that  came  to  him  he  [Coirpri]  used  to  go  to  ask  his  father  about 
it,  and  his  father  used  to  say  to  him,  *  my  son  that  thou  may  est  know  * 
[the  law],  and  '  the  exemptions; '  and  these  words  are  at  the  begin- 
ning of  all  his  explanations.  And  it  was  there,  at  Aicill,  that  this 
book  was  thus  composed,  and  wherever  the  words  '  eiemptions,'  and 
'  my  son  that  thou  mayest  know,'  occur  was  Cormac's  part  of  the 
book,  and  Ceunfaeladh's  part  is  the  rest." 


CORMAC  MAC  ART.  25 

This  proves  beyond  doubt  that  the  greatest  portion  of 
this  Book  of  Aicill  was  written  by  Cormac  at  Skreen,  near 
Tara,  when  disqualified  for  holding  the  sovereignty  on 
account  of  his  wound.  It  was  a  treatise  written  for  the 
benefit  of  his  son  unexpectedly  called  to  fill  the  monarch's 
place  at  Tara.  The  text,  too,  bears  out  this  account.  Cormac 
apparently  furnished  the  groundwork  of  the  present  volume 
by  writing  for  his  son's  use  a  series  of  maxims  or  principles 
on  the  criminal  law  of  Erin,  which  were  afterwards  developed 
by  Cormac  himself,  and  by  subsequent  commentators.  That 
the  archaic  legal  maxims  so  enunciated  in  the  Book  of  Aicill 
were  once  written  by  Cormac  himself  there  can  be  no  reason- 
able doubt ;  although  it  is  now  quite  impossible  to  ascertain 
how  far  the  development  of  the  text  was  the  work  of  Cormac 
or  of  subsequent  legal  authorities,  who  doubtless  added  to 
and  modified  the  commentary,  whilst  they  left  Cormac's  text 
itself  unchanged. 

This  Book  of  A  icill,  the  authenticity  of  which  cannot,  we 
think,  be  reasonably  questioned,  proves  to  a  certainty  that 
in  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era  there  was  a 
considerable  amount  of  literary  culture  in  Celtic  Ireland. 
These  works  are  still  extant  in  the  most  archaic  form  of  the 
Irish  language  ;  they  have  been  universally  attributed  to 
Cormac  Mac  Art  for  the  last  ten  centuries  hy  all  our  Irish 
scholars ;  the  intrinsic  evidence  of  their  authorship  and 
antiquity  is  equally  striking — why  then  should  we  reject 
this  mass  of  evidence,  and  accept  the  crude  theories  of  certain 
modern  pretenders  in  the  antiquities  of  Ireland,  who  without 
even  knowing  the  language  undertake  to  tell  us  that  there 
was  no  knowledge  of  the  use  of  writing  in  Ireland  before 
St.  Patrick? 

And  is  not  such  an  assertion  a  priori  highly  improbable  ? 
The  Romans  had  conquered  Britain  in  the  time  of  Agricola — 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.  The  Britons  them- 
selves had  very  generally  become  Christians  during  the 
second  and  third  centuries,  and  had,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
been  imbued  with  Eoman  civilization.  Frequent  intercourse, 
sometimes  friendly  and  sometimes  hostile,  existed  between 
the  Irish  and  Welsh  tribes  especially.  A  British  king  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Magh  Mucruimhe  in  Gal  way,  where 
Cormac's  own  father  was  slain.  The  allies  of  Mac  Con  on 
that  occasion  were  British.  He  himself  had  spent  the  years 
of  his  exile  in  Wales.  Captives  from  Ireland  were  carried  to 
Britain,  and  captives  from  Britain  were  carried  to  Ireland. 
Is  it  liM-y  then  that  when  the  use  of  letters  was  quite  com- 
mon in  Britain  for  three  centuries  no  knowledge  of  their  use 


f) 


26  £RISH  SCHOIiARS  BEFORE  ST.  I'ATRK^K. 

would  luive  come  to  Ireland  until  the  advent  of  St.  Patrick 
iu  the  fifth  century  ©f  the  Christian  era  ? 

There  is  an  ancient  and  well  founded  tradition  that  Cormac 
Mac  Art  died  a  Christian,  or  as  the  Four  Masters  say,  "  turned 
from  the  i^cligion  of  the  Druids  to  the  worship  of  the  true 
God.''  It  is  in  itself  highly  probable.  iSome  knowledge  of 
Christianity  must  have  penetrated  into  Ireland  even  so  early 
as  the  reign  of  Cormac  Mac  Art.  It  is  quite  a  popular  error 
to  suppose  that  there  were  no  Christians  in  Ireland  before  the 
time  of  St.  Patrick.  Palladius  had  been  sent  from  Rome 
before  Patrick  "  to  the  Scots,"  that  is  the  Irish,  "  who  believed 
in, Christ."  Besides  that  intimate  connection  between  Ireland 
and  Britain,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  must  have  carried 
some  knowledge  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  of  lett^^rs,  from 
one  country  to  the  other.  King  Lucius,  the  first  Christian 
King  of  the  British,  flourished  quite  half  a  century  before  the 
time  of  King  Cormac.  Tertullian  speaks  of  the  Isles  of  the 
Britains  as  subject  to  Christ  about  the  time  that  Corraac's 
father,  Art,  was  slain  at  Mugh  Mucruimhe.  There  was  a 
regularly  organised  hierarchy'  in  England  during  the  third 
century  ;  and  three  of  its  bishops  were  present  at  the  Council 
of  Aries  in  a.d.  314. 

Nothing  is  more  likely,  then,  than  that  the  message  of  the 
Gospel  was  brought  from  England  to  the  ears  of  King 
Cormac;  and  that  a  prince,  so  learned  and  so  wise,  gave  up 
the  old  religion  of  the  Druids,  and  embraced  the  new  religion 
of  peace  and  love. 

But  it  was  a  danorerous  thino:  to  do  even  for  a  kino:.  The 
Druids  were  very  popular  and  very  influential,  and  moreover 
possessed,  it  was  said,  dreadful  magical  powers.  They 
showed  it  afterwards  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  and  now  they 
showed  it  when  they  heard  Cormac  had  given  up  the  old 
religion  of  Erin,  and  become  a  convert  to  the  new  worship 
from  the  East.  The  king's  death  was  caused  by  the  bone  of 
a  salmon  sticking  in  his  throat,  and  it  was  universally  believed 
that  this  painful  death  was  brought  about  by  the  magical 
power  of  Maelgenn,  the  chief  of  the  Druids. 

*'  They  loosed  their  curse  against  the  king, 
They  cursed  him  in  his  flesh  and  bones  ; 
And  daily  in  their  mystic  ring 

They  turned  the  nialedictive  stones. 

*'  Till  where  at  meat  the  monarch  sate, 
Amid  the  revel  and  the  wine, 
He  choked  upon  the  food  he  ate 

At  SJet-tv,  southward  of  *^1t^  B  >'«'n«."i 


^  Lays  vj  tliQ   Wtattni,  Liatl. 


CX>RMAe  MAC  ART.  27 

So  perished  ad.  2G7,  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  ancient 

kings  of  Erin.     Cormac,  when  dying,  told  his  people  not  to 

bury  him  in  the  pagan  cemetery  of  Brugh  on  the  Boyne,  but 

at  E-ossnaree,  where  he  first  believed,  and  with  his  face  to  the 

rising  sun.    But  when  the  king  was  dead,  his  captains  declared 

they  would  bury  their  king  with  his  royal  sires  in  Brugh  : — 

**  Dead  Cormac  on  his  bier  they  laid  ; 
He  reigned  a  king  for  forty  years, 
And  shame  it  were,  his  captains  said, 
He  lay  not  with  his  royal  peers. 

*'  What  though  a  dying  man  should  j  ave 

Of  changes  o'er  the  eastern  sea  : 

In  Brugh  of  Boyne  shall  be  his  giMve 

And  not  in  noteless  Rossnaree." 

So  they  prepared  to  cross  the  fords  of  Boyne  and  bury 
the  king  at  Brugh.  But  royal  Boyne  was  loyal  to  its  dead 
king;  '' the  deep  full-hearted  river  rose"  to  bar  the  way; 
and  when  the  bearers  attempted  to  cross  the  ford,  the 
swelling  flood  swept  them  from  their  feet,  caught  up  the 
bier,  and  ''proudly  bore  away  the  king"  on  its  own  heaving 
bosom.  Next  morning  the  corpse  was  found  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  at  Rossnaree,  and  was  duly  interred  within  the  hear- 
ing of  its  murmuring  waters.  There  great  Cormac  was  left 
to  his  rest  with  his  face  to  the  risingsun,  awaiting  the  dawning 
of  that  Glory  which  was  soon  to  lighten  over  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  his  native  land. 

Cormac  Mac  Art  was  not  only  himself  a  lover  of  letters, 
but  seems  to  have  transmitted  his  own  talents  to  his  family. 
There  is  a  very  ancient  poem  in  the  Book  of  Leinster,  which 
has  been  published  by  O'Curry,  and  has  been  attributed  to 
Ailbhe,  daughter  of  Cormac  Mac  Art.  The  language  is  of 
the  most  archaic  character,  and  the  sentiments  expressed  are 
not  inconsistent  with  the  origin  ascribed  to  the  poem  in  the 
Book  of  Leinster.  Still  critics  will  be  naturally  sceptical  as 
to  the  authenticity  of  the  poem.  Meave  (Meadhbh),  step- 
mother of  Cormac,  who  has  given  her  name  to  E,ath  Meave 
at  Tara,  is  credited  with  being  the  author  of  a  poem  in  praise 
of  Cuchorb,  in  which  his  martial  prowess  and  numerous 
battles  are  duly  celebrated.  This  lady  seems  to  have  been 
decidedly  'blue'  in  her  tastes,  for  she  built  a  choice  house 
within  her  Rath,  where  the  chief  master  of  everj^  art  used  to 
assemble.  She  was  amorous  too, and  "would  not  permit  any 
king  to  reign  in  Tara  who  did  not  first  take  herself  as  wife.'' 
Perhaps  there  is  some  truth  in  the  ancient  and  romantic 
story  recorded  in  the  sasne  Book  of  Leinster,  that  when 
Cuchorb  was  killed,  she  was  sorrowful  in  h^art,  and   after 


28  IRISH  SCHOLARS  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

they  set  up  the  grave  stone  of  the  fallen  hero,  she  chanced 
his  death  song  in  presence  of  the  assembled  warriors,  who 
stood  around  his  grave. 

Another  pre-Patrician,  if  not  pre-Christian  poet,  to  whom 
some  extant  poems  have  been  attributed,  was  Torna  Eigas,  the 
bard  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages.  Niall  died  in  a.d.  405, 
twenty-seven  years  before  St.  Patrick  came  to  preach  in  Erin  ; 
so  that  even  if  'i'orna  Eigas,  as  Colgan  thinks,  became  a 
Christian,  his  training  and  inspiration  must  belong  to  the 
pre-Christian  times.  If  the  works  attributed  to  him  are  even 
substantially  genuine,  they  must  have  been  interpolated  by 
later  copyists  with  Christian  references  and  Christian  senti- 
ments. O'Reilly  mentions  four  poems  as  passing  under  his 
name.  The  first  is  addressed  to  King  Niall  his  patron,  and 
foster  son.  The  second  was  designed  to  effect  a  reconciliation 
between  Niall  and  the  foster  child  of  the  poet.  King  Core  of 
Munster,  who,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  certainly  lived  to 
become  a  Christian.  In  the  third  the  poet  describes  the 
pleasant  life  which  he  spent  with  these  two  kings,  his  foster 
children,  who  lavished  upon  him  alternately  durmg  his  visits 
their  friendship  and  their  favours.  But  the  fourth  is  by  far 
the  most  interesting,  for  it  describes  the  famous  burying 
place  of  the  Pagan  kings  of  Erin,  Relig  na  Eiogh,  at  Rath 
Cruachan  in  Connaught.  It  consists  of  twenty-eight  stanzas, 
and  enumerates  the  great  kings  and  warriors  who  sleep  on 
the  hill  of  Royal  Cruachan,  ending  with  the  valiant  Dathi, 
whose  grave  is  marked  by  a  red  pillar  stone,  which  stands 
there  to-day,  even  as  it  stood  before  St.  Patrick  crossed  the 
Shannon  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  Lacghaire's  daughters  on 
that  famous  hill.  This  poem  has  been  published  by  Petrie  in 
his  Essay  on  the  Antiquities  of  Tara  Hill. 

The  history  of  the  valiant  King  Dathi  is  full  of  charm 
for  our  Celtic  poets,  and  several  of  them  have  sought,  not 
unsuccessfully,  to  reproduce  the  spirit  of  the  original  poem 
by  Torna  Eigas.  Better  than  all  others  poor  Clarence 
Mangan  tells  in  quite  Homeric  style :  — 

**  How  Dathi  sailed  away — away — 

Over  the  deep  resounding  sea ; 
Sailed  with  his  hosts  in  armour  gray , 

Over  the  deep  resounding  sea, 
Many  a  night  and  many  a  day  ; 

And  many  an  islet  conquered  he, 
Till  one  bright  morn,  at  the  base 

Of  the  Alps  in  rich  Ausonian  regions, 
His  men  stood  marshalled  face  to  face 

With  the  mighty  Roman  legions.  ,  .  . 


SEDUJ.IUS.  29 

But : —     Thunder  crashes, 
Lightning  flashes, 

And  in  an  instant  Dathi  lies 
On  the  earth  a  mass  of  blackened  ashes. 

Then  mournfully  and  dolefully 
The  Irish  warriors  sailed  away 

Over  the  deep  resounding  sea." 

Reference  is  made  in  our  ancient  extant  manuscripts  to 
several  '  Books '  now  lost,  which  are  said  to  have  been  written 
before  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick  in  Ireland.  It  is  unnecessary, 
however,  to  refer  to  those  in  detail^  because  any  statements 
about  their  character  and  origin  can  be  little  better  than  mere 
conjecture.  O'Curry  names  several  of  therzi,  and  tells  all  that 
can  possibly  be  known  about  them.  The  ''  Cuilmen"  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  celebrated,  because 
it  contained  the  great  epic  of  ancient  Erin  known  as  the 
"Tain  Bo  Chuailnge."  Another  famous  ancient  *Book,' 
now  lost,  was  the  "  Cin  Droma  Snechta,"  or  the  Vellum  Stave 
Book  of  Drora  Snechta,  as  O'Curry  translates  it.  It  is  quoted 
in  the  Book  of  Ballymote^  and  in  the  Book  of  Lee  an. 

Another  lost  work,  to  which  we  have  already  referred,^ 
was  the  Book  of  Ua  Chongbhail.  It  was  extant  in  the  time 
of  Keating,  who  quotes  it  as  one  of  his  authorities,  but  it 
has  since  been  unfortunately  lost,  and  nothing  is  now  known 
of  its  contents. 

II. — Sedulius. 

It  is  said,  however,  that  there  were  not  only  pagan  writers 
and  scholars,  like  Cormac  Mac  Art,  in  Ireland  before  the 
time  of  St.  Patrick,  but  that  several  celebrated  Christian 
writers,  who  flourished  before  the  advent  of  our  national 
Apostle,  were  of  Irish  birth  or  parentage.  And  this  is  the 
opinion,  not  merely  of  suiDerficial  writers,  but  of  grave  and 
learned  men  like  Colgan,  Usher,  and  Lanigan  ;  and  what  is 
more,  it  has  been  admitted  by  foreigners  as  well  as  by  our 
native  authorities.  These  authorities  have  claimed  for 
Ireland  the  great  glory  of  having  given  birth  to  the 
celebrated  Sedulius,  the  Christian  Virgil,  as  he  has  been  most 
appropriately  called.  The  more  doubtful  honour  of  producing 
Caelestius,  the  associate  of  the  heresiarcb  Pelagius,  has  been 
also  claimed  for  Ireland  ;  and  according  to  others  Pelagius 
himself  was  at  least  of  Irish  extraction.  We  propose  to 
examine  at  some  length  the  history  of  these  writers,  and 
especially  to  examine  the  evidence  in  favour  of  their  alleged 
Irish  origin.      In  the  first  place  we  shall  give  a  full  account. 


3()  fRISn    SCHOLARS    BEFORE    ST.    PATRICK. 

s;)  far  as  it  is  now  possible  to  ascertain  his  history,  of  the 
celebrated  poet  Sedulius. 

In  the  best  M8S.  the  name  given  is  always  "  Caelius 
Sedvdius,"  and  althouo-h  the  praenomen  s^avours  of  Latin 
origin,  and  the  nonien  itself  was  not  quite  unknown  in  Rome,' 
still  the  name  Sedulius  gives  decided  indications  of  his  Irish 
birth.  At  least  two  other  distinguished  Irishmen  bore  the 
same  name.  The  first  is  that  Sedulius  of  Irish  origin,  the 
Bishop  of  Britain,  as  lie  describes  himself,^  who  subscribed 
the  Acts  of  the  Council  of  Rome  held  under  Gregory  II.,  in 
A.D.  721.  The  other,  known  as  Sedulius  the  Younger, 
flourished  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  ninth  centur}^,  wrote  a 
Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  has 
been  frequently  confounded  with  his  more  celebrated  name- 
sake, the  poet.  The  old  form  of  the  name  in  Irish  was 
Siadhal,  or  Siadhel,  now  pronounced  Shiel.  But  in  these 
older  forms  of  the  language  the  letters  were  not  mortified  in 
j)ronunciation  ;  and  thus  Sedulius  is  naturally  the  latinized 
form  of  the  Irish  name.  From  the  dawn  of  our  history  it 
was  a  name  celebrated  in  Irish  literature,  especially  in  the 
department  of  medicine.  Colgan  refers  to  eight  distinguished 
Irishmen  who  bore  the  family  name  of  Siadhal,  amongst 
others  to  Siadhal,  son  of  Luath,  Bishop  of  Dubhlinn,  whose 
death  on  the  12th  of  February,  785,  is  recorded  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Donegal.  The  Banes,  indeed,  had  not 
arrived  in  Dublin  so  earlv  as  a.d.  785,  nor  is  there  any  satis- 
factory  evidence  of  a  diocese  of  Dublin  at  that.  time.  He 
may,  however,  have  been  an  abbot  in  the  place,  with  episcopal 
orders. 

The  oldest  writer'^  who  distinctly  asserts  that  the  poet 
Sedulius  was  an  Irishman  is  John  of  Tritenheim,  or  Trithe- 
mius,  as  he  is  more  generally  called.**  This  Trithemius, 
Benedictine  abbot  of  Spanheim,  flourisbed  towards  the  end 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  was  certainly  a  very  learned 
man.  In  some  of  the  statements,  however,  made  in  this 
paragraph,  he  is  not  supported  by  any  ancient  authority 
that  we  know  of.     It  is,  moreover,  evident  from   the  list  ot 

^  Apiid  Ciceronem  I'ro  Donio  Sua,  c  3,  and  oLvcwhcre. 

-  Sedulius  Episcopiis  Jiritaniiife  (Strathclydo  r^  do  genore  Sootoruni, 
liiiio  rtnistituto  vobis  ]ii<)mu]>iiit()  stibscripsi.      A]>iul  1  ablxnun.     Vol.  iv. 

*  Dicuil,  the  Gooofrapher,  however,  calls  him  *  nostor  Sedulius,'  and  he 
wrote  in  A.iv.  825.     See  \nvj;e  289. 

*Hi8  statement  is  worth  quoting".  "  Sedulius  presbyter  uati<>no  Sootus, 
Hildelxirti  Scotonna  Ar(lii«'i)iscopi  nb  inennte  aetale  di.'^eipulus,  vir  in 
divinis  N('ri]>tMris  exticitaius,  ot  in  saeeularilurw  litteris  enHliti.ssimus,  ear* 
mine  excellcuH  et  piosH,  uniore  diHceiuli  Seotiani  rtlinquons.  veuit  in 
Franciani,  d(  ind(*  Italiani  ]>eilu.stra\  it,  et.  Asiani,  postrt^mo  Achaiae  fiuibus 
excedetiH  in  urbe  Konia  niirabili  doetrina  elaruti  eluxit." 


SEDULIUS.  3l 

the  writings  of  Seduliiis  which  he  gives,  tliat  he  confounds 
the  poet  with  the  commentator  on  St.  Paul  and  St.  Matthew, 
who,  as  all  admit,  was  an  Irishman,  but  flourished  nearly 
four  centuries  later  than  the  poet.  Colgan,  Usher,  Ware, 
and  a  host  of  other  writers  at  home  and  abroad,  have  followed 
Trithemius,  and  made  the  poet  an  Irishman. 

It  is,  however,  certain  that,  although  there  is  some 
evidence  that  he  was  of  Irish  birth,  there  is  absolutely  no 
evidence  that  he  was  a  native  of  any  other  country.  It  Avas, 
indeed,  said  that  the  poet  was  a  Spaniard,  and  Bishop  of  the 
Oretani,  but  Faustinus  Arevalus,  himself  a  Spaniard,  and 
author  of  a  very  able  dissertation  on  Sedulius,  prefixed  to 
his  splendid  edition  of  the  Christian  Poets  of  the  Fourth 
CentiirVs  published  at  Rome  in  a.d.  1794,  declares  that  love 
of  truth  compels  him.  to  admit  that  the  story  of  his  preaching 
at  Toledo,  and  of  his  Spanish  episcopacy,  is  fabulous.^ 

]  vet  us  now  try  to  ascertain  what  is  known  with  certainty 
of  this  great  Christian  poet,  whether  Irishman  or  not. 

In  the  "  Palatine  '*  Codex  of  the  Vatican  Library,  No. 
242,  there  is  a  paragraph  which  states  that  ''  Sedulius  was  a 
Gentile,  but  learned  philosophy  in  Ital}^,  was  afterwards 
converted  to  the  Lord,  and  baj)tized  by  the  priest  Macedonius, 
then  came  to  Arcadia,  or  according  to  other  MSS.,  Achaia, 
where  he  composed  this  book,''  that  is  his  Carmen  Paschale. 

In  the  Vatican  Codex,  No.  333,  probably  of  the  eleventh 
century,  it  is  added  that  "St.  Jerome,  in  his  Catalogue  of 
Ecclesiastical  Writers,  says  that  Sedulius  was  at  first  a 
layman,  learned  philosophy  in  Italy,  and  afterwards,  by  the 
advice  of  Macedonius,  taught  heroic  and  other  kinds  of  metre 
in  Achaia ;  he  wrote  his  books  in  the  time  of  Valentinian 
and  Theodosius,"  etc.  Substantially  the  same  statement  is 
found  in  nearly  all  the  twelve  MSS.  in  the  Vatican. 

The  scribe  attributes  to  St.  Jerome,  who  died  \w  a.d.  420, 
that  continuation  of  Jerome's  great  Catalogue  of  Ecclesiastical 
Writers,  which  was  really  the  work  of  Gennadius  of  Mar- 
seilles, who  flourished  in  a.d.  495 — ^the  very  time,  as  we 
shall  see,  that  the  writings  of  Sedulius  were  published.  We 
find  no  statement  of  this  kind  about  Sedulius  in  Gennadius' 
Catalogue,  as  actually  published,  but  Sirmond  declares  that 
he  himself  saw  in  some  copies  of  Gennadius,  that  Sedulius 
died  during  the  reign  of  Valentinian  and  Theodosius  the 
Younger,  to  the  latter  of  whom,  as  he  alleges,  he  had 
dedicated  his  work. 


*See  Migne's  Patrologia  Lat.,  vol.  19,  page  440. 


,y2  IKISTI    SCHOLARS    IMCKORK    ST.    PATRIC  .. 

We  may  then  take  it  as  certain  that  Sedullus  flourished 
durino^  their  joint  reigns,  that  is,  at  some  period  from 
A.i).  428  to  450,  when  Theodosius  died  ;  and  in  all  probability 
Sedulius  himself  had  died  some  years  previously — that  is, 
bet  ween  a.d.  445  and  449.  He  is  described  as  at  first  a  layman 
and  a  Gentile,  which  is  not  at  all  unnatural,  especially  if 
he  were  a  native  of  Ireland.  There  were  indeed  some  Chris- 
tians in  Ireland  belore  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  for  Palladius 
was  sei.t  in  a.d.  431,  the  year  before  the  mission  of  St. 
Patrick  '*  to  the  Scots  who  believed  in  Christ ;  ''^  but  these 
Christi  ms  were  noc  numerous.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
tilth  century,  however,  considerable  intCiCOurse,  some- 
times friendly,  and  sometimes  hostile,  existed  between  the 
Scots  of  Ireland  and  the  natives  of  Roman  Britain  as  well  as 
of  Iloman  Gaul.  It  would  be  very  easy,  therefore,  for  a 
young  Irishman  to  join  a  band  of  his  roving  countrymen, 
and  after  learning  Latin  in  the  provincial  schools  of  France 
or  England,  he  would  naturally  in  his  search  after  philosophy, 
migrate  to  Italy,  and  there  find  the  double  treasure  of  faith 
and  wisdom. 

Sedulius  is  said  to  have  penetrated  from  Italy  to  Achaia, 
where  he  became  the  pupil  and  intimate  friend  of  the  priest 
Macedonius.  This  much  is  manifest  from  his  own  writings, 
for  in  fhe  dedication  of  his  Carmen  PascJiale^  he  touchingly 
alludes  to  the  progress  in  Christian  wisdom  which  he  had  made 
under  the  guidance  "  of  his  most  holy  father."  He  adds 
that  previously  he  had  devoted  to  secular  studies  the  energies 
of  that  restless  mind — vim  impatientis  in  genii — which  Pro- 
vidence had  given  him ;  and  had  made  his  literary  training 
subservient,  not  to  the  proht  of  his  soul  and  the  glory  of  his 
Maker,  but  to  the  Iruitless  tasks  of  this  fleeting  life.  Arevalus 
justly  observes  that  if  Sedulius  had  been  baptized  by  Mace- 
donius, ho  would  not  have  omitted  all  reference  to  it  in 
this  dedication,  whence  we  may  fairly  conclude  that  although 
he  received  most  of  his  religious  training  from  the  venerable 
Macedonius,  he  must  have  been  already  a  Christian  when  he 
came  to  Greece. 

The  same  dedication  leads  us  to  infer  that  at  this  time  he 
was  a  member  of  some  kind  of  religious  institute,  which  was 
under  the  guidance  of  Macedonius,  and  in  which  he  himself 
taught  rhetoric  and  poetry  by  the  advice  of  his  spiritual  father. 

^  Ad  Seotos  in  Christo  credentes.     Prosper  (p.  43). 

2  Sancto  et  Beatissimo  patri  Macedoiiio  presbytero  Sedulius  iu  Ohristo 

BMluteill. 


8EDULIUS.  33 

He  gives,  too,  a  very  pleasing  picture  of  the  members  of  that 
religious  association — of  the  Yenerable  Ursinus — a  prelate 
full  of  priestly  dignity — who  had  been  once  a  soldier  of 
Caesar,  and  was  then  a  soldier  of  Christ ;  of  Laurence,  the 
incomparable  priest,  who  gave  up  his  patrimony  to  the  Church 
and  the  poor  ;  of  Gallicanus,  likewise  a  priest,  well  read  in 
secular  books,  yet  meekest  of  the  meek,  teaching  the  rule  of 
Catholic  discipline  by  word,  but  still  more  by  example  ;  of 
Ursicinus,  also  a  priest,  and  a  man  "  of  hoary  patience  and 
youthful  old  age  ;  "  of  Felix,  the  truly  happy  ;  and  of  many 
others  equally  worthy  of  the  dedication  of  his  book.  He 
makes  special  reference  to  the  virgin  Syncletice,  who  seems 
to  have  been  a  deaconess  of  the  Church,  noble  by  blood,  but 
still  more  illustrious  by  her  virtues,  chastened  by  fasts, 
nourished  by  prayer,  and  spotless  in  purity.^  Moreover,  he 
adds,  she  drank  so  deeply  of  Scriptural  lore,  that  had  not 
her  sex  forbidden  it,  she  was  in  every  way  qualified  to  become 
the  teacher  of  others.  Her  sister,  too,  the  young  Perpetua, 
though  her  junior  in  years,  was  her  rival  in  virtue,  the  chaste 
spouse  of  an  honourable  marriage.  Such  was  the  society  of 
which  Sedulius  was  a  member  during  his  sojourn  at  Achaia — 
holy,  learned,  and  loving. 

It  seems  very  probable  that  it  was  during  these  happy 
years  that  Sedulius  composed  his  great  poem  in  some  sweet 
valley  under  the  shadow  of  the  steep  Arcadian  Mountains, 
whose  bold  spurs  are  washed  by  the  glancing  waters  of  the 
Corinthian  Gulf.  Although  the  work  was  formally  dedicated 
to  Macedonius,  and  copies  were  doubtless  multiplied  for 
the  benefit  of  his  familiar  associates,  it  does  not  appear 
that  it  was  published  for  the  literary  world  in  general 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  author.  That  publication  seems 
to  have  taken  place  some  years  later,  as  we  shall  pre- 
sently see,  and  under  the  direction  of  one  who  was  eminently 
well  qualified  for  the  task. 

How  or  where  Sedulius  ended  his  life,  we  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining.  Some  say  he  returned  to  Rome,  where  he 
died  about  a.d.  449  ;  others  make  him  a  bishop,  but  the  see 
which  he  ruled  cannot  be  ascertained ;  while  many  think 
he  ended  his  life  in  Greece,  amongst  those  dear  associates  of 
whom  he  speaks  so  tenderly  in  the  dedication. 

But  although  the  poet  himself  seems  to  have  been, 
during  his  lifetime  somewhat  indifferent  to  worldly  fame, 


'  Jejuniis  oastigata,  orationibus  refecta,  puritate  mundissima. 

C 


34  IRISH    SCHOLARS    BEFORE    ST.    PATRICK. 

his  friends  did  not  forget  him.^  There  is  a  considerable 
variety  of  readings,  but  in  substance  all  the  MSS.  agree  that 
Sedulius  left  his  poems  scattered  amongst  his  papers,  and 
that  the  scattered  portions  cf  the  Carmen  Fascliale  especially 
were  collected,  arranged,  and  elegantly  published  by  the 
ex-consul,  Turcius  TlufFus  Astcrius.  We  find  two  consuls  of 
this  name  in  the  Fasti  of  the  fifth  century,  one  in  a.d.  449, 
whose  colleague  was  Protogenes,  and  the  other  in  a.d.  494, 
whose  colleague  was  Praesidius.  Very  many  writers  think 
that  the  publisher  of  Sedulius  was  that  Asterius,  whose 
consulate  is  fixed  for  a.d.  449.  But  as  his  praenomen  was 
Flavins,  it  is  much  more  probable  that  the  consul  of  a.d. 
494,  who  was  also  the  editor  of  the  splendid  Medicean 
Codex  of  Virgil,  must  get  the  credit  of  collecting  and  pre- 
serving the  poems  of  the  great  Christian  poet  who  was 
perhaps  VirgiFs  closest  imitator. 

Asterius  prefixed  to  his  edition  an  epigram,^  which, 
according  to  some  authorities,  is  addressed  to  Macedonius,  the 
spiritual  father  of  Sedulius  ;  but  as  Macedonius  was  at  this 
time,  in  all  probability,  some  forty  or  fifty  years  dead,  it 
is  much  more  natural  to  suppose  that  the  dedication  of 
Asterius  is  addressed  to  the  Pontifi"  Gelasius  (a.d.  492-496), 
especially  as  the  Pope,  about  that  very  time,  had  passed  a 
signal  eulogy  on  Sedulius,  to  which  we  shall  immediately  refer. 
In  the  year  a.d.  494,  or  is  others  think  in  a.d.  495,that  Pontiff 
held  a  council  of  seventy  bishops,  most  learned  men,  in  w^hich 
he  published  his  famous  decree,  "De  recipiendis  et  abjiciendis 
Libris,"  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  formal  publica- 
tion of  an  Index  Expurgatorius.  In  this  decree  the  Pontiff, 
after  reciting  the  canonical  books  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  gives  a  list  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  whose 
writings  he  particularly  recommends  to  the  perusal  of  the 
faithful.      In  this  document  emanating  fi'om  the  supreme 


1  In  most  of  the  MSS.  copies  of  his  works  we  find  the  following-  pn-  •- 
graph  : — "  Hoc  opus  Sedulius  in  certas  chartulas  dispersum  reliquit,  quod 
recollectum,    adunatum,    atque   ad   omnem   olegantiani  divulgatum    e.st    a 
Turcio  Ruffo  Asterio,  viro  claro,  exconsule  ordinariu,  atque  patricio." 

•  "  Surae,  sacer  meritis,  veracis  dicta  poetae. 
Quae  sine  figmenti  condita  sunt  vitio. 
Quo  caret  alma  fides,  quo  saneti  gratia  Christi 
Per  quam  Justus  ait  talia  Sedulius." 

Some  critics  suggest  the  loading  : — 

•*  Summe  eacor  meritis,  veriaocipe  dicta  poetae." 

which  would  leave  no  doubt  that  the  epigram  was  addressed  to  Qelasiua. 


SEDULIUS.  35 

teaching  authority  in   the   Church,   we   find  the   following 
honourable  mention  of  Sedulius  : — 

*'Item  venerandi  viri  Sedulii  Paschale  Opus, 
Quod  Heroicis  Descripsit  Yersibus,  Insigni  Laude 
Praeferimus." 

After  this  formal  and  emphatic  approbation  of  the  writings 
of  Sedulius  by  the  Pope,  his  works  speedily  became  popular 
in  all  the  monastic  schools.  Cassiodorus  (a.d.  470-562),  the 
senator,  statesman,  and  monk,  closely  studied  the  Christian 
poet  in  his  far-famed  retreat  on  the  Calabrian  shore,  and 
proclaims  him  by  excellence  the  ''Poet  of  Truth/ '^  Fortunatus, 
the  laureate  of  the  royal  and  saintly  E,adegonde,  himself  the 
author  of  the  Vexilla  Re^ris  and  the  Pano;e  lingua,  ranks  the> 
"sweet  Sedulius"  with  Ambrose,  Jerome,  and  Augustine.'^ 
The  cruel  Chilperic,  an  unworthy  grandson  of  the  great 
Clovis,  instead  of  trying  to  govern  his  people  like  a  king, 
spent  his  time  in  vain  attempts  to  imitate  the  stately  muse  of 
Sedulius,  and  of  course  failed  miserably  in  the  attempt. 
Gregory  of  Tours  tells  us  that  his  verses  had  no  feet  to  stand 
on,  and  were  composed  in  defiance  of  all  the  laws  of  metre. 

The  Irish  monks  of  Bobbio  carefully  copied  the  poems  of 
their  great  countrym.an,  and  the  oldest  existing  MS.  of  the 
poet,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Library  of  the  Poyal 
Academy  of  Turin,  is  inscribed  with  the  words — Liber  Sancti 
Columbani  de  Bobbio. 

Isidore  of  Seville,  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  age,  compares 
Sedulius  with  his  own  great  countryman,  Juvencus,  and 
recommends  the  study  of  their  works  in  preference  to  those 
of  the  Gentile  poets.^ 

Ildelfonsus  describes  him  as  the  '  excellent '  Sedulius,  the 
poet  of  the  Gospel,  an  eloquent  orator,  and  truly  Catholic 
writer ;  and  another  author  declares  that  Sedulius  left  nothing 
unlearnt  necessary  to  make  him  a  perfect  theologian,  as  well 
as  a  brilliant  poet.*  And  in  a  somewhat  similar  strain 
Sedulius  has  been  eulogised  by  all  subsequent  critics,  from 
Bede  to  the  present  time. 

Our  remarks  on  the  writings  of  Sedulius  must  necessarily 

*  Liber  xxvii.  De  Inst.  Div.  Lit.  ^  L.  8.  Carmen  9. 

*  "  Ambo  pares  lingua,  florentes  versibus  ambo, 
Fonte  evangelico  pocula  larga  f  erunt, 
Desine  gentilibus  ergo  inseruisse  poetis, 
Dum  bona  tanta  potes  quid  tibi  Calliroem  ?'* 

*  Guiliehnus  Eysengrein  in  Catalogo  anno  412. 


36  IRISH    SCHOLARS    BEFORE    ST.    PATRICK. 

be  very  brief,  and  for  convenience  sake  we  sliall  follow  the 
order  of  the  excellent  edition  by  Arevalus  as  given  in 
Migne's  Patrology .  ^ 

His  great  work  was  the  Carmen  Paschale,  as  he  himself 
calls  it,  which  is  preceded  by  that  dedicatory  epistle  to  which 
we  have  already  referred.     It  is  accompanied  with  a  prose 
version    which    he    furnished    at    the    special    request    of 
Macedonius,  and    which  he   calls  the  Opus  Paschale.     The 
prose  only   serves  to  make  the  poetry  more  intelligible  foi 
half- educated  scholars,  like  the  similar  prose  translations  in 
the  Dolphin  editions  of  the  Latin  poets.      The  style,  too,  of 
the  explanation  is  wordy  and  laboured,    quita   unlike  the 
limpid  elegance  of  the  poetry.     The  Carmen  Paschale  in  the 
MSS.  is  divided  into  five  books.      The  first  treats  of  the 
creation  and  fall  of  man  as  well  as  of  the  principal  miracles 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament ;  the  second  gives  a  beautiful 
account  of  the  incarnation  and  birth  of  our  Lord  and  the 
wonders  of  the  Holy  Childhood;  the  third  and  fourth  deal 
with  the  miracles   and  noteworth}^  events  of  our  Saviour's 
public  mission  ;  whilst  the  fifth  details  the  passion,  death, 
and  resurrection  of  Christ.     It  is  thus  a  poetic  history  of  the 
wonders  of  the  divine  revelation  as  contained  in  the  Old  and 
t^ew  Testament.      Each  of  the  books  contains  from  three  to 
four  hundred  lines  of  heroic  metre,  in  which  the  style  and 
language  of  Yirgil  are  as  closely  imitated  as  the  nature  of  the 
subject  will  permit.     The  language  is  chaste,   elegant,  and 
harmonious  ;  the  verse  is  sweet  and  flowing,  with  scarcely  a 
single  rugged  line,  although  sometimes  one  meets  with  a 
harsh  or  limping  foot.     The  prosody,   however,   is  on  the 
whole    wonderfully   accurate,    and  the    sentences    are   con- 
structed with  true  Yirgilian  simplicity.      The  author  had  to 
deal  with  very  many  delicate  topics,  and  he  was  of  course 
greatly  restricted  in  his  choice  of  language  by  the  necessities 
of  the  metre  ;  yet  in  no  single  instance  that  we  are  aware  of, 
has  any  fault  been   found  with  the  poet  on  the  score  of  any 
want  of  theological  accuracy.     The  tone  is  generally  elevated, 
imparting  dignity  by  choice  language  even  to  commonplace 
topics,  as  Yirgil  does  in  the  Georgics  ;  but  we  canuoi.  say 
that  he  often  reaches  the  sublime.     His  muse  takes  few  bold 
and  daring  flights,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  she  never  descends 
to  what  is  mean  or  trivial.      We  would  take  the  liberty  oi 
strongly  recommending  the  careful  perusal  of  this  beautiful 
poem  to  priests  who  are  anxious  to  read  the  great  events  of 
Kacred  history,  clothed  in  elegant  language  and  adorned  with 
b{>coming  imagery. 

*  Vol.  XXX. 


SEDUIJUS.  37 

We  have  next  the  "  Eiegia,''  containing  110  lines  in 
elegiac  metre,  which  form  a  collection  of  moral  maxims  and 
examples  borrowed  from  the  personages  and  facts  of  sacred 
history.^  Every  second  line  is  made  to  begin  and  end  with 
the  same  clause,  but  used  in  different  senses.  The  reader  will 
probably  agree  with  us  in  thinking  that  this  style  of 
composition  is  more  likely  to  develop  ingenuity  than 
inspiration. 

After  the  "  Elegia  ''  is  the  truly  beautiful  hymn  begin- 
ning with  the  words,  "  A  solis  ortus  cardine,'^  some  portions  of 
which  are  familiar  to  most  of  our  readers.  It  is  an  abecedarian 
poem,  the  first  stanza  commencing  with  tlje  first  letter  of  the 
alphabet.  A,  the  second  with  B,  and  so  on  through  the  letters. 
It  contains  92  lines,  or  2^)  stanzas,  and  details  the  leading- 
facts  of  the  life  of  Christ  in  language  that  is  very  terse  ana 
striking.  The  first  seven  stanzas  are  read  by  the  Church  in 
the  Lauds  of  her  greatest  festival  on  Christmas  Day ;  and 
the  next  four  at  first  Vespers  of  the  Epiphany,  but  in  the 
first  line  for  the  latter  feast  the  words  — 

Hostis  Herodes  impie 
Christum, 

are  changed  into — 

Crudelis  Herodes  Deum 
Eegein. 

It  is  noteworthy,  too,  that  the  Tntroit  of  the  Mass  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin — "  Salve  Sancta  Parens  enixa  puerpera 
Hegem,"  as  well  as  several  other  expressions  in  the  Divine 
Office,  are  borrowed  from  the  Carmen  Paschal e  of  Sedulius.- 
At  the  end  of  his  poems  the  author  adds  a  short  epigrammatic 
prayer,  in  which  he  asks  that  the  doctrines  of  the  life  of 
Christ,  which  he  has  written,  may  remain  engraven  in  his 
heart,  and  so  by  doing  the  divine  will  he  may  secure  a  share 
in  the  joys  of  heaven.^ 


^  The   construction  is  too  artificial  to  please  the  critics  of  our  time,  or 
to  leave  freedom  of  thought  and  language  to  the  poet. 

Primus  ad  ima  ruit  magna  do  luce  superbus ; 
Sic  homo  cum  tumuit  primus  ad  ima  ruit. 

^See  Lib.  ii.,  1.,  63  and  G9.  The  whole  passage,  describing  the  Saviour's 
miraculous  birth,  is  very  beautiful. 

^  Haec  tua  perpetuae  qui  scrips!  dogmata  vitae 
Corde,  rogo,  facias,  Christe,  man  ere  meo ; 
Ut  iibi  quae  placeant,  tete  facif  nte,  requirens 
Gaudia  caelurum,  te  duce,  Christe,  metam. 


38  IRISH    SCHOLARS    BEFORE    ST.    PATRICK. 

We  have  two  double  acrostic  poems,  eloquent  with  the 
praises  of  the  great  iSedulius,  one  attributed  to  a  certain 
Liber i us,  of  whom  nothing-  further  is  known,  and  the  other 
to  Belisarius,  if  that  be  the  true  reading,  who  in  some  MSS. 
is  described  as  a  scholastic — that  is,  master  or  professor  of  a 
school  of  rhetoric.  According  to  other  critics  this  Belisarius, 
who  so  highly  eulogises  our  Sedulius,  was  no  other  than  the 
great  general,  the  saviour  of  the  Roman  Empire,  who  was 
driven  by  the  ungrateful  master  whom  he  had  served  to  beg 
his  bread. 

What  is  most  remarkable  in  these  two  poems,  is  that  in 
both  the  acrostic  represents  our  author  as  Sedulius  Antistes. 
The  latter  term  is  usually  applied,  at  least  by  Christian 
writers,  only  to  bishops,  and  certainly  goes  to  show  that  the 
poet  was  elevated  to  the  episcopal  dignity.  Alcuin  also 
attributes  the  hynin,  **  A  so/is  orhts  cardine  *'  to  the 
*'  Blessed  Bishop  Sedulius,'^  and  Sigebert  of  Gembloux 
(died  A.D.  1112),  seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  opinion. 
Yet,  in  several  M  SS.  he  is  spoken  of  simply  as  a  priest,  and 
even  of  those  authors  who  describe  him  as  a  bishop  none  has 
determined  his  see. 

It  is  very  doubtful,  too,  whether  our  poet  has  any  claim 
to  be  venerated  as  a  saint.  Our  latest  Irish  hagiologist,^ 
following  Colgan,  gives  a  very  full  account  of  the  venerable 
Sedulius,  under  date  of  the  12th  of  Februaiy.  But  the  name 
does  not  occur  in  any  Martyrology  at  home  or  abroad,  for 
the  "  Siatal  bishop"  on  the  12th  February,  of  the  Martyr- 
ology of  Tallaght,is  evidently  the  same  as  Siadhal,  son  of 
Luath,  Bishop  of  Dublin,  who,  according  to  the  Donegal 
Martyrology,  died  in  a.d.  785.  That  the  poet  was,  howcA^er, 
a  holy  and  venerable  man,  is  abundantly  evident  from  his 
writings  as  well  as  from  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was 
held  both  by  contemporary  and  subsequent  Avriters.  Asterius, 
his  editor,  calls  him  the  "  Just ; "  Alcuin  calls  him  the 
"Blessed;"  another  ancient  writer  describes  him  as  ''Sanctus;" 
and  our  own  Colgan  justly  designates  him  ''  the  Venerable 
Sedulius."  That  his  fame  as  a  Christian  poet  has  been 
wide  and  enduring  is  sufficiently  evident  from  the  fact  that  no 
less  than  forty-one  different  editions  of  his  works  have  been 
published  at  various  times  and  places  for  tht^  last  four  hundred 
years  ;  and  we  cannot  help  endorsing  the  indignant  excla- 
mation of  a  German  critic — **  It  is  a  shame  that  the  Christian 
poets  shoujld   be  so  much   neglected,  that   the  youth  of  our 

*  O'llunlon,  Lives  of  the  Iri.sh  Saints,  vol.  ii.,  p.  487. 


CAELESTIUS  AND  PELAGIUS.  39 

schools  should  know  nothing  even  of  the  name  of  a  writer 
like  Sedulius,  who  with  equal  piety  and  learning  transferred 
from  profane  to  sacred  subjects  the  style  and  sweetness  of  the 
Mantuan  bard/'^ 

III. — Caelestius  and  Pelagius. 

Ireland  has  also  been  credited  with  the  doubtful  honour 
of  having  given  birth  to  Caelestius,  the  friend  and  associate 
of  the  celebrated  heresiarch  Pelagius.  We  believe  that 
notwithstanding  the  authority  of  many  eminent  Irish 
scholars,  we  can  show  that  Caelestius  was  not  an  Irishman, 
and  that  the  idea  of  his  being  a  '  Scot '  arose  from  misunder- 
standing a  passage  in  the  writings  of  St.  Jerome,  which 
passage  was  the  only  authority  ever  alleged  in  favour  of  his 
Irish  origin.  This  celebrated  passage  is  contained  in  the 
Preface  to  the  Sainfs  Coinuientaries  on  Jercmias.  Here  it 
is — '^He  (Grunnius),  though  silent  now  himself,  barks  by 
the  mouth  of  the  Alban  dog,  a  corpulent  and  unwieldy  brute, 
better  able  to  kick  than  to  bite,  who  derives  his  origin  from 
the  Scottish  nation  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Britain."^  Now 
so  far  as  we  know,  this  solitary  serflcnce  is  the  only  original 
authority  for  the  Irish  birth  of  Caelestius;  yet  as  a  matter 
of  fact  it  does  not  appear  to  refer  to  Caelestius  at  all,  but  to 
Pelagius  himself.  Grunnius,  to  whom  the  context  clearly 
shows  that  St.  Jerome  refer^%  was  a  nickname  often  given  by 
the  saint  to  Rufinus  of  Aquileia.  Rufinus  was  then  {iniUiis) 
silent,  most  probably  in  death,  but  still  barks  through  his 
disciple  Pelagius  —  not  Caelestius  —  who  in  the  vigorous 
controversial  language  of  the  saint  is  described  as  an  Alban 
or  Scottish  dog,  filled  with  the  porridge  of  his  native  country 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Britain.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  Jerome  does  not  say  that  the  j)erson  of  whom  he  is 
speaking  was  a  Scot  (whether  of  Erin  or  Alba),  but  that  he 
was  of  Scottish  origin,  which  is  a  very  different  thing.  His 
words  are — "  Habet  progeniem  ScotticLie  gentis."  He  is  of 
Scottish  extraction,  which  might  be  very  well  said  of 
Pelagius,  even  though  he  were  a  Briton  by  birth. 

^  Privata  lectiune  evolvatur  Sedulius  antiquorum  imitator,  qui  et  verba 
Publii  Maronis  et  contexendi  suavitatem  a  seculari  ad  sacrum  argumentum, 
turn  scite  turn  pie  accomodavit ;  indignum  sane  est  christiauos  poetas  adeo 
neglig-i  ut  ne  nomen  qnidem  juventuti  scholasticae  sit  cognitum.  Wakh, 
His.  Crit.,  cap.  10,  u.  7. 

'  2  Ipse  mutus  latrat  per  Albinum  (in  some  MSS.  Alpinum)  canem 
grandem  et  corpulentum,  et  qui  calcibus  inagis  saevire  possit  quain 
dentibus  ;  habet  enini  progeniem  Scotticae  gentis  de  Brittanorum  vicinia. — 
Praef.  in  Lib.  iii. ,  Jereinice. 


40  IRISH  SCHOLAKS  BEFORE  ST.  PATRICK. 

The  great  difficulty  in  the  wav  of  this  explanation  is  that 
Pelagius  is  always  described  as  a  Briton,  not  as  an  Irishman  or 
Scotchman.     As  a  fact,  however,  at  that  time   Scotland  was 
included  under  the  name  of  Britain;  but  whether  it  was  or 
not,  St.  Jerome  does  not  say  that   Pelagius  was  a  Scot,  but 
that  he  was  of  Scottish  race,  which  is  altogether  different, 
and  which    is   perfectly  compatible  with  his   British  birth. 
The  authorities  indeed  in  favour  of  his  being  in  some  sense 
a  Briton,  are  quite  conclusive.     St.  Augustine,  his  greatest 
opponent,  frequently  speaks  of  Pelagius  as  a   Briton.^     St. 
Prosper  of  Aquitaine,  who  continued  to  assail  him  after  the 
death  of  Augustine,  describes  him  as  a  *  British  snake  ;'-  and 
in  another  passage  he  speaks  of  him  as  nurtured  amongst  the 
*  sea-girt   Britons.'     Elsewhere   he  describes  Britain  as  the 
native  land  [patria)  of  the  Pelagian  heresy,  which  can  be 
true  only  in  so  far  as  it  produced  Pelagius  himself.     Marius 
Mercator  says,^  like  St.  Jerome,  that  the  first  author  of  the 
heresy  was  the  Syrian  Itufinus,    but  being  too  cunning  to 
expose    himself    to    danger,    he    propagated    his    doctrines 
through  the  agency  of  the  '  British  monk'  Pelagius.    Every- 
thing,   therefore,    points  to  the   fact  that   Pelagius  was  of 
British  birth,  but  of  Scottish  origin.     St.  Jerome's  expres- 
sion ~/^r  Albinitni  canem — seems  to  point  to  a  Scot  of  Alba 
rather  than  of    Erin ;    but  in   any   case  the   Scots  of  both 
countries,  especially  at  this  early  period  (a.d.  420),  were  of 
the  same  race.     If  Britain  be  taken  to  include  Scotland,  as 
it  certainly  did  at  that  period,  then  '  de  vicinia  Brittanorum  ' 
must  refer  to  Ireland ;  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
St.  Jerome  speaks  not  of  Britain,  but  of  the  Britons — quite 
another  thing. 

But  whether  of  Irish  or  Scotch  descent,  Pelao-ius  wa^> 
an  able  man.  He  appeared  in  Home  about  the  year  a.d.  400. 
St.  Augustine  says  be  lived  there  for  a  long  time  and  taught 
a  school  in  that  city.  About  the  year  a.d.  405  St.  Chrysostom 
complained  of  the  defection  from  his  own  supporters  of  the 
monk  Pelagius,  which  would  seem  to  imply  that  at  that  time 
he  was  known  and  esteemed  at  Constantinople,  where  he  pro- 
bably went  to  learn  the  Greek  language,  with  which  we  know 
for  certain  that  ho  was  familiar.  Before  his  do])arturo  from 
Rome,  at  the  approach  of  Alaric  in  a.d.  410,  he  had  publishtil 
commentaries  on  the  Pauline  Epistles  in  which  for  the  first 
time  in  expounding  Hum.  chap.  v.  verse  12,  he  gave  expression 
to   his   heretical   views.       He   had    already    acquired   great 


^  Epint.  185,  No.  1.  '^  Carmina.  -  tommotutortutH. 


CAELESTIUS  AND  PELAGIUS.  41 

influence  in  the  imperial  city,  for  Augustine  says  that  he  was 
learned  and  acute,  and  that  his  letters  were  read  by  many 
persons  for  the  sake  of  their  eloquence  and  pungency.^  We 
ha^e  a  very  favourable  specimen  of  his  composition  still 
extant  in  his  Epistle  to  the  noble  lady  Demetrias,  who  was 
quite  as  remarkable  for  her  virtues  as  for  her  wealth  and 
learning,  Augustine  found  it  necessary  to  caution  her 
against  the  snares  of  Pelagius,  and  whoever  reads  this  letter 
will  readily  admit  that  the  caution  was  by  no  means  unneces- 
sary, for  in  graceful  and  elegant  language  he  conveys 
excellent  rules  for  the  guidance  of  devout  souls,  just  barely 
flavoured  with  the  poison  of  his  dangerous  and  subtle 
heresy,  so  flattering  to  the  instincts  of  noble  and  generous 
natures. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  nothing  known  in  connection 
with  the  history  of  Caelestius  t%bat  could  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  he  was  either  a  Briton  or  a  Scot.  lie  was,  it  is  said,  of 
noble  birth — most  likely  a  Gaul  or  Italian — but  being  from 
infancy  a  eunuch  he  spent  his  youth  in  a  monastery  which  at 
that  time  (before  a.d.  400)  he  certainly  could  not  find  in 
Ireland.  From  this  monastery  he  wrote  three  letters  to  his 
relations,  which  as  Gennadius  tells  us  were  of  great  utility 
ibr  the  guidance  of  all  persons  really  anxious  to  serve  God.^ 
He  afterwards  became  an  advocate  (auditorialis  scholasticus) 
and  was  doubtless  practising  in  the  Roman  Courts  when, 
about  the  year  a.d.  400,  he  first  met  Pelagius  in  the  imperial 
city.  The  latter  was  very  anxious  to  secure  such  an  ally  for 
his  own  purposes,  for  Caelestius  was  a  man  of  great  eloquence 
and  courage,  as  well  as  of  much  keeness  in  disputation — 
acerriini  ingenii — ^just  the  very  thing  the  ruder  British 
Provincial  wanted  in  his  associate.  Thus  it  came  to  pass 
that  Pelagius  succeeded  in  alluring  to  his  own  views  the 
young  and  brilliant  advocate,  through  whom  he  hoped  to 
disseminate  his  own  doctrines  throughout  the  chief  cities  of 
the  empire.  But  to  suppose  that  such  a  man  as  Caelestius, 
born  of  noble  Christian  parents,  whose  youth  was  spent  in  a 
monastery,  and  who  was  able  to  write  a  spiritual  treatise  in 
Latin  before  he  left  it,  and  afterwards  became  an  advocate  in 
Home — to  suppose  that  he  was  born  in  Ireland  some  fifty 
years  before  the  advent  of  St.  Patrick  is  altogether  out  of  the 
question.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
ancient  authority  for  any  such  assumption. 

*  Propter  acrimoniam  et  facundiam. 

3  •'  Omni  Deum  desideranti  necessarias  " 


CIIAPTEH    III 

LEARNING  IN  IE  ELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF 
ST.  PATRICK. 

"*Tis  morn  on  the  hills  of  Innisfail." 

We  now  come  to  discuss  the  state  of  learriiiifi^  in  Ireland 
durino-  the  sixty  years  commonly  assigned  to  St.  Patrick's 
preaching,  that  is  from  a.d.  432  to  492.  We  have  seen  that 
when  the  Saint  landed  on  our  shores,  he  did  not,  as  is  some- 
times ignorantly  asserted,  find  the  Irish  tribes  utterly  savage 
and  barbarous.  He  found  an  organized  pagan  priesthood, 
which  had  a  learning  and  philosophy  of  its  own,  similar 
to  that  of  Gaul  and  Britain,  when  those  couutiies  were  con- 
quered by  the  Romans.  He  found  the  customary  laws  of  the 
tribes  reduced  to  a  definite  legal  system,  and  administered  by 
a  body  of  P)rehons,  or  judges,  who  had  been  specially  trained 
for  that  office  ;  and  he  also  found  that  the  annals  of  the 
nation  were  carefully  preserved,  and  that  the  territories, 
rights,  and  privileges  of  the  sub-kings  were  definitely  ascer- 
tained and  faithfully  recorded  in  a  great  national  register. 
The  leading  men  of  the  tribes  were  certainly  acquainted  not 
only  with  the  primitive  Ogham  Alphabet,  but  also  with  the 
letters,  if  not  with  the  language,  used  in  Britain  and  in  Gaul 
by  the  Romans. 

If  St.  Patrick  himself  could  learn  the  Irish  language 
during  his  captivity  in  Antrim,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent 
Irish  captives  learn  in  "•  something  of  the  Roman  customs  and 
Roman  letters  in  Britain,  and  bringing  that  knowledge  back 
with  them  to  Ireland.  Our  ports  were  more  frequented^  by 
foreign  merchants  than  the  ports  of  Britain  ;  our  chieftains 
frequently  hairied  their  coasts  and  carried  off  both  Gaulish 
and  British  Christians  as  captives ;  Irish  princes  were  some- 
times  refugees  in  firitain,  and  Britisli  ])rinces  were  sonu^tinu^d 
allies  and  sometimes  refugees  in  Ireland.  It  was,  thereloiv, 
quite  impossible  that  some  knowledge  of  the  language,  and 
of  the  arts  of  the  British  provincials  should  not,  during  a 
period  o\'  fliree  centuries,  cross  the  British  seas  into  Ireland. 


'  'rai'ituN,  A(/iicolity  c.  I'l. 


ST.  PATRICK'S  EDUCATION.  43 

All  our  annals  testify  to  the  fact  of  this  intercourse.  Ireland 
was  not  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  brass,  or  by  a  trackless  sea, 
cutting  off  all  communication  with  other  lands.  The  wonder 
is  not  that  something  of  Koman  letters  and  civilization 
should  penetrate  to  Erin — but  the  great  wonder  would  be  if 
the  thing  were  otherwise. 

The  great  defect  in  the  Irish  social  system,  as  we  have 
already  observed,  was  the  want  of  a  strong  central  govern- 
ment. It  is  true  that  the  Gaedhlic  tribes  in  Erin  recognised 
the  supremacy  of  the  High  King  of  Tara ;  but  that  recogni- 
tion was  merely  nominal.  There  was  no  really  effective 
central  government,  strong  enough  to  cause  its  authorit}^  to 
be  enforced  and  respected  throughout  all  the  land.  Able 
princes,  like  Cormac  Mac  Art,  arose  from  time  to  time,  who 
sought  to  correct  this  great  evil.  In  proportion  as  they  were 
successful  in  reducing  the  sub-kings  to  obedience,  they  were 
also  able  to  extend  the  blessings  of  a  yet  imperfect  civiliza- 
tion, which,  however,  could  never  come  to  perfection  without 
an  organized  and  settled  government. 

I. — St.  Patrick's  Education. 

But  now  a  great  change  came  over  all  the  land.  St. 
Patrick  not  only  introduced  the  Christian  religion  into 
Ireland,  but  profoundly  modified  the  laws,  customs,  and 
literature  of  the  nation.  To  his  influence  in  these  respects 
we  wish  to  call  attention  at  present ;  but  first  of  all,  it  is 
necessar}^  to  understand  the  sources  of  his  own  intellectual 
training,  and  the  literary  as  well  as  the  religious  influences 
that  moulded  his  own  mind.  We  do  not  propose  to  enter  at 
all  into  any  of  the  manifold  controversies  that  surround  the 
facts  and  dates  of  the  life  of  our  great  Apostle,  but  merely  to 
reflect  on  those  acts  which  his  biographers  generally  admit. 

It  is  agreed  upon  all  hands  that  the  Saint  derived  his 
literary  aquirements,  such  as  they  were,  from  Gaul.^  Refer- 
ence is  made  to  three  distinct  sources  whence  he  derived  his 
education — to  St.  Martin,  to  St.  Germanus,  and  to  Saints 
of  some  islands  in  the  Mediterranean.  His  biographers 
are  not  agreed  either  as  to  the  order  in  which  our  Saint 
visited  those  masters  of  a  spiritual  life,  or  the  number  of 
years  he  spent  under  each,  but  all  unite  in  pointing  to  these 
three  sources  whence  St.  Patrick  derived  his  learning  and  his 
holiness. 


1  It  is  clear  from  his  own  confession  that  Britain  (Brittaniae)  was  his 
native  country  (patria)  ;  but  Britain  then  included  Scotland. 


44        LEARNING   IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Patrick  was  made  a  captive 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  that  he  spent  six  years  in  captivity 
on  the  slopes  of  Slieve  Mish,  in  the  county  Antrim.  His 
education  in  his  youth  seems  to  have  been  much  neglected, 
for  he  tells  us  himself  that  although  born  of  noble  parents 
according  to  the  flesh — his  father,  Calphurnius,  was  a  decurio, 
that  is.  the  head  of  a  local  municipium,  most  probably  on 
the  banks  of  the  Clyde,  in  North  Britain — still  he  had  little 
or  no  knowledge  of  God,  and  could  scarcely  discern  between 
good  and  evil.  The  years  of  his  captivity  served  to  open  his 
mind  to  a  higher  spiritual  life,  but  could  afford  him  no  oppor- 
tunity of  adding  to  his  purely  literary  knowledge.^  So  when 
he  succeeded  under  divine  guidance  in  making  his  escape  at 
the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  indeed  a  holy  but  certainly  not 
a  learned  young  man. 

Escaping  to  France  according  to  the  generally  received 
opinion,  he  first  seems  to  have  made  his  way  to  Tours, 
towards  the  closing  years  of  the  fourth  century,  for  the  date 
cannot  be  accurately  fixed.  At  that  time  St.  Martin,  the 
soldier  Saint,  was  Bishop  of  Tours,  and  led  a  lite  of  extraor- 
dinary holiness  and  mortification  at  the  monastery  of  Mar- 
moutier,  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
that  city.  Many  writers  say  that  Patrick's  mother,  Conchessa, 
was  a  niece  of  St.  Martin,  and  this  fact  would  easily  explain 
why  St.  Patrick  fled  for  refuge  and  guidance  to  his  venerable 
relative,  whose  fame  at  that  time  was  spread  over  all  France. 
The  story  of  the  relationship  is  strange  enough,  seeing  that 
St.  Martin  was  a  native  of  Sabaria,  in  Pannonia,  where  he 
was  born  about  a.d.  316.  But  though  strange,  it  is  not 
incredible,  and  goes  far  to  explain  the  great  veneration  in 
which  St.  Martin  of  Tours  has  always  been  held  in  Ireland. 
The  authors  of  the  Third  and  FiftJi  Lives  of  St.  Patrick^  as 
printed  by  Colgan,  tell  us  that  the  young  Patrick  spent  four 
years  under  the  guidance  of  St.  Martin,  who  gave  him,  accord- 
ing to  Probus,  the  tonsure  and  religious  habit  in  his  monastery 
of  Marmoutier.  It  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  exact  period. 
According  to  the  common  opinion,  Martin  died  in  a.d.  397,  so 
that  Patrick  must  have  made  his  escape  to  Gaul  in  a.d.  393. 
Others,  however,  fix  the  date  of  St.  Martin's  death  in  a.d.  400 
or  402,  so  that  we  shall  not  bo  far  wrong  if  we  suppose  these 
years  which  Patrick  spent  under  the  guidance  of  St.  Martin 
to  have  been  the  closing  years  of  the  fourth  century. 

'  IIo  beoanio  lumiliar  with  tho  Irish  hin^ua^''i«,  but  it  wus,  as  lie  himself 
implieH,  at  the  oxponso  of  tho  vo macular,  wliiuh  in  his  oaso  was  tho  pioviu. 
cial  Latin,  a  currupt  diaU'ct. 


ST.  PATRICK'S  EDIT-.ATION.  45 

They  were  certainly  fruitful  years  for  tlie  young  Apostle. 
In  some  respects  the  career  of  the  soldier  Saint  was  not  un- 
like that  of  Patrick  himself  hitherto.  His  parents  were 
gentiles,  but  Martin,  in  his  j^outh,  fled  to  the  Church  to 
become  a.  catechumen  and  prepare  himself  for  a  life  of  holi- 
ness in  the  desert.  Being,  however,  the  son  of  a  veteran — 
his  father  was  atribuneinthe  imperial  armies — they  forcedhim 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  to  join  the  cavalry,  and  serve  some  twenty 
campaigns  under  Constantius  and  Julian  the  Apostate,  before 
he  recovered  his  freedom.  He  could,  therefore,  understand 
the  dangers  and  difficulties  that  beset  the  path  of  his  young 
relative,  who  was  carried  off  a  captive  at  the  same  age  at 
which  he  himself  had  been  forced  to  become  a  soldier.  No 
one,  too,  was  better  qualified  to  guide  the  steps  of  Patrick  up 
the  steep  ascent  of  virtue,  and  prepare  him  for  his  future 
apostolate  than  the  aged  soldier  Saint. 

The  life  of  Martin  and  his  monks  at  Marmoutier  was  the 
marvel  of  all  the  West.  We  have  the  picture  drawn  by  one 
who  witnessed  it — by  the  eloquent,  nobly-born,  high-souled 
Sulpicius  Severus,  whose  life  of  St.  Martin  is  one  of  the  most 
charming  biographies  ever  penned. 

He  was  indeed,  the  greatest  example  of  saintly  mortifica- 
tion hitherto  seen  in  the  West.  When  the  people  of  Tours 
clamoured  for  Martin  to  become  their  Bishop,  several 
prelates  objected  to  his  elevation,  because  his  person  was 
contemptible,  his  looks  lowly,  his  clothes  filthy,  and  his  hair 
unkempt.  The  young  soldier,  it  seems,  had  long  before  put 
off  the  mien  and  garb  of  a  warrior,  and  put  on  that  true 
nobility  of  soul,  which  so  rarely  accompanies  gaudy  apparel 
and  lofty  deportment.  But  in  a.d.  371  they  made  him  bishop 
all  the  same  in  spite  of  his  mean  appearance ;  yet  Martin  in 
no  way  changed  his  manner  of  life  in  consequence.  He  built 
himself  a  little  cell  close  by  his  church,  and  there  he  spent 
I  lis  days,  when  he  was  not  preaching  to  the  people  or  travers- 
ing his  diocese  on  foot. 

But  too  many  crowded  round  his  cell  in  the  great  city, 
and  then  he  betook  himself  to  Marmoutier.  It  was  at  that 
time  a  lonely  valley,  less  than  two  miles  from  Tours,  on  the 
right  or  north  bank  of  the  Loire,  shut  in  on  one  side  by  a  line 
of  steep  cliffs,  and  enclosed  on  the  other  by  a  sweep  of  the 
river,  which  at  either  extremity  of  the  valley  rushed  close 
under  the  rocks  and  thus  completely  isolated  the  valley  on 
both  sides.  Here  Martin  built  himself  a  wooden  cell,  and 
was  soon  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  monks  anxious  to  place 
themselves  under  his  guidance.     They  lived,  for  the  most 


46       LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATRKJK. 

part  in  the  daiDp  caverns  botweon  the  cliffs  that  overliung 
the  stream.  At  one  period  he  had  eighty  monks  under  liis 
control  in  tliis  desert  v[dle)^  They  had  no  property  of  their 
own,  says  S.  SeVerus,  but  lived  in  common,  neither  buying 
nor  selling  anything.  The  younger  members  spent  most  of 
their  time  in  writing  and  sacred  study  ;  the  older  gave  them- 
selves up  to  prayer.  They  seldom  left  their  cells  except  to 
go  to  the  Church,  or  to  take  their  solitary  meal  in  the 
evening,  it  would  seem — post  horam  jcjiinii — and  they  never 
tasted  wine  except  in  sickness.  They  were  clad  in  hair  cloth 
— anything  else  they  regarded  as  a  criminal  indulgence.  Yet 
many  of  them  were  amongst  the  noblest  in  the  land,  and 
several  of  them  afterwards  became  bishops  of  various  cities. 
Such  was  the  society  at  Marmoutier  of  which  our  St. 
Patrick  became  a  member.  There  is  no  doubt,  that  as  one  of 
the  juniors,  he  gave  himself  up  to  prayer,  penance,  and  sacred 
study  in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  that  high  mission  of 
which  God  as  yet  had  only  given  him  a  dim  vision.  Many 
writers  say  that  Martin  must  have  been  dead  before  Patrick's 
arrival  in  Gaul,  and  that  our  saint  did  not  come  to  Tours 
until  several  years  later,  probably  about  the  year  a.d.  409  or 
410.  It  matters  little  for  our  argument  whether  Martin  was 
himself  alive  or  not — his  spirit  reigned  in  Marmoutier,  his 
rule  and  his  disciples  were  there  : — 

**  Dead  was  the  lion  ;  but  his  lair  was  warm  ; 
In  it  I  laid  me  and  a  conquering  glow 
Rushed  up  into  my  heart.     Discourse  I  heard 
Of  Martin  still — his  valour  in  the  Lord, 
His  rugged  warrior  zeal,  his  passionate  love 
For  Hilary,  his  vigils  and  his  fasts, 
And  all  his  pitiless  warfare  on  the  Powers 
Of  Darkness."! 

When  Patrick  had  learned  the  discipline  and  divine 
wisdom  of  Marmoutier  he  seems  to  have  spent  some  years 
with  his  friends  in  Britain,^  and  then  in  order  to  perfect 
himself  in  sacred  studies,  he  put  himself  under  the  guidance 
of  the  great  St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre,  who  at  that  time 
enlightened  all  the  Gauls. 

Germanus  was  of  noble  birth,  and  completed  his  studies 
in  Rome,  where  he  adopted  the  profession  of  the  law  and 
practised  for  some  time  in  the  Courts  with  great  applaus(\ 
He  was    eagerly    sought    after  by  the  first  society  iu  the 

*  Legends  of  St.  Patrick,  by  Aubrey  de  Vere. 

*  Thin  is  manifest  from  the  ConJ'tssion — Et  iterum  post  pauoos  aunoa 
eram  in  Britannis  cum  parentibus  moia. 


ST.  Patrick's  p:nucATiON.  47 

capital,  and  having  married  a  ricli  and  noble  lady  he  settled 
at  Auxerre,  where  he  was  made  governor  of  the  province. 
He  was  passionately  devoted  to  the  chase,  and  used  to  hang 
the  spoils  of  his  hunting  expeditions  on  a  stately  pear  tree 
that  grew  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  where  they  were  eagerly 
scanned  by  an  admiring  crowd.  The  Bishop,  St.  Amator, 
not  relishing  this  vain  display,  had  the  tree  cut  down  in  the 
absence  of  Germanus,  who,  hearing  of  this  outrage  on  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  citv,  sought  out  the  prelate,  breathing 
vengeance.  But  the  Bishop  seems  to  have  disarmed  his 
resentment,  and  shortly  after,  sensible  of  his  own  approaching 
end,  and  finding  Germanus  in  the  church,  he  ordered  the 
doors  to  be  closed,  and  the  people  crowding  round  the 
magistrate  took  off  his  fine  clothes,  while  Amator  tonsured 
him  on  the  spot,  cutting  clean  away  all  his  flowing  hair.  The 
event  proved  that  it  was  done  by  a  divine  inspiration. 

After  the  death  of  Amator,  Germanus  became  Bishop  of 
Auxerre,  and  led  a  life  of  extraordinary  virtue  and  austerity, 
as  we  know  from  his  biography  written  by  an  almost  con- 
temporary author,  Constantius. 

From  the  moment  he  was  tonsured,  his  wife  became  to 
him  as  a  sister ;  he  sold  his  property  which  was  considerable, 
and  gave  the  proceeds  to  the  poor  and  to  the  Church.      His 
food  was  the  coarsest  and  scantiest ;  he  never  ate  wheacen 
bread,  nor  used  any  wine,  or  oil,  or  even  vinegar,  or  vege- 
tables.   Barley  bread  and  water,  or  a  little  milk,  was  his  only 
refection.     Twice  a  year,  at  Christmas  and  Easter,  he  took  a 
little  wine  with  water.      He  tasted  ashes  before  his  food ; 
and  threshed  and  ground  with  his  own  hands  the  barley  of 
which  his  bread  was  made.      A  tunic  and  hood  over  a  hair 
shirt  were  his  only  clothing  in  winter  and  summer  ;  his  bed 
was  made  of  planks  strewn  with  ashes,  which  soon  became  as 
hard  as  the  board  itself.     He  slept  in  his  clothes,   seldom 
removing  anything  but  his  belt  and  sandals,  and  his  only 
covering  at  night  was  a  piece  of  coarse  cloth.      He  had  no 
pillow  for  his  head,  and  spent  a  great  part  of  the  night  in 
tears  and  prayers  for  the   sins  of  his  life      Such  was  the 
episcopal  life  of  the  brilliant  Germanus,  the  btatesman  and 
orator,  the  delight  of  Roman  society,  the  keen  huntsman  in 
the  field,  the  accomplished  magistrate  in  the  court;  and  such 
was  the  second  teacher  of  St.  Patrick.      The  Irish  Lives  call 
him  the  *  tutor  *  of  our  apostle,  and  all  our  ancient  authorities 
are  agreed  that  Patrick  spent  several  years  under  the  guid- 
ance of  this  holy  and  learned  man.      Some   think  he  spent 
thirty  years  under  Germanus ;  this,  however,  is  an  impossi- 


4(S        LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.   PATRICK. 

bility,  for  Gerraanus  becnme  bishop  in  a.d.  418,  and  went  to 
Britain  with  St.  Lupus  of  Troyes  to  extirpate  the  Pelagian 
heresy  in  A.D.  429 — three  years  before  the  date  of  St.  Patrick's 
own  mission.  Others  suy  he  spent  fourteen  years  with  Ger- 
manus.and  this  is  more  like  the  truth.  One  thing  is  certain, 
that  our  apostle  owes  to  Gcrmanus  most  of  his  sacred  learning, 
which  was  very  considerable  as  we  shall  see  ;  and  he  learned 
not  only  ''  Queenly  Science,  and  the  forest  huge  of  Doctrine," 
but  what  is  more,  he  learned  the  wisdom  that  rules,  the 
prudence  that  moderates,  the  patience  that  spares,  and  above 
all  and  beyond  all  the  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God. 

Germanus  had  built  a  monastery  beyond  the  river  in  view 
of  his  episcopal  city,  but  completely  cut  off  from  its  noise  and 
bustle.  Every  day  he  was  wont  to  cross  the  stream  in  his 
little  skiff  to  visit  and  instruct  his  beloved  monks,  of  whom 
St.  Patrick  was  one  for  many  years.  Thus  slowly  and  surely, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  holiest  and  most  learned  men  in 
the  West,  did  God  prepare  His  servant  Patrick  for  the  work 
before  him. 

The  Scholiast  on  St.  Placets  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  which 
was  written  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixth  century,  tells  ua 
that  Patrick  accompanied  Germanus  on  his  journey  to 
Britain  in  a.d.  429.  If  so,  and  the  statement  is  highly  probable, 
Patrick  must  have  learned  much  during  that  memorable 
journey,  and  witnessed  the  famous  '  Alleluia  Victory'  over 
the  Saxons  and  Picts.  These  barbarians  were  just  then 
maldng  one  of  their  usual  incursions  on  the  helpless 
Christians  of  Wales,  when  Germanus  hearing  of  the  ap- 
proaching tumult,  and  learning  the  cause,  led  out  on  Easter 
Sunday  his  newly  baptized  catechumens,  and  having  posted 
the  mighty  multitude  amongst  the  steep  hills  that  overlooked 
the  valley  through  which  the  enemy  had  to  pass,  he  calmly 
waited  their  approach.  When  they  entered  the  valley, 
suddenly  the  mighty  shout  of  the  *  Alleluia'  re-echoed 
through  the  mountains,  and  the  affrighted  barbarians  think- 
ing themselves  surrounded  by  an  immense  army,  fled  in 
confusion  without  striking  a  blow.  Germanus  seems  to 
have  returned  to  France  in  a.d.  430  or  431. 

It  is  said  by  most  of  our  ancient  authorities  that  it  was 
Germanus  who  sent  St.  Patrick  to  Celestine  to  receive 
episcopacy  and  authority  for  the  Irish  mission.^     Celestine  at 

^The  Tripartite  says  that  "  Caeleatinus,  Abbot  of  Rome,  read  Orders 
over  Patrick,"  and  the  Scholiast  on  Fiacc's  Hymn,  says  that  GermanuH 
said,  "  Go  to  Caelestinus  that  he  may  confer  Orders  upon  thee,  for  he  i» 
proper  to  confer  them."--  StoHes'  Edition,  vol.  ii.,  419. 


ST.  Patrick's  education.  49 

first  refused,  as  he  had  already  in  a.d.  431  sent  Palladius  with 
authority  to  preach  to  the  Scots,  who  believed  in  Christ — 
''  Ad  Scotos  in  Christum  credentes.^'  But  when  news  was 
brought  to  Rome  by  his  disciples,  Augustine  and  Benedict, 
of  the  failure  of  that  mission  and  the  death  of  Palladius, 
Germ  anus  sent  Patrick  again  to  Pome  accompanied  by  a 
toriest  called  Segetius,  who  gave  testimony  of  his  merits  and 
ae&ires.  Perhaps  it  was  in  the  interval  between  these  two 
journeys  that  St.  Patrick  went  to  the  Island  of  Lerins,  near 
Cannes,  on  the  coast  of  the  department,  now  called  the 
Alpes  Maritimes. 

Yery  many  of  our  ancient  authorities  mention  this  visit 
to  Lerins,  or  some  other  of  the  rocky  islets  that  abound  in 
that  part  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  several  of  which  were 
then  inhabited  by  holy  men.  It  is  said  expressly  in  the 
Hymn  of  St,  Fiacc,  the  oldest  of  St.  Patrick's  lives,  that  he 
studied  the  canons  with  Germanus,  that  the  angel  sent  him 
across  the  Alps,  and  that  he  stayed  in  the  islands  of  the 
Tyrrhene  Sea.  It  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  date  of  this  visit  nor 
its  duration  ;  it  is,  however,  in  itself  extremely  probable, 
independently  of  the  high  authority  of  Fiacc's  Metrical  Life, 
as  well  as  of  the  Third  Life,  and  Probus'  Fifth  Life.  The 
Third  Life  reprersents  our  saint  as  spending  several  years  in 
an  island  called  Tamerencis,  or,  as  Probus  puts  it,  with  the 
barefooted  hermits  in  a  certain  island  of  the  sea.  This 
island  in  all  probability  was  Lerins,  and  the  barefooted 
hermits  were  the  monks  of  8t.  Honoratus,  who  was  thus  the 
third  teacher  of  St.  Patrick. 

When  Honoratus,  flying  fame  and  friends,  came  to  Lerins 
in  A.D.  410,  it  was  covered  with  dense  shrubberies,  through 
whose  tangled  masses  innumerable  serpents  glided  and 
scared  away  the  fishermen,  who  chanced  to  land  on  the  barren 
and  inhospitable  rock.  But  Honoratus  was  not  to  be 
daunted.  With  a  few  faithful  companions  he  set  to  work, 
and  soon  cleared  a  space  for  their  cells,  and  for  such  patches 
of  agriculture,  as  would  supply  their  scanty  needs.  The 
monks  were  patient  and  laborious  ;  the  soil  was  naturally 
not  ungrateful.  The  serpents  were  banished,  the  brakes 
were  all  cut  down,  and  fruit  trees  planted  in  their  stead. 
There  was  a  bright  sky  above,  and  glittering  seas  around ; 
snow-capped  mountains  arose  in  the  blue  distance ;  orange 
groves  vvafted  their  delicious  fragrance  over  the  waters,  so 
that  Lerins  became  an  Eden,  where  the  sights  of  nature  were 
as  fair,  and  the  hearts  of  the  men  as  pure,  as  they  were  in 
Paradise.     There,   too,  St.   Honoratus,  afterwards  raised  in 

D 


50         LEAUNfNn   IX  IRKl  AND  IN  TTTR  TIME  OF  ST.   PATRICK. 

A.D.  429  to  the  See  of  Aries,  founded  a  famous  scliool  which 
was  long  celebrated  in  the  south  of  Europe,  and  produced 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  scholars  of  the  lifth  century. 
Such  were  their  piety  and  learning  that  all  the  cities  round 
about  strove  emulously  to  have  monks  from  Lerins  for  their 
bishops. 

This  was  the  last  school  in  which  St.  Patrick  made  his 
final  preparation  before  presenting  himself  to  St.  Celestine, 
and  receiving  his  commission  to  preach  the  Gospel  in 
Ireland.  Not  rashly  surel}^  nor  without  due  preparation  in 
the  greatest  and  holiest  schools  of  the  Continent,  did  Patrick 
undertake  the  work  of  God.  Letters,  borne  by  angels  con- 
taining the  voice  of  the  Irish,  had  long  been  calling  him  ; 
the  wailings  of  the  children  from  the  wood  of  Focluth,  by 
the  shore  of  the  western  sea,  whence  he  had  escaped  to 
France,  were  ringing  in  his  ears  night  and  da}^  imploring 
Patrick  to  come  and  w^alk  once  more  amongst  them.  He 
had  prepared  himself  most  carefully  for  his  great  mission  ; 
he  w^as  duly  commissioned  by  St.  Celestine,  as  both  the 
Tripartite  and  the  Scholiast  on  Fiacc's  hymn  expressly 
inform  us;  he  received  the  blessing  of  the  beloved  teachers 
under  whose  guidance  he  had  lived  so  long;  and  thus  full  of 
courage  and  trust  in  God,  he  set  out  for  the  difficult  and 
dangerous  task  of  converting  the  Irish  nation  to  the  faith  of 
Christ. 

II. — St.  Patrick's  Literary  Labour  in  Ireland. 

St.  Patrick  not  only  converted  the  Irish,  but  purified 
their  laws,  gave  new  inspiration  to  their  Bards,  and  laid  the 
foundations  of  that  system  of  education  which  for  the  next 
three  centuries  made  Ireland  the  light  and  glory  of  all 
western  Europe.  We  propose  briefly  to  sketch  his  labours 
in  these  respects. 

When  Patrick  arrived  in  Ireland  in  a.d.  432,  after  a 
fruitless  attempt  to  convert  his  old  master  Milcho,  he  went 
straight  to  Tara,  where  King  Laeghaire  was  then  holding 
his  court,  and  as  might  be  expected,  he  at  once  came  into 
collision  with  the  Druids.  They  luid  already,  according  to 
the  Tripartite,  foretold  his  advent,  for  they  were  mighty 
magicians,  and  the  two  chief  Druids  of  Erin,  Lochru  and 
Luchat  the  Bald,  w^ere  then  at  Tara,  as  it  was  the  time  of 
the  great  Feast,  and  Tara  Avas  "  the  head  (^f  the  idolatry 
and  druidism  of  l^lrin."^     Patrick  lit  his  paschal  fire  at  Slane 

'  Tf'ipartiU, 


ST.  PATRICK  S  LITERARY   LABOUR  IN  IRELAND.  51 

on  Holy  Saturday,  and  when  the  two  Druids  beheld  from  the 
green  slopes  of  Tara  the  strange  fire,  they  at  once  told  the 
king  that  the  flame  must  be  extinguished  before 
morning,  or  it  could  never  be  extinguished  in  Erin.  The 
angry  monarch  ordered  his  horses  to  be  yoked,  and  set  out 
to  meet  the  bold  stranger,  who  had  dared  to  kindle  the 
forbidden  flame  in  sight  of  the  royal  palace.  The  Druid 
Lochru  fiercely  and  enviously  assailed  Patrick  in  presence  of 
the  king  at  Slane,  but  at  Patrick's  prayer  the  impious  man 
was  first  raised  high  in  the  air,  and  falling  down  his  brains 
were  dashed  out  on  the  ground  before  the  king.  'Now  although 
the  monarch  and  his  attendants  feared  much,  and  in  their 
fear  dared  not  touch  the  Apostle,  yet  we  find  that  next  day 
when  Patrick  suddenly  appeared  at  Tara,  the  second  Druid, 
Luchat  the  Bald,  tried  to  poison  him,  but  that  attempt 
failing,  he  challenged  the  Saint  to  contend  with  him  in 
miracles  before  all  the  people.  Patrick  readily  accepted  the 
challenge,  and  of  course  defeated  the  Druid,  who  was  con- 
sumed to  ashes  in  an  attempt  to  save  himself  from  the 
flames,  while  the  youthful  Benignus  escaped  the  fiery  ordeal 
unhurt. 

These  miraculous  stories  at  least  express  one  undoubted 
truth,  that  the  conflict  between  Christianity  and  druidism 
was  a  conflict  to  the  death.  One  or  the  other  must  be  utterly 
routed ;  there  could  be  no  league  between  light  and  darknes>!, 
between  Christ  and  Belial.  The  victory  gained  over  druidism 
at  Tara  was  conclusive;  all  the  nation  felt  and  recognised  the 
might  of  the  man  who  had  conquered  the  royal  Druids ;  for 
it  was  their  proud  boast  that  they  held  dominion  over  the 
elements  and  could  make  them  work  their  will.  But  now 
there  appeared  a  mightier  man  than  they,  who  utterly 
vanquished  them,  and  bound  in  strong  bonds  the  Princes  of 
Darkness,  the  real  authors  of  their  wondi*ous  deeds.  Else- 
where indeed  they  strove  to  renew  the  conflict,  as  when 
Patrick  crossed  the  Shannon,  the  Druids  of  Cruachan,  Moel 
and  Caplait,  brought  a  thick  darkness  over  all  the  plain  of 
Magh  Aei.  But,  again,  the  power  of  Patrick's  God  van- 
quished them — the  darkness  was  miraculously  dissipated  by 
Patrick,  and  they  themselves  were  converted  to  the  faith  of 
Christ. 

Yet  when  Patrick  had  proved  the  might  of  the  God 
whom  he  adored,  although  he  burnt  the  idolatrous  books  at 
Tara,  and  overturned  the  idols  of  Magh  Slecht  in  Leitrim, 
and  gave  no  toleration  to  heathen  rites,  still,  in  other 
respects  he  dealt  tenderly  wi^h  the  failings  and  even  with  the 


52       LEARNINH   IN    TRF.T  ANP  IX  THE  TIME  OF    ST.    TATRICK 

superstitions  of  tlie  ])eople.  Tiuar  sacred  places  were,  in 
many  cases, consecrated  and  utilized  for  Christian  worship;  the 
Druids  themselves,  when  truly  converted,  were  not-  deemed 
unwortliy  of  a  place  in  the  Christian  ministry  ;  the  wells  and 
streams  where  pagan  rites  had  been  often  celebrated,  were 
blessed  by  the  Apostle,  and  the  ancient  festivals  of  the  Druids 
were  now  mad  >  to  do  honour  to  tlie  Chri-^tian  saints.  Thus 
it  came  to  pass  that  the  raid-summer  festival  '^f  paG^anism 
became  lienuefor  ward  a  festival  in  honour  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  November  Eve  of  the  Druids  was  made  the 
Vigil  of  All  Saints. 

III. — St.  Patrick  Reforms  the  Brehon  Laws. 

One  of  St.  Patrick's  greatest  works  was  his  reform  and 
ratification  of  the  ancient  Brehon  Laws  as  embodied  in  the 
great  compilation  known  as  the  SencJuis  Mor,  or  Great 
Antiquity.  His  labours  in  this  respect  claim  special  attention, 
for  the  Brehon  Code  prevailed  in  the  greater  part  of  Ireland 
down  to  the  year  A.n.  1600,  and  even  still  its  influence  is  felt 
in  the  feelings  and  habits  of  the  people.  The  laws  of  a  nation 
necessarily  exercise  a  great  and  permanent  influence  in 
forming  the  mind  and  character  of  the  people;  nor  can  the 
provisions  of  the  Brehon  Code  be  safely  ignored  by  those 
whose  duty  it  is  even  now  to  legislate  lor  Ireland. 

As  explained  before,  the  Brehon  Code,  which  St.  Patrick 
found  in  Ireland,  owed  its  existence  mainly  to  three  sources, 
first  to  decisions  of  the  ancient  judges  (of  whom  the  most 
distinguished  was  Sen,  son  of  Aighe),  given  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  natural  justice,  and  handed  down  by 
tradition  ;  secondly,  to  the  enactments  of  the  Triennial 
Parliaments,  known  as  the  Great  Feis  of  Tara ;  thirdly,  to 
the  customary  laws,  which  grew  up  in  the  course  of  ages  and 
regulated  the  social  relations  of  the  people,  according  to  the 
principles  of  a  patriarchal  society,  of  which  the  hereditary 
chief  was  the  head.  This  great  Code  naturally  contained 
many  provisions  that  regulated  the  druidital  rights,  privi- 
leges, and  worship,  all  of  which  had  to  be  expunged.  The 
Irish,  too,  were  a  passionate  and  warlike  race,  who  rarely 
forgave  injuries  or  insults,  until  they  were  atoned  lor  accord- 
in";  to  a  strict  law  of  retaliation,  which  was  bv  no  means  in 
accordance  with  the  mild  and  forgiving  spirit  of  the  Gosj)el. 
In  so  far  as  the  Brdion  Code  was  founded  on  this  principle, 
it  was  necessary  for  St.  Patrick  to  abolish  or  ameml  its 
provisions.  Moreover,  the  new  Church  claimed  its  own 
rights  and  privileges,  for  which  it  was  impoitant  to  secure 


ST.  PATRICK  REFORMS  THE  BRKHON  LAWS.         53 

formal  legal  sanction,  and  to  have  embodied  in  the  great 
Code  of  the  Nation.  This  was  of  itself  a  difficult  and 
important  task. 

The  Senchus  Mor  explains  the  motives  that  prompted 
the  revision  of  the  Brehon  Code  with  great  clearness. 
Dubhthach  Mac  Ua  Lugair,  the  Chief  Poet  and  Brehon  of 
Erin,  was  one  of  the  first  to  believe  in  Patrick's  Gospel  at 
Tara ;  and  it  happened  to  be  his  duty  to  pronounce  judgment 
on  the  man  who  slew  Odhran,  Patrick's  Charioteer.  There- 
upon Patrick  and  Dubhthach  convoked  the  men  of  Erin  to  a 
couference  at  Tara,  as  it  would  seem,  and  Dubhthach 
explained  all  that  Patrick  had  achieved  since  his  arrival  in 
Erin,  and  how  he  had  overcome  Laeghaire  aTid  his  Druids, 
by  the  great  signs  and  wonders  which  he  had  wrought. 
''Then  all  the  men  of  Erin  bowed  down  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  God  and  St.  Patrick.  It  was  then  that  all  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  sciences  in  Erin  were  assembled,  and  each  of 
them  exhibited  his  art  before  Patrick  in  the  presence  of  every 
chief  in  Erin.  It  was  then  too  that  Dubhthach  was  ordered 
to  exhibit  the  judgments,  and  all  the  poetry  of  Erin,  and 
every  law  which  prevailed  amongst  the  men  of  Erin,  through 
the  law  of  nature,  and  the  law  of  the  seers,  and  in  the  judg- 
ments of  the  island  of  Erin,  and  in  the  poets,"  who  were  at 
first  the  j  udges. 

"Now  the  judgments  of  true  nature  which  the  Holy 
Ghost^  had  spoken  through  the  mouths  of  the  Brehons  and 
just  poets  of  the  men  of  Erin  from  the  first  occupation  of 
this  island  down  to  the  reception  of  the  I'aith,  were  all 
exhibited  by  Dubhthach  to  Patrick.  Whatever  did  not  clash 
with  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  written  Law,  and  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  with  the  consciences  of  the  believer^',  was 
confirmed  in  the  laws  of  the  Brehons  by  Patrick,  and  by  the 
ecclesiastics  and  chieftains  of  Erin,  for  the  law  of  nature  had 
been  quite  right  except  the  laith  and  its  obligations,  and  the 
harmony  of  the  Church  and  the  people.  And  this  is  the 
Senchus.'' 

This  great  conference  took  place  in  the  year  a.d.  438.  Of 
course  the  work  thus  briefly  summarised  was  not  done  in  a 
day.  A  regular  Commission  was  appointed  consisting  of 
nine  learned  men  representing  the  various  classes  and 
interests  of  the  entire  nation. 

This  Commission  of  Nine — from  whom  the  Senchus  was 


1  "WJiat  is  naturally  just  comes  from  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  author  of 
the  Natural  Law. 


54       LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

called  the  Nojis,  or  Knowledge  of  Nine — consisted  of  three 
Kings,  three  Bishops,  and  three  men  of  Science.  The  Kings 
were  Laeghaire,  Core,  and  Daire  ;  the  Bishops  were  Patrick, 
Benignus,  and  Cairnech  ;  the  men  of  Science,  or  antiquaries 
as  they  are  called  by  the  Four  Masters,  were  Dubhthach 
himself,  Chief  Poet  and  Brehon  of  all  Erin,  E-ossa,  a  Doctor 
of  the  Berla  Feini,  or  legal  dialect,  which  was  very  abstruse, 
and  Fergus,  a  Poet,  who  represented  the  liiost  learned  and 
influential  class  in  the  country.  Evidently  Patrick  had 
fetudied  under  Germanus  to  some  purpose  ;  no  one  can  help 
admiring  the  skill  which  he  displayed  in  organizing  and 
selecting  this  g^reat  Commission. 

It  has  been  said  that  some  members  of  this  Commission, 
especially  Core  and  Cairnech,  could  not  have  been  present 
from  A.D.  438  to  441,  that  the  former  was  dead,  and  the  latter 
not  yet  born,  seeing  that  he  died,  accordinor  to  Colgan,  in 
A.i).  534 — nearly  a  hundred  years  later.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  enter  into  details ;  the  answer,  however,  is  very 
simple.  King  Core  was,  it  is  true,  grandijather  of  Aenghus 
Mac  Nadfraich,  who  when  a  youth  was  baptized  by  Patiick 
at  Cashel,  in  a.d  445.  But  the  latter  had  not  then  commenced 
his  reign,  and  his  grandfather  may  have  been  alive  in  a.d. 
441,  and  for  several  years  later,  for  we  know,  both  from  the 
Book  of  Rights,  and  the  poems  of  Dubhthach,  that  he  was  a 
contemporary  of  St.  Patrick. 

As  to  the  alleged  death  of  Cairnech  in  a.d.  530,  that 
Cairnech,  whose  festival  day  is  set  down  on  the  28th  of  May, 
was  quite  different  from  St.  Cairnech  of  Tuilen  (now  Tulane 
in  Meath),  whose  festival  is  the  16th  of  May,  and  who  is  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  Briitish  saints,  probably  from 
Cornwall,  that  accompanied  St.  Patrick  to  Ireland.  He  it 
was  who  was  chosen  to  act  on  the  Commission  which  pro- 
duced the  Senchus  Mar. 

Benignus,  was  a  mere  boy  of  some  sixteen  years  of  age 
when  Patrick  stayed  for  a  night  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Nanny  River  near  Duleek,  and  being  weary  from  his  journey 
the  Saint  fell  asleep  on  the  green  sward.  Then  the  boy 
gathered  sweet-smelling  flowers  and  tenderly  laid  them  in 
the  Saint's  bosom  as  he  slept.  **Stop  doing  that  lest  thou 
awake  Patrick,"  said  the  others ;  and  thereupon  Patrick 
awoke,  and  blessed  the  boy,  and  foretold  that  ho  was  to  be 
the  heir  of  his  kingdom.  So  the  boy  was  baptized  and  c  vor 
afterwards  followed  the  Saint,  who  a])pointed  bin)  his 
Coadjutor  Bishop  in  the  See  of  Arnuigh,  so  early  as  a.d.  4olV 
Benignus  being  young  and  carotuUy   trained  by  St.  Pntrit  k. 


ST.  PATRICK  REFORMS  THE  BREHON  LAWS.        55 

and  also  learned  in  the  Irish  tongue,  in  all  probability  acted 
as  Secretary  to  the  Commission,  and  drafted  with  his  own 
hands  the  laws  that  were  sanctioned  by  the  Seniors.  Accord- 
ing' to  O'Donovan  he  was  also  the  original  author  of  the 
famous  Chronicle  called  the  Psalter  of  CasJiel^  which  gives  a 
full  account  of  the  laws,  rights  and  prerogatives  of  the 
Monarchs  of  Ireland,  and  especially  of  the  Kings  of  Cashel. 
He  seems  also  to  have  been  the  original  author  of  the  Book 
of  Rights^  although  in  its  present  form  it  gives  manifest 
proof  of  considerable  changes,  and  much  later  emendations. 
Daire,  the  only  remaining  member  of  whom  it  is  necessary 
to  make  any  remark,  seems  to  have  been  the  same  who 
granted  Armagh  to  St.  Patrick  as  a  site  for  his  Cathedral, 
and  whose  daughter  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  very  first 
of  the  Irish  maidens,  who  took  the  veil  from  the  hands  of 
St.  Patrick,  and  with  her  companions,  some  the  daughters  of 
kings,  spent  her  life  of  utter  purity  in  working  vestments  for 
the  priests,  and  altar-cloths  for  the  service  of  the  Cathedral. 
Yet  romance  was  mingled  with  her  name,  for  she : — 

**  The  best  and  fairest, 
King  Daire's  daughter,  Erenait  by  name, 
Had  loved  Benignus  in  her  Pagan  years. 
He  knew  it  not;  full  sweet  to  her  his  voice, 
Chanting  in  choir.     One  day  through  grief  of  love 
The  maiden  lay  as  dead  ;  Benignus  shook 
Dews  from  the  font  above  her,  and  she  woke, 
With  heart  emancipate  that  out-soared  the  lark, 
Lost  in  the  blue  heavens.     She  loved  the  Spouse  of  Souls." ^ 

Such  was  the  Commission  of  Nine  selected  by  St.  Patrick 
to  purify  the  ancient  pagan  Code.  We  have  still  in  existence 
the  fruit  of  their  labours  substantially  unchanged,  although 
as  we  might  expect,  a  vast  mass  of  accretions,  in  the  shape  of 
commentaries  and  glosses,  has  gathered  round  the  original 
text.  The  Nine  were,  however,  the  real  authors  of  the 
Senchiis  Mor^  which  still  furnishes  the  most  abundant  and 
authentic  materials  for  the  study  of  our  national  history.  It 
is  a  very  large  work,  and  the  archaic  text  was  so  obscure  that 
even  O'Donovan  and  0' Curry  were  sometimes  unable  to 
explain  its  meaning.  It  is  certainly  the  greatest  monument 
in  existence  of  the  learning  and  civilization  of  the  ancient 
Gaedhlic  race  in  Erin. 

St.  Patrick  not  only  reformed  the  State  Organization,  he 
also  established  a  Church  Organization  in  Ireland.  He 
knew  well  that  it  was  not  enough  to   preach,  and  baptize, 

^  Aubrey  de  Vere,  Legends  of  St.  Fatrick. 


5()        LKMISING   IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATKICK. 

and  build  churches ;  it  was  necessary,  if  his  work  was  to 
endure,  to  train  a  nalive  ministry,  and  organize  the  native 
Church  in  harmony  with  the  institutions  and  character  of 
the  Celtic  tribes  in  Ireland.  It  was  a  very  difficult  task ; 
for  the  tribes  were  still  very  simple  and  primitive  in  their 
habits,  and  were  moreover  devotedly  attached  to  the  tribal 
institutions,  which  had  come  down  to  them  from  a  remote 
antiquity. 

In  acccmiplishing  this  task,  which  he  did  with  perfect 
success,  Patrick  displayed  singular  firmness  and  prudence. 
Whenever  there  was  question  of  principle,  that  is,  of  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  and  the  teacliing  of  the  Church,  he  was, 
as  might  be  expected,  unyielding  as  the  rock.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  was  no  root-and-branch  leformer ;  he  dealt 
most  tenderly  witli  the  usages  and  with  the  prejudices  of  the 
people.  He  utilized  whatever  was  good  in  their  existing 
habits  and  institutions,  reformed  what  was  imperfect,  and 
lopped  off  what  was  evil.  With  druidisra,  for  instance,  he 
could  make  no  terms.  There  could  be  no  alliance  between 
Christ  and  Belial ;  it  must  be  utterly  rooted  out  of  the  land. 
Not  so  with  the  Brchons,  and  the  Brehon  Code.  He  made  no 
attempt  to  introduce  the  Roman  Civil  Law  into  Ireland  ;  it 
would  have  been  utterly  unsuited  to  the  tribal  system.  But 
he  reformed  the  Brehon  Code,  and  retained  "  all  the  judg- 
ments of  a  true  nature,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  spoken 
through  the  mouths  of  the  Brehons,  and  the  just  Poets  of 
the  men  of  Erin,''  thus  winning  over  to'  his  side  that  in- 
fluential Order,  who  might  otherwise  have  been  arrayed 
against  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel. 

In  like  manner  he  dealt  with  the  Bards.  In  a  spirit  of 
consummate  prudence,  he  sought  to  secure  the  aid  of  that 
powerful  corporation  for  his  infant  Church,  and  succeeded  in 
establishing  a  friendly  alliance  with  the  Arch-Poet  of  Erin. 
Dubthach  Mac  Ua  Lugair  held  the  twofold  office  of  Chief 
Poet  and  Chief  Brehon  of  Ireland,  and  St.  Patrick  utilized 
his  influence  and  his  services  in  both  capacities.  He  was 
the  working  head  of  the  Commission  for  the  reformation  of 
the  Biehon  Laws  ;  but  St.  Patrick  seems  also  to  have  secured 
his  influence  as  Chief  Poet  in  procuring  eligible  candidates 
for  the  sacred  ministry  from  the  schools  of  the  Bards — the 
most  lettered  class  in  the  community.  It  was  thus  the 
young  poet,  Eiacc  of  Sletty,  was  ordained  by  Patrick  on  the 
advice  and  at  the  suo-uestion  of  Dubthach.  St.  Patrick 
indeed  had  every  reason  to  bo  grateful  to  the  Arch -Poet;  ho 
was  the  first  to  believe  in  the  Saint's  teaching  at  Tara,  uud 


ST.  Patrick's  alliance  with  the"  bauds,  57 

rose  up  to  do  him  honour  eveii  against  the  king's  command; 
he  aided  in  reforming  the  laws  ;  be  gave  his  most  promising 
young  pupils  for  the  service  of  the  altar,  including  several 
of  his  own  sons,  who  otherwise  would  doubtless  have  fol- 
lowed the  profession  of  their  father. 

This  friendly  alliance  between  St.  Patrick  and  the  Bardic 
Order  is  personified  in  the  story  of  Ossian's  relations  with 
the  Saint.  According  to  the  legend  the  venerable  old  man 
had  long  survived  the  fall  of  his  house,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  Fenian  chivalry  on  the  fatal  field  of  Gabhra,  yet  lived 
on  to  find  himself  friendless  and  helpless  under  a  new  and 
strange  order  of  things  in  Christian  Erin.  But  Patrick  in 
the  true  spirit  of  the  Gospel  took  the  homeless  old  man 
under  his  own  protection,  and,  treating  him  with  the  greatest 
generosity  and  forbearance,  sought  to  console  him  for  the 
vanished  glories  of  the  heroic  past,  and  fill  his  mind  with 
brighter  visions  of  a  more  glorious  and  immortal  future 
beyond  the  grave  : — 

"Patrick,  this  other  boon  I  crave, * 
That  I  to  thee  in  heaven  may  sing 
Full  loud  the  glories  of  the  brave. 
And  Fionn,  my  sire  and  king." 

**  Oisin,  in  heaven  the  praises  swell 

To  God  alone  from  soul  and  saint ; " 
"Then  Patrick,  I  their  deeds  will  tell 
In  little  whisper  faint." 

*'  Prince  of  thy  country's  tuneful  choir, 
Thou  wert  her  golden  tongue, 
Sing  thou  the  new  strain,  *  I  believe,* 
Give  thou  to  God  her  song." 

It  was  in  this  spirit  Patrick  dealt  with  the  Bards  of  Erin. 
They  might  keep  their  harps,  and  sing  the  songs  of  Erin^s 
heroic  youth,  as  in  the  days  of  old.  But  the  great  Saint 
taught  them  how  to  tune  their  harps  to  loftier  strains  than 
those  of  the  banquet-hall  or  the  battle-march.  He  sought  to 
drive  out  from  their  songs  the  evil  spirit  of  undying  hate  and 
rancorous  vengeance,  to  impress  the  poet's  mind  with  some- 
thing of  the  divine  spirit  of  Christian  charity,  and  to  soften 
the  fierce  melody  of  his  war-songs  with  cadences  of  pity  for  a 
fallen  foe.  He  taught  the  sons  of  the  Bards  how  to  chant 
the  psalms  of  David,  and  sing  together  the  sweet  music  of 
the  Church's  hymns.     Thus  by  slow  degrees  their  wild  ways 

^  The  Legends  of  St.  Patrick^  by  Aubrey  de  Vere. 


58       LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF   ST.  PATRICK. 

were  tamed,  their  fierce  hearts  were  softened,  and  the  evil 
spirit  of  Discord  gave  place  to  the  heavenly  spirit  of  brotherly 
Love. 

The  Irish  people  ^  have  been  always  passionately  fond  of 
music,  and  this  was  especially  so  in  those  early  times  when 
other  strong  attractions  wore  entirely  wanting.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  Church  music  exercised  a  great  in- 
fluence in  attracting  the  new  converts  to  the  t^ervices  of  the 
clergy  both  in  the  monastic  and  secular  Churches — a  fact  of 
which  St.  Patrick  was  fully  sensible.  Hence  we  find  that 
from  the  very  beginning  he  made  provision  to  have  his  new 
converts  trained  in  psalmody. 

St.  Benignus,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  the 
sweet  and  gentle  boy,  who  strewed  the  flowers  in  Patrick^s 
bosom,  and  would  not  be  taken  from  his  side,  is  called 
'^  Patricks  Psalm.-Singer"  in  the  Lives  of  the  Saints  as  well 
as  in  the  A  nnals  of  the  Four  Masters. 

This  plainly  signifies  that  Patrick  selected  Benignus, 
dofubtless  on  account  of  his  sweet  voice  and  skill  in  music, 
to  be  what  should  be  now  called  his  choir-master.  Whenever 
a  new  Church  and  new  congregation  was  founded,  it  would  be 
the  duty  of  Benignus  from  such  materials  as  were  at  hand, 
to  try  and  organize  a  Church  choir,  and  conduct  the  musical 
service.  He  seems  to  have  accompanied  St.  Patrick  in  all 
his  earlier  missionary  journeys,  and  doubtless  this  would  be 
the  principal  duty  of  the  gentle  youth  who  so  well  deserved 
his  name. 

This  brings  us  to  consider  what  provision  St.  Patrick 
made  for  training  up  a  native  ministry  in  the  Irish  Church, 
which  would  be  competent  to  continue  and  perlect  his  work. 
The  question  is  a  very  interesting  one,  and  intimately  con- 
nected with  our  subject ;  but  the  means  of  furnishing  an 
answer  are  exceedingly  scanty,  and  can  onl}^  be  gleaned  with 
difficulty  from  isolated  passages  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostle  of  Ireland. 

The  earliest  instance  on  record  is  that  of  St.  Benignus 
himself,  which  shows  that  from  the  very  beginning  of  his 
missionary  career,  St.  Patrick  had  this  purpose  of  training 
up  a  native  ministry  to  continue  his  work  strongly  before  his 
mind.  When  the  Saint  was  on  the  point  of  starting  on  his 
journey  from  the  house  of  the  father  of  Benignus,  he  had  one 
foot  on  the  ground  and  the  other  in  his  cluiriot,  when  the 
boy  rushed  up,  and  caught  hold  of  Patrick's  foot  with  bid 

^  Almost  Qv^ry  memboi*  of  a  family  could  play  ou  tho  harp.  So^ 
Uerald  Barry '«  Desvriptio  Kaiuhrue,  p.  1S3. 


ST.  PATRICK  TRAINS  A  NATIVE  MINISTRY.  ^9 

two  hands,  crying  out,  "  Oh,  let  me  go  with  Patrick,  my 
father."^  And  when  they  were  going  to  take  him  away 
Patrick  said — "  Baptize  him,  and  put  him  with  me  in  ray 
car,  for  he  will  yet  be  the  heir  of  my  kingdom.''  This  was 
done,  and  Benignus  never  afterwards  left  Patrick.  He 
accompanied  him  on  his  missionary  journeys ;  he  con- 
ducted the  musical  services  of  the  Church  for  Patrick,  and  he 
died  the  heir  of  his  kingdom,  that  is,  Coadjutor  Archbishop 
of  Armagh,  about  the  year  a.d.  468 — long  before  St.  Patrick 
himself  went  to  his  rest.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
St.  Benignus  was  trained  for  the  sacred  ministry  imder  the 
personal  care  of  St.  Patrick.  And,  as  we  shall  presently  see, 
this  was  the  usual  course  befoi'e  the  monastic  schools  were 
yet  established  in  Erin,  to  train  the  young  levites  under  the 
personal  care  of  some  other  ecclesiastic,  priest  or  bishop,  as 
the  case  might  be.  In  nearly  the  same  way  Patrick 
happened  about  the  same  time  to  meet  Mochae  of  Noendrum, 
while  he  was  yet  a  boy,  herding  swine,  and  "  Patrick 
preached  to  him,  and  baptized  him,  and  tonsured  him,"  thus 
selecting  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  ecclesiastical  state.  Of 
this  Mochae,  one  of  the  earliest  disciples  of  St.  Patrick,  we 
ehall  see  more  hereafter,  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the 
school  of  Noendrum. 

Yet  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  St.  Patrick  came  single- 
handed  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Erin,  and  that  he  had  no 
assistance  until  these  boys  were  old  enough  to  become  them- 
selves priests  and  bishops.  We  know  that  the  contrary  was 
the  fact. 

We  are  told  by  a  very  ancient  authority^  that  the  Saint 
was  accompanied  to  Ireland  by  a  great  number  of  holy  bishops 
and  priests  and  deacons,  and  other  youths  in  minor  orders 
whom  he  had  himself  ordained  for  the  Irish  Mission.  They 
were  Britons,  Franks,  and  Romans,  the  latter  term  simply 
meaning  that  some  amongst  them  enjoyed  the  rights  of  Poman 
citizenship.  Many  of  them  were  his  own  blood  relations, 
like  Sechnall  or  Secundinus,  the  son  of  Patrick's  sister, 
Darerca.  Others,  like  Auxilius  and  Iserninus,  are  said  to 
have  been  sent  by  Germanus  of  Auxerre  to  aid  St.  Patrick 
in  preaching  to  the  Irish.  These  two  prelates,  however, 
though  ordained  with  St.  Patrick,  did  not  come  to  Ireland 
for  some  time  after  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick.     Iserninus 

^  Boo/c  of  Armagh'. 

^  Tirechan's  Cullecfcions — "  Et  secum  f  uit  multitudo  episcoporurn 
sanctorum,  et  presbiterorum,  et  diaconorum,  ac  exorcistaram,  hostiarium, 
lectorumque,  ueciion  filiorum  quos  ordiuavit." — Book  of  Armagh,  lol.  9. 


60       LEARNING  IN  IRKLAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF   ST.  PATRICK. 

founded  his  church  at  Kilcullen  in  the  co.  Kildare,  and 
Auxilius  founded  Killossy,  in  the  barony  of  Naas,  which  takes 
its  name  Cill-Usailli  (Gen.  of  Ausaille)  from  that  Saint. 

The  names  of  these  two  bishops  are  chiefly  memorable  in 
connection  with  a  celebrated  Synod — the  first  held  in  Ireland 
— which  is  commonly  called  the  Synod  of  Patrick,  Auxilius, 
and  Iserninus.  Having  been  ordained  Priests,  if  not 
Bishops,  on  the  same  day  with  St.  Patrick  himself,  these 
two  prelates  seem  to  have  enjoyed  a  certain  kind  of  co-ordi- 
nate authority  with  Patrick,  but  still  in  subjection  to  his 
primatial  jurisdiction.  The  name  of  Secundinus  is  not  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  this  Synod,  which  was  held  a.d. 
447  or  448,  either  because  he  was  already  dead,  or  did  not 
possess  independent  jurisdiction  as  one  of  the  original  epis- 
copal founders  of  the  Irish  Church.  We  cannot  now  enter 
into  the  question  huw  far  all  the  Canons  attributed  to  St.  Patrick 
in  the  great  collections  published  by  several  writers  are 
genuine,  or  merely  circulated  under  his  name  with  a  view  tc 
lend  them  greater  authority.^  Those  attributed,  however,  to 
the  Synod  of  Patrick,  Auxilius,  and  Iserninus  are  commonly 
regarded  as  authentic,"^  and  indeed  bear  intrinsic  evidence 
that  they  were  framed  at  a  time  when  paganism  was  yet 
common  in  Ireland. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  Canons  is  that  which  for- 
mally recognises  the  supremacy  of  the  Holy  See  as  the 
Supreme  Judge  of  Controversies — Si  quae  quaestiones  (diffi- 
ciles)  in  hac  insula  oriantur  ad  Sedem  Apostolicam  referantur.^ 
A  Canon  to  the  same  purport  is  contained  in  the  Book  of 
Armagh  (fol.  21,  b.  2)  and  is  there  expressly  recorded  as 
the  decree  of  Auxilius,  Patrick,  Secundinus,  and  Benignus. 
After  reciting  that  if  any  difficult  case  arose  in  the  nations  of 
the  Scots  it  should  be  referred  to  the  See  of  Patrick,  the 
Archbishop  of  the  Scots,  for  decision,  it  is  added :  "But  if 
the  aforesaid  cause  cannot  easily  be  decided  in  it  (Armagh), 
we  decree  that  it  be  transmitted  to  the  Apostolic  See,  that  it^, 
to  the  See  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  which  has  authority  over  the 
city  of  Kome."^  Another  Canon  (Lib.  xxxiv.  c.  2)  orders  that 

1  See  Wassersc/ileben's  great  collection,  published  at  Leipaig,  1885. 

a  See  Todd's  St.  Patrick,  p.  457. 

3  See  Wasserschleben,  page  61,  Lib.  xx.,c.  5;  Hadiian  and  Stubbs,\o\.  ii., 
Part  ii. ,  page  332. 

■*  "  Si  vero  iu  ilia  (Cathedra  Patricii)  cum  suia  sapientibua  facile  siuiari 
nou  poterit  causa  praodictao  nej;otionis,  ad  sedcm  Apostolicam  decrcvimus 
esse  mitteudara,  id  est,  ad  Petri  Apost(jli  Cathedram,  auctoritatom  Kom'e 
Urbis  habentom."  "  Hi  Hui»t  qui  hoc  dccrcverunt  id  est,  Auxilius, 
PatrJcius,  Secundinus,  iienignus." — Sou  67o/vt',s,  p.  o5U,  vul.  ii. 


ST.  PATRICK  TRAINS  \  NATIVE  MINISTRY.  ()1 

if  a  cleric  go  security  for  a  f^^entile — that  is,  a  pagan — and 
tliat  the  gentile  fail  to  keep  liis  engagement,  the  cleric  must 
make  good  the  loss  from  liis  own  goods,  and  not  contend  with 
the  adversary  in  armed  strife.  This  Canon  shows  that  a 
portion  of  the  population  was  still  unconverted,  thoLigh  living 
on  terms  of  familiar  intercourse  with  the  Christians,  both 
clergy  and  people. 

This  ecclesiastical  legislation  of  Patrick  and  his  assistant 
prelates  must  have  exercised  a  most  beneficial  influence  in 
restraining  crime  and  superstition  amongst  all  classes.  The 
first  element  of  civilization  is  the  recognition  of  the  reign  of 
law  instead  of  brute  force ;  and  that  was  a  lesson  which  it 
was  especially  necessary  to  inculcate  on  the  Irish  tribes. 

Hence  the  Apostle  inculcates  at  some  length,  and  in  very 
beautiful  language,  the  duties  of  the  ecclesiastical  judges  and 
of  good  kings,  while  he  does  not  spare  to  draw  the  sword  of 
excommunication  against  the  crimes  and  excesses  of  all,  both 
rulers  and  subjects. 

The  judges  of  the  Church,  he  says,  must  have  the  fear  of 
God,  not  of  man  ;  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  not  the  wisdom  of 
the  world,  which  is  folly  in  His  sight.  They  must  not  accept 
any  gifts,  for  gifts  blind  the  judgment ;  they  must  have 
before  their  minds,  not  secular  cunning,  but  the  precedents 
of  the  divine  law  (exempla  divina).  They  should  be  sparing 
in  their  words,  and  slow  to  pronounce  sentence,  and  above  all 
never  utter  a  falsehood,  judging  in  all  things  justly,  because 
as  they  judge  others,  b}^  the  same  standard  shall  they  them- 
selves be  judged.  Principles  like  these  thus  solemnly  enun- 
ciated must  have  exercised  a  very  great  influence  in  teaching 
all  classes  that  respect  for  law  and  the  rights  of  others,  which 
is  the  foundation  of  all  civilization.  ^ 

Then  the  kings — a  numerous  class  in  Erin — were  also 
taught  their  duties,  and  by  one  wdio  was  able  to  give  a  sanc- 
tion to  his  teaching.  The  duty  of  the  king  is  to  judge  no 
one  unjustly  ;  to  be  the  protector  of  the  stranger,  the  widow, 
and  the  orjDhan ;  to  punish  thefts  and  adulteries ;  not  to 
encourage  unchaste  buffoons,  nor  exalt  the  wicked,  but  root 
them  out  of  the  land ;  to  put  to  death  parricides  and  perjurers; 
to  defend  the  Church  and  give  alms  to  the  poor ;  to  select 
just  and  wise  ministers,  and  prudent  counsellors ;  to  give  no 
countenance  to  druids,  or  pythonesses,  or  augurers  ;  to  defend 
his  country  in  strength  and  in  justice ;  to  put  his  confidence 
in  God,  not  being  elated  by  prosperity  nor  cast  down  by 
adversity  ;  to  profess  the  Catholic  faith  and  restrain  his  sons 
from  evil  deeds ;  to  give  time  to  prayer,  and  not  to  spend  it 


()2       LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

unduly  in  unseasonable  banquets.  This,  he  says,  istlie  justice 
oi"  a  kiuf^,  which  secures  the  peace  of  the  people,  the  defence 
of  the  countiy,  the  ri^^hts  of  the  poor,  and.  all  other  blessings 
spiritual  and  temporal,  including  fruitful  trees,  abundant 
crops,  genial  weallier,  and  universal  happiness.  Such  were 
tlie  noble  principles  inculcated  by  St.  Patrick  in  bis  preach- 
ing, formulated  in  his  laws,  and  enforced  by  all  the  power  of 
his  authority.^ 

Although  St.  Patrick  w'as  accompanied  to  Ireland  by  a 
very  considerable  number  of  clerics  of  every  order  to  aid  him 
in  his  great  task  of  the  conversion  of  Ireland,  still  he  must 
have  found  it  difficult,  as  new  churches  were  founded  and  the 
foreign  clergy  died  out,  to  supply  labourers  for  the  ripening 
vineyard.  As  jet  there  were  no  Christian  Schools  in  Erin. 
Armagh  was  probably  the  first,  but  Armagh  was  not  founded 
until  A.D.  445,  when  the  site  of  a  cathedral  was  granted  by 
Daire  to  Patrick  on  Macha's  Height.  The  school  could  not 
be  organized  for  some  years  later,  perhaps  about  the  year 
A.D.  450. 

But  meantime  Patrick  had  organized  a  kind  of  peripatetic 
school,  which  accompanied  the  Saint  in  his  frequent  mis- 
sionary journeys  through  the  various  parts  of  the  country. 
He  himself  spent  his  time  in  preaching,  baptizing,  founding 
churches,  and  making  such  provision,  as  he  could,  for  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments  and  the  celebration  of  Mass. 
The  clerical  students,  his  disciples,  accompanied  him,  and  in 
this  way  were  able  to  obtain  both  theoretical  and  practical 
instruction  in  the  work  of  missionary  life.  The  instruction 
which  the  Bards,  Brehons,  and  Druids  communicated  to  their 
disciples  was  niainlj^,  if  not  exclusively,  of  an  oral  character. 
The  memory  was  highty  trained  by  exercise,  and  the  art  of 
recitation  was  carried  to  a  wonderful  degree  of  perfection. 
The  disciples  too  accompanied  the  master  on  his  rounds  from 
one  chieftain's  dun  to  another,  and  were  sharers  in  the  hospi- 
tality and  rewards,  which  were  freely  bestowed  on  all. 

Oral  instruction  of  a  similar  character  was  doubtless  also 
communicated  by  St.  Patrick  to  his  disciples  during  their 
missionary  journeys,  as  well  as  in  those  places  where  he  and 
his  household  remained  for  any  considerable  time.  Books 
were  scarce,  but  were  not  unknown.  Tiie  British  and  French 
clergy  no  doubt  brought  with  them  to  Ireland  such  books  as 
were  indispensable  for  a  missioiuiry  priest  or  bishop.  These 
would  be  a  Mass-book,  a  ritual,  and  a  copy   of  the  psalms, 

1  See  Stokes'  Tripartite,  Vol.  ii.,  page  607. 


ST.  PATRICK  TRAiNS  A  NATIVE  MINISTRY.  63 

and  of  the  Gospels.     They  were  carried  in  leatliern  wallets 
slung  from  the  girdle,  and  sometimes  in  covers,  or  cases  of 
wood,  strengthened  and  adorned  with  metallic  rims  and  clasps. 
Such  were  the  book-covers   {leborchometa),  which  St.  Asicus 
of  Elphin  used  to  make  for  Patrick.^     Once  also  when  Patrick 
was  journeying  from  Pome  he  met  six  young  clerics  with 
'their  books  at  their  girdles,'  who  were  going  to  the  holy 
city  on  their  pilgrimage.      And  Patrick  gave  them  a  hide  of 
seal-skin,  or  cow  skin — it  is  doubtful  which,  says  the  narrator 
— to  make  a  wallet,  as  it  would  seem,  for  their  books,  for  they 
had  it  adorned  with  gold  and  white  bronze.^      Palladius  left 
books  (libru)  after  him  in  Leinster,  and  both  Patrick  and  the 
Druids  had  books  at  Tara,  and  Patrick's  books  (libair)  once 
fell  into  one  of  the  streams  that  flow  into  the  Suir  and  were 
*  drowned.'      Probably  these  were  some  of  the  books  which 
Celestine  gave  to  Patrick,  '  in  plenty,'  when  he  was  about  to 
come  to  Ireland.*^      Patrick  gave  Deacon  Justus  of  Fuerty  in 
the  CO.  Poscommon,  his  own  book  of  ritual  and  of  baptism 
{lebar  nuird  ecus  bapiismi.Y      He  also   carried  across   the 
Shannon  the  books  of  the  Law  and  of  the  Gospel,  and  left 
them  in  the  new  Churches  which  he  founded.^    Lebar  n-nird'm 
the  same  as  Libej^ordinis,  and  means  a  missal,  or  Ordo  Missae, 
and  the  Liber  baptismi  would  be  what  we  now  call  a  '  ritual,* 
containing  the  forms  for  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 
In  Tyrawley  the  Saint  gave  Bishop  Mucknoi,  whom  he  there 
ordained,  "  seven  Books  of  the  Law,"  in  order  that  Mucknoi 
himself  might  ordain  other  bishops  and  priests,  and  deacons 
in  that  country,  and  as  it  would  seem,   have  copies  of  the 
Books  of  the  Law  to  give  them.      {Book  of  Armagh,  f.  14). 
These  books  St.  Patrick  and  his  companions  in  all  proba- 
bility carried  with  them  from  the  Continent.     But  there  was 
one  kind  of  smaller  book  corresponding  to  our  smallest  and 
simplest  form  of  catechism,  which  the  Saint  usually  wrote  for 
his  favourite  disciples  with  his  own  hand.     It  is  sometimes 
described  as  the  '  Elements,'  and  sometimes  as  an  *  Alphabet,' 
or  brief  outline  of  the  essential  truths  of  Christianity.     It  was 
the  first  book  put  into  the  hands  of  the  educated  converts, 
who   knew  how  to  read  and  write,   which   was  always  an 
indispensable  qualification  for  admission  into  the  ranks  of  the 
clergy.    Of  course  the  common  people  could  be  duly  taught 
the  essential  truths  of  religion  by  oral  instruction.    It  was 

1  Tripartite,  page  97.  ^  Tripartite,  pag-e  75. 

^  Scholiast  on  Fiacc'i.  Ifymn.         ^  Trip.  p.  105,  vol.  i« 
*  *' Libros  legis,  evangelii  libros,  et  reliquit  eos  in  locis  novis."    Book 
of  Armigh,  f.  9. 


<)4        LK\KNI\0  TN   IRELAND  IN   THK    ilMK  OF  ST.  PATRTCK. 

for  those  wlioiii  he  destined  to  be  themselves  teachers  that  he 
wrote  the  M^llements'  or  'Alphabets'  of  the  Christian 
Docfrlne.  The  p!nase  in  Latin  it^  scn'psit  elementa,  covYe- 
spoil  (lino;  to  tlie  Ir  sh  scribais  aipgiter.  and  sometimes  scripsit 
abij^itoriitm  (as  in  the  Book  of  Armagh ^  f.  13). 

The  word  aipgiter  or  abgitir  has  been  frequently  used  in 
thi-^  sense  in  ancient  Irish  manuscripts,  not  to  express  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  but  a  simple  compendium  of  the  art 
or  other  subject  in  question.  Thus  abgitir  crabaith  means 
the  alphabet  of  faith,  that  is,  the  simple  and  fundamental 
truths  of  faith  ;  abigiter  in  crabaid\s>  the  'alphabet  of  pietv,' 
;ind  so  in  similar  cases.  Patrick  had  no  suitable  work  for 
this  purpose,  and,  hence,  he  himself  frequently  wrote  a 
catechism  or  outline  of  these  elementary  truths  of  the 
Chiistian  doctrine  suited  to  the  capacity  of  the  learners. 

So  we  find  that  the  equipment  of  a  young  priest  begin- 
ning his  missionary  work  was  very  simple.  He  got  in  the 
way  of  books  his  abigitoriutn,  or  calechism,  his  Mass-book 
(or  Liber  ordinis),  his  ritual,  his  psaltery,  and  when  it  could 
be  spared  a  copy  of  the  Gospels;  and  then  if  he  were  a  bishop 
Patrick  gave  him  also,  as  he  did  to  Fiaac  of  Sletty,  a  case 
[ciirntacJi^)  containing  a  bell,  a  chitlice,  a  crozier,  and  book- 
satchel  with  the  necessary  books.  We  have  distinct  evidence 
too,  from  the  Epistle  to  Coroticus,  that  he  himself  taught 
these  students.  He  describes  the  messenger  who  carried 
that  letter  to  the  tyrant  as  a  holy  priest,  whom  he  (Patrick) 
had  taught  from  his  childhood  (infantia).  The  reference  can 
scarcely  be  to  St.  Benignus,  his  coadjutor  in  Armagh,  for 
Benignus  died  a.d.  457  or  458,  many  years  *in  all  probability 
before  the  Epistle  to  Coroticus  was  written.  It  is  more  likely 
the  apostle  refers  to  Mochae  of  Noendrum,  who  was  a  tender 
youth  when  the  Saint  first  met  him  in  a.d.  432,  when  he 
baptized  the  boy  and  gave  him  a  gospel  and  2imenistir,  which 
means  a  chalice  and  paten.  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes  translates  it 
'  credence-table,'  which  is  unlikely,  as  it  was  sometimes  made 
of  crediima  or  bronze,-  and  in  low  Latin  77iiiiisteriiini^  was 
frequently  used  to  designate  the  utensils  for  the  Holy 
Sacrifice. 

St.  Patrick,  coming  as  he  did,  into  a  pagan  country 
altogether  outside  the  pale  of  Roman  civilization,  had  many 
difficulties   to   overcome,  and  exercised   great  ingenuity   in 

1  See  "Tirechan's  CoUeotiona,"  Booh  of  Armtufh,  fol.   18,  a2-~'*  Ocu« 
dubbcrt  Patrice  cumtaoh  dii  Fiaco,  idon,   olooo,  ecus  luenstir.  Oi^»"»  ^>itohtill 
'JCU8  poolirt'." 

'-*  Trip.  vol.  i.,  page  87. 

^  See  Dii  ('."mtrt*,  sii/i  vcrf. 


ST.  Patrick's  household.  65 

overcoming  tlieni.    He  soiiglit  to  procure  everything  required 
for  public  worship    of   native   manufacture,  and  indeed  he 
had   no  other   means  for  the   most  part  of  procuring  them. 
Whatever  was  necessary  in  the  public  worship  of  G-od,  with 
the  exception  of  some  books  and  the  relics  of  the  saints,  was 
made  in  Ireland,  and  by  artificers,  who  though  otherwise  well 
skilled  in  their  various  crafts,  were  quite  new  to  this  kind  of 
work.     But  the  apostle  met  this  difficulty  by  having  artificers, 
who  gave  their  exclusive  attention  to  the  manufacture  of 
these  necessaries  of  divine  worship,  and  he  promoted  them  as 
a  reward  for  their  labours  even  to  the  highest  offices  in  ths 
Church.     His  family  or  household  included  persons  so  trained 
in  every  branch  of  technical  knowledge  necessary  for  the  due 
equipment  of  a  Church,  and  the}'  were  all  in  holy  orders. 
This   household,   which   numbered   twenty-four  persona 
generally    accompanied    him    in     his   missionary    journeys 
from   place  to  place  in   order   to  provide  all  things  neces- 
feary    lor   the    young    Churches     which   he    founru^d.      The 
j.hD  of  their  names  and  functions  is  given  in  the   Tripartite, 
kSechnall,  his  nephew,  was  his  '  bishop,'  that  is  his  coadjutor^ 
in  spirituals  and  temporals,  especially  in  his  episcopal  func- 
tions, in  consecrations,  ordinations,  and  so  forth.     Benen  was 
his  psalm-singer  to  lead  and  teach  the  Church  choirs.  Mochta 
of  Louth  was  his  priest,  or  as  we  now  say,  his  *  assistant 
priest,'  and  attendant  in  the  public  functions  of  the  church. 
Bishop  Ere,  a  Brehon  by  profession,  was  his  judge,  and  no 
doubt  a  very  necessary  official  in  dealing  not  only  with  the 
clergy,  but  also  with  the  frequent  controversies  that  arose 
amongst  the  chiefs  and  were  referred  to  Patrick's  arbitration. 
Bishop  Mac  Cairthinn  was  his  champion,  or  rather  strong 
man,  to  bear  him  over  the  floods,  and  perhaps  defend  him 
against  rude  assaults  in  an  age  of  lawless  violence.     Colman 
of  Cell  Riada   was  his  chamberlain  or  personal  attendant. 
Sinell  of  Cell  Dareis  was  his  bell-ringer,  an  officer  whose 
duty  it  was  to  carry  with  him  the  famous  hand-bell  of  the 
Saint,  and  no  doubt  also  to  ring  it  at   appropriate  times, 
especially  during  Divine  Service,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
due  attention  to  the  sacred  mysteries.     He  had  also  a  cook, 
brewer,  chaplain  at  the  table,  two  waiters,  and  other  officers 
necessary  for  providing  food  and  accommodation  for  himself 
and  his  household.     It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  those 
days  there  were  no  hotels;  frequently  the  apostle  with  his 
attendants  had  to  camp  out,  and  procure  their  own  food — 


1  Benignus  succeeded  Sechnallas  Coadjutor  or  Auxiliary  Bishop. 

3[ 


06        LEARNING  IN  IRELAND  IN  THE  TIME  OF  ST.  I'ATRICK. 

often  too,  in  face  of  an  unfriendly,  or  even  hostile  population. 
Hence,  lie  was  sometimes  reduced  to  great  straits  for  food, 
and  more  than  once  we  find  him  begging  the  fishermen  to 
try  and  procure  a  fish  for  his  refection  when  nothing  else 
was  forthcoming. 

We  are  also  told  that  Patrick  had  three  smiths,  and 
three  artificers,  and  three  embroideresses  in  his  company. 
The  smiths,  like  St.  Asicus  of  Elphin,  made  altars,  and 
square  tables,  and  book-covers,  and  bells  for  the  churches, 
which  were  founded  by  St.  Patrick.  His  artificers  were 
Essa,  Bite,  and  Tassach.  They  may  be  described  as 
artificers  both  in  wood  and  metal,  and  church  builders,  who 
erected  the  primitive  churches  mostly  of  wood  founded  by 
the  apostle.  Bite  was  a  son  of  Asicus,  and  hence  a  skilled 
workman  like  his  father,  both  as  a  smith  and  carpenter. 
Tassach  is  spoken  of  as  making  patens  and  credence-ta,bles, 
and  altar-chalices ;  he  also  made  a  case  for  St.  Patrick's 
crozier — the  celebrated  staff  of  Jesus.  He  was  Bishop  of 
Paholp,  not  far  from  Downpatrick,  and  was  privileged  to 
administer  the  Body  of  Christ  to  his  dying  master.  The 
three  embroideresses,  Lupait,  sister  of  Patrick,  and  Ere, 
daughter  of  Daire,  and  Cruimtheris,  made  with  their  own 
pure  hands  the  vestments  and  altar  linens  used  during  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  in  the  churches  of  Erin. 

*•  Beneath  a  pine  three  vestals  sat  close  veiled  : 
A  song  these  childless  sang  of  Bethlehem's  Child, 
Low-toned  and  worked  their  altar  cloth,  a  Lamb 
^11  white  on  golden  blazon  ;  near  it  bled 
The  bird  that  with  her  own  blood  feeds  her  young. 
Red  drops  her  holy  breast  affused.     These  three 
Were  daughters  of  three  kings." — Aubrey  de  Vere. 

Although  St.  Patrick  did  not  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
word  establish  schools  such  as  are  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  next  century,  he  not  only  trained  candidates  for  the 
sacred  ministry  during  the  earliest  years  of  his  mission,  but 
also  seems  to  have  established  in  his  own  city  of  Armagh  a 
^school  for  carrying  on  that  work  in  a  more  regular  and 
efficient  manner.  Having  the  care  of  all  the  Churches  of 
Ireland  on  his  own  shoulders,  he  could  not  govern  this  school 
in  person.  But  we  are  told  that  he  placed  over  it  his  best 
beloved  disciple  Benignus,  who  was,  so  far  as  we  can  judge, 
eminently  qualified  to  discharge  that  high  office.  Before, 
however,  we  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  this  celebrated 
school  of  Armagh,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  short  account 
of  the  writings  of  St.  Patrick  himself  and  of  those  attributed 
to  the  more  eminent  amongst  his  disciples  and  contempor- 
aries. 


CHAPTER     lY. 

THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF 
HIS  DISCIPLES. 

**  A  id  this  is  my  confession  before  I  die." 

—  Confession  of  St.  Patrick. 

The  writings  of  St.  Patrick  and  his  disciples  are  highly 
interesting,  both  in  themselves,  and  in  the  effects  which  they 
produced  on  the  Irish  Church.  Fortunately  several  of  these 
monuments  of  our  early  ecclesiastical  history  have  come  down 
to  our  own  times,  and  no  rational  doubt  can  be  raised  about 
their  authenticity  by  well-informed  scholars. 

The  principal  documents  attributed  to  St.  Patrick  himself 
are  his  '  Confession,'  the  *  Epistles  to  Coroticus,'  and  a  poem 
called  the  '  Lorica,'  and  sometimes  the  '  Deer's  Cry.'  Then 
we  have  in  praise  of  Patrick  a  Hymn  by  his  nephew, 
St.  Sechnall  or  Secundinus,  a  metrical  Life  or  Eulogy  by 
St.  Fiacc  of  Sletty,  and  certain  sayings  attributed  to  our 
national  apostle  in  the  Boo^  of  Armagh.  We  shall  have 
also  something  to  say  of  the  Tripartite  Life  of  the  Saint ^ 
which  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  important  documents 
connected  with  the  history  of  the  Patrician  Church  in  Ireland. 

I. — St.  Patrick's  Confession. 

The  Confession  of  St.  Patrick,  as  he  himself  calls  it, 
or  the  Book  of  St.  Patrick  the  Bishops  as  it  is  called  in 
the  MSS.,  is  the  most  important  and  interesting  document 
connected  with  the  primitive  Church  of  Ireland.  The  text 
itself  is  found  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  y  and  in  several  ancient 
manuscripts,  some  of  which  belong  to  the  tenth  century.^ 
It  is  referred  to  also  in  Tirechan's  Collections  in  the  Book  of 
Armagh  as  the  *  Scriptio,'  or  Writing  of  St.  Patrick  himself. 
At  the  end  of  the  copy  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  it  is  described 
as  the  volume  which  Patrick  wrote  with  his  own  hand — "  Hue 
usque  volumen  quod  Patricius  manu  conscripsit  sua."  This 
would  seem  to  imply  that  the  scribe  of  the  Book  of  A  rmagh 
took  his  copy  from  the  autograph  by  St.  Patrick  himself. 

^  For  instance  the  Cotton  MS.  Nero.   E.  1,  fol.  171;   and  two  in  the 
Bodleian  Fell.  I.,  ff.  la-Wh  and  Fell.  III.,  fol.  168-164. 


fi8      THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

The  evidence,  both  intrinsic  and  extrinsic,  in  favour  of 
its  authenticity  is  so  strong  that  no  competent  Irish  schohir 
has  ventured  to  question  the  genuineness  of  this  venerable 
document. 

Indeed,  if  not  genuine,  it  is  impossible  to  assign  any 
motive  for  such  a  forgery.  The  tone  and  spirit  of  the  entire 
are  such  as  could  cmly  come  from  one  who  was  filled  with  the 
apostolic  spirit.  Many  incidental  references  to  Decurions,  to 
the  *  Brittaniae,'  or  Britains,  to  slave-traffic — all  point  to 
the  fifth  century  as  the  date  of  its  composition.  The  rude 
and  barbarous  Latin  ity,  which  some  writers  use  as  an  argu- 
ment against  its  authenticity,  is  in  reality  a  strong  proof  in 
its  favour,  for  it  is  exactly  what  we  should  expect  from  one 
who,  like  St.  Patrick,  spent  the  six  years  which  are  generally 
given  to  the  acquisition  of  a  liberal  education,  herding  sheep 
and  swine  on  the  hills  of  Antrim.  As  Patrick  himself 
lemarks  in  apologizing  for  the  rudeness  of  his  style,  of  which 
he  was  fully  sensible,  he  had  to  forego  the  use  of  his  vernacular 
Latin  during  the  years  of  his  captivity,  and  his  speech  and  his 
language  were  changed  into  the  tongue  of  the  stranger,  "as 
any  one  may  perceive  from  the  flavour  of  my  style."^  Of 
course  we  should  make  allowance  for  the  faults  of  copyists — 
especially  where  the  original  MS.  itself  seems  to  have  been 
illegible  or  obscure^  still  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
Latin  is  very  rude,  sometimes  even  un grammatical,  and  not 
always  intelligible.  But  the  spirit  of  deep  himiility  and 
fervent  devotion,  which  breathes  in  every  line,  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  stamp  this  work  as  genuine.  A  falsifier,  or 
impostor,  might  possibly  write  such  Latin,  but  he  never 
could  forge  the  spirit  that  breathes  in  the  language,  which  is 
the  manifest  outpouring  of  a  heart  like  unto  the  heart  of 
St.  Paul. 

The  Book  of  Armagh  contains  the  earliest  copy  of  the 
Confession  that  we  possess,  and  it  appears  not  a  little  strange 
that  several  important  passages  are  omitted  from  this  copy, 
which  are  found  in  the  copies  preserved  in  the  Cottonian  and 
Bodleian  Collections.  Some  writers  have  suggested  that 
these  passa ires  of  the  later  copies  are  interpolations.  It  is 
far  more  likely,  however,  that  the  Armagh  scribe  left  out 
some  passages  from  his  own  copy,  that  he  could  not  decipher 
in  the  original,  which  as  the  marginal  notes  show,  was  in 
some  parts  obscure  or  illegible.      These  omitted  passages  too 


i**Nam  scrnio  oi  loqiiola  inea  transluta  est  in  liii^-uam   alionam,  siout 
facile  potebt  probari  ox  saliva  scrinturae  meao."—  Coufession. 


ST.  Patrick  s  confession.  69 

ive,  manifestly    written    in  the  same  style,   and  in  the  fcaiiiu 
spirit  as  the  body  of  the   Confession,   and  may  certainly  be 
regarded  as  genuine.      It  may  be,  also,  that  the  scribe  of 
Armagh  left  out  certain  passa-es  from  a  groundless  fear  that 
it  would  not  be  to  the  honour  of   the  great  Apo&tle  to  speak 
so  strongly  of  his  own  unworthiness.      That  passage,   for 
instance,  has    been  omitted  in   which  the    Saint   refers   to 
certain  elders,  who  opposed  his  elevation  to  the  episcopacy  on 
the  ground  that  thirty  years  previously,  before  he  became  a 
deacon,  he  had  committed  some  sin,  which  he  then  confessed 
to  a  dear  friend,  and  which  it  was  now  sought  to  make  an 
obstacle  to  his  promotion. 

The  Saint's  motive  in  writing  this  Confession  in  his  old 
age,  as  he  tells  us,  was  to  defend  himself  against  some  vague 
charges  of  presumption  in  undertaking  the  Irish  mission, 
and  incompetence  in  discharging  that  onerous  task,  whilst 
acknowledging  in  all  humility  the  sins  and  ignorance  of  his 
youth,  and  the  difficulties  under  which  he  laboured  by  reason 
of  hig  imperfect  cducalion. 

Patrick  points  out  that  in  all  things  he  sought  to  listen  to 
the  voice  of  God,  and  to  be  guided  by  the  inspirations  of  His 
Holy  Spirit.  Like  St.  Paul  in  similar  circutnstances,  he  refers 
to  the  perils  by  which  he  was  encompas>ed,  and  the  many 
toilsome  duties  of  his  episcopacy.    He  then  vindicates  his  own 
disintercstednrss,  and  challoiges  his  accusers  to  show  that  h<' 
ever  received  a  single  farthing  for  preaching  the  Gospel  and 
administering  baptism  to  so  many  thousand  persons,  even  in 
the  remotest  parts  of  the  country,  where  the  Word  of  God  was 
never  heard  before.     Not  that  tlie  people  were  not  generous, 
for  they  offered  him  many  gilts,  and  cast  their  ornaments 
upon  the  altar ;  but  he  returned  them  all  lest  even  in  the 
smallest  point  the  unbelievers   might  have  cause  to  defame 
his  ministry,  or  question  the  purity  of  his  motives. 

Finally,  he  appeals  to  the  success  of  his  ministry  in  the 
conversion  of  Ireland,  as  the  best  proof  of  God's  approval  of 
his  work,  and  bears  noble  testimony  to  the  sanctity  and  zeal 
of  his  new  converts.  '^The  sons  of  the  Scots,  and  the 
daughters  of  their  princes,  became  monks  and  virgins  of 
Christ.  .  .  not  by  compulsion,  but  even  against  the  wishes  of 
their  parents,  and  the  number  of  the  holy  widows  and  continent 
maidens  was  countless."  Even  the  slave  girls,  despising 
their  masters'  threats,  continued  to  persevere  in  the  p'rofes- 
sion  and  practice  of  holy  chastity.  Still  in  his  old  age  he 
was  surrounded  by  dangers,  but  it  mattered  not ;  at  any 
moment  he  was  ready  to  die  for  Christ,  and  he  solemnly  calls 


70       THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.   PATJllCK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

God  and  His  Angels  to  witness  that,  in  returning  to  preach 
the  Gospel  in  the  land  of  his  captivity,  he  came  solely  for 
the  Gospel's  sake,  and  his  only  motive  was  to  preach  the 
glory  of  Christ  and  share  in  the  recompense  of  the  Gospel. 
"  And  this  '* — said  the  Saint  in  beautiful  and  touching 
words — "  this  is  my  confession  before  I  die." 

This  Confession  contains  many  interesting  references  to 
the  personal  history  and  apostolic  labours  of  St.  Patrick, 
which  are  not  always  remembered ;  and  which  ought  to  be 
separated  from  the  more  uncertain  and  controverted  facts  of 
his  history. 

His  father  was  Calpoi  nus,  or  Calpornius,  a  deacon,  who 
was  the  son  of  Potitus,  and  Potitus  was  the  son  of  Odissus,  a 
priest.  The  text,  however,  leaves  it  doubtful  whether  the 
word  priest  belongs  to  Potitus  or  to  Odissus.^  His  father 
dwelt  in  the  township  (vico)  of  Bannavem  Taberniae.  He 
had  also  a  small  villa  not  far  off,  *'  where  I  was  made  captive 
at  the  age  of  about  sixteen  years."  He  was  in  ignorance  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,^  which  is  to  be  understood  of 
his  defective  training  as  a  Christian  during  the  years  of  his 
boyhood ;  for  he  adds  that  he  did  not  keep  God^s  Command- 
ments, and  was  not  obedient  to  the  priests — our  priests — as 
he  calls  them,  when  they  admonished  him  to  attend  to  his 
salvation.  Therefore  it  was  God  punished  him  by  this 
captivity  in  a  strange  land,  at  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
that  God  pitied  his  youth  and  ignorance,  and  showed 
him  mercy,  consoling  the  captive  as  a  father  consoles  his  son. 
For  which  he  earnestly  thanks  God,  and  takes  occasion  to 
profess  his  faith  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  as  Arianism  was  then 
rampant  in  the  Church.  Alter  much  hesitation  he  resolved 
to  write  this  Confession  in  order  to  show  the  true  motives  of 
his  own  heart  to  his  friends  and  relations. 

Ti.e  reason  of  his  delay  and  hesitation  was  the  rudeness 
of  his  style  and  language  in  consequence  of  his  captivity, 
when  he  had  to  make  use  of  a  strange  tongue.  But  he 
should  be  forgiven,  for  the  conversion  of  the  Irish  was  the 
epistle  of  salvation,  which  he  had  written  by  deecls,  not  b}* 
words,  not  in  ink, but  in  the  Spirit  of  God.  Though  he  was 
a  stone  sunk  in  the  mire,  a  man  of  no  account  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  yet  God  in  His  mercy  exalted  him  ;  for  which  he 
will  always  give  earnest  thanks  to  Gud.  Hence  he  wishes  to 
make  known  God's  goodness  in  his  regard,  and  to  leave  it  as 

^Putrein  habui  Calpornum  diactmum  filium  quondam  Potiti  Hlii  Odissi 
pi'08bytt3ri.         "''Doum  vorum  iijiiurabam. 


ST.  Patrick's  confession.  71 

a  legacy  of  God's  mercy  totis  brethren,  and  to  the  thousands 
of  spiritual  children  whom  he  baptized. 

When  he  came  to  Ireland  (Hiberione),  his  daily  employ- 
ment was  to  feed  cattle  (pecora)  ;  but  then  it  was  the  love  of 
God  began  to  grow  within  him,  and  he  used  to  pray  even  up 
to  a  hundred  times  a  day  and  as  many  in  the  night ;  he  used 
to  rise  before  the  dawn  to  pray  in  the  woods  and  mountains 
in  the  midst  of  rain,  and  hail,  and  snow. 

One  night  he  heard  a  voice  saying  to  him  in  sleep — 
"  your  ship  is  ready  " — and  he  travelled  200  miles  to  the 
port,  where  he  had  never  been  before,  and  where  he  knew  no 
one.  Thus  after  six  years'  captivity  he  succeeded  in  reaching 
this  port.  The  master  of  the  vessel  at  first  would  not  take 
him  on  board,  but  afterwards  he  relented,  when  Patrick  was 
returning  to  the  cottage  where  he  had  got  lodging.  He  was 
called  back,  and  invited  to  go  on  board  as  one  of  themselves ; 
but  he  declined  familiar  intimacy^  through  fear  of  God, 
because  they  were  Gentiles. 

In  three  days  they  disembarked  in  a  desert  land,  through 
which  they  travelled  for  twenty-eight  days,  and  were  well 
nigh  starving,  until  relieved  at  the  prayer  of  Patrick, 
Reference  is  then  made  to  the  great  stone  that  seemed  to  fall 
upon  him  in  a  dream,  from  the  weight  of  which  he  was 
relieved  by  invoking  Elias.  It  seems,  too,  that  he  fell  into  a 
second  captivity,  which  continued  for  two  months ;  but  the 
text  here  is  uncertain,  and  can  scarcely  be  relied  on. 

He  succeeded,  however,  in  reaching  the  home  of  his 
parents  in  Britain — in  Britannis — and  tliey  most  earnestly 
besought  him  to  remain  with  them,  now  that  he  had  escajjed 
from  so  many  dangers. 

But  the  Angel  Victor,  in  the  guise  of  a  man  from  Ireland, 
gave  him  a  letter  in  which  the  "  voice  of  the  Irish"  called 
him  away ;  the  vojces  of  those  who  dwelt  near  the  wood  of 
Focluth,  from  which  he  seems  to  have  escaped,  also  called  upon 
him  to  come  once  more  and  walk  amongst  them.  The  Spirit 
of  God,  too,  spoke  within  his  soul  and  urged  him  to  return  to 
Ireland.  The  same  Holy  Spirit  encouraged  him  to  persevere 
wiien  objection  was  made  by  certain  elders  to  his  elevation  to 
the  episcopacy.  Therefore,  he  was  encouraged  to  undertake 
the  great  task,  and  his  conscience  never  blamed  him  for  what 
he  had  done. 

^The  strange  phrase — "  Kepuli  sugere  rnammellas  eorum" — seems  tc 
signify  that  he  rejected  the  preferred  intimate  association  with  them. 
Mammella  was  used  metaphorically  as  a  term  of  endearment,  in  classical 
Latin. 


72      THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

It  would  be  tedious,  he  adds,  to  recount  all  his  missionary 
labours,  or  even  a  part  of  thera.  Twelve  times  his  lite 
(anima)  was  in  dan^^er,  from  which  God  rescued  him,  and 
from  many  oth(T  plots  and  ambuscades  also,  and  therein  God 
rewarded  him  for  giving  up  bis  parents  and  his  country,  and 
all  their  gifts,  and  heeding  not  their  prayers  and  tears,  that 
he  might  preach  the  Gospel  in  Ireland,  where  he  had  to 
endure  insult  and  persecution  even  unto  bonds.  But  he 
strove  to  do  the  work  faithfully,  and  God  blessed  his  efforts, 
and  those  wonderful  things  were  accomplished  by  the  apostle, 
to  which  we  have  already  referred. 

Hence,  though  anxious  to  visit  his  parents  and  his  native 
country  in  Britain,  and  even  to  revisit  the  brethren  in  Gaul — 
here  referred  to  for  the  first  time — and  to  see  the  face  of 
God's  Saints  there,  he  was  bowed  in  spirit,  and  would  not 
leave  his  beloved  converts,  but  resolved  to  spend  the  rest  of 
his  life  amongst  them. 

Yet  he  was  not  free  from  temptations  against  faith  and 
chastity,  but  in  Christ  Jesus  he  hoped  to  be  faithful  to  God 
unto  the  end  of  his  life,  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  say  with 
the  apostle,  "  Fidem  servavi."  God,  too,  deigned  to  work 
great  signs  and  wonders  by  his  hands,  for  which  he  will 
always  thank  the  Lord. 

He  confidently  appeals  also  to  his  converts,  who  knew 
how  he  li\ed  amongst  them,  how  he  refused  all  gifts,  and 
spent  himself  in  their  service.  Nay,  he  it  was  who  gave  the 
gifts  to  the  kings  and  to  their  sons — and  sometimes  they 
plundered  him  and  his  clerics  of  everything ;  and  once 
bound  him  in  iron  fetters  for  fourteen  davs,  until  the  Lord 
delivered  him  from  their  hands.  When  writing  his  Confes- 
sion he  was  still  living  in  poverty  and  misery,  expecting 
death,  or  slavery,  or  stratagems  of  evil ;  but  he  feared  not, 
because  he  left  himself  into  the  hands  of  God,  who  will 
protect  him.  One  thing  only  he  earnestly  prays  for,  that  he 
may  persevere  in  his  work,  and  never  lose  the  peo]ile  whom 
he  gained  for  God  at  the  very  extremity  of  the  world. 

This  Confession  clearly  shows  that  St.  Patrick  was  a 
native  of  some  part  of  Britain,  and  that  he  met  more  opposi- 
tion in  preaching  the  Gospel  in  Ireland  than  is  commonly 
supposed.  He  was  put  in  bonds  of  iron  on  one  occasion  for 
fourteen  days,  and  even  in  his  old  age  was  living  in  poverty 
and  in  daily  fear  of  death.  It  shows,  too,  that  altliough  the 
Saint  was  an  indifferent  Latinist,  he  was  intimately  acquainted 
both  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Old  and  Now  Testanu>nt, 
which   ho  quotes  constantly,  and  always  from  the  veraiou 


THE  EPISTLE  TO  COROTICUS.  73 

called  the  Vettcs  Itala — a  strong  proof  of  the  authenticity 
of  the  Confession.  It  is  singular  that  no  i  ef erence  is  made 
to  the  Eoman  Mission,  or  to  his  ever  having  been  at  all  in 
the  City  of  E-ome.  But "  neither  does  the  Saint  refer  to  St. 
Germanus,  although  all  the  Lives  agree  in  saying  that,  he 
spent  many  years  in  Gaul  with  that  holy  and  eminent  prelate, 
nor  does  he  even  tell  us  where  or  by  whom  he  was  consecrated 
bishop.  Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  deduced  from  his  silence 
regarding  St.  Celestine  and  the  Roman  Mission,  especially 
in  face  of  the  ancient  and  authentic  testimonies  which 
assert  it. 

II. — The  Epistle  to  Coroticus. 

The  Epistle  to  Coroticus,  or  more  properly  to  "  the 
Christian  subjects  of  King  (Tyrannus)  Coroticus,"  is  also 
without  doubt  the  genuine  composition  of  St.  Patrick.  It 
bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Confession  in  its  style 
and  language,  sometimes  even  entire  phrases  are  re-produced 
from  the  Confession  with  scarcely  any  change  of  language. 
It  is  not  found  in  the  Book  of  Armagh^  but  it  is  found  in 
several  ancient  MSS.  dating  back  to  the  tenth  century'. 
Erom  a  reference  made  to  the  pagan  Franks,  it  must  have 
been  written  before  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  whicli 
took  place  a.d.  496.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  it  was 
written  towards  the  close  of  the  Saint's  missionary  career — 
probably  some  time  between  a.d.  480-490. 

This  Coroticus  or  Cereticus,  was  most  probably  a  semi- 
Christian  King  of  Dumbarton^  or  Ail-Cluade,  and  seems  to 
be  the  same  referred  to  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  as  Coirthech, 
King  of  Aloo.  He  is  called  in  the  Welsh  genealogies 
Ceretic  the  Guletic,  which  term  corresponds  exactly  with 
Tyrannus  in  St.  Patrick's  letter.  Other  Welsh  authorities, 
however,  have  made  Coroticus  a  petty  King  of  Glamorgan- 
shire and  identified  him  with  Caredig  or  Ceredig,  of  the 
Welsh  genealogies  f  but  the  former  is  the  much  more  prob- 
able opinion,  especially  as  we  find  that  Coroticus  was  the 
ally  of  the  "  apostate  Picts  and  Scots,"  in  their  bloody  raids 
on  the  shores  of  Ireland.  After  the  death  of  St.  Mnian, 
who  converted  some  of  the  Scots*  and  southern  Picts  to 
Christianity,  these  latter  fell  away  from  the  faith,  and  aided 
by  the  King  of  Dumbarton  harried  the  coasts  both  of  England 
and  Ireland. 


^  This  is  the  opinion  of  Skene — Cdiic  Scotlandf  p.  158,  vol.  i. 
2  See  Todd's  &t.  Fatrick,  p.  391. 


74      THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

It  was  probably  towards  the  end  of  St.  Patrick's  laborious 
life  that  the  incursion  took  place,  which  called  forth  this 
indignant  letter  of  the  Saint.  The  raiders  had  landed  some- 
where on  the  eastern  coast  of  Ireland,  and  carried  oft'  into 
slavery  a  number  of  men  and  women,  on  whose  foreheads 
the  holy  oil  of  confirmation,  which  then  usually  followed 
baptism,  was  still  glistening.  The  white  garments  whicli 
the  neophytes  wore  were  stained  with  their  own  blood,  or 
the  blood  ot  their  slaughtered  companions.  Thereupon  the 
Saint  wrote  these  letters,  which  he  sent  by  one  of  his  own 
priests,  whom  he  bad  taught  from  his  infancy,  to  be  handed 
to  the  soldiers  of  the  tyrant,  and  read  for  them,  as  it  seems, 
in  his  presence.  In  the  first  letter  he  asked  to  have  the 
Christian  captives  and  some  of  the  spoils  restored  ;  but  they 
laughed  at  the  demand  in  scorn,  wherefore  the  Saint  wrote 
this  second  letter  in  which  he  excommunicates  Coroticus  and 
his  abettors,  calling  upon  all  Christian  men  not  to  receive 
their  alms,  nor  associate  with  thetn,  nor  take  food  or  drink 
in  their  company,  until  they  do  penance  and  make  restitu- 
tion for  their  crimes. 

Incidental  references  are  made  by  the  Saint  to  his  own 
personal  history.  He  himself  for  God's  sake  preached  the 
Gospel  to  the  Irish  nation,  which  had  once  made  himself  a 
captive  and  destroyed  the  men-servants,  and  maid-servants  of 
his  father's  house.^  He  was  born  a  freeman,  and  a  noble,  being 
the  son  of  a  decurio,^  but  he  sold  his  nobilit}^  for  the  benefit 
of  others,  and  he  did  not  regret  it.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
Gaulish  and  Roman  Christians  to  pay  large  sums  of  money 
to  the  Franks  for  the  ransom  of  Christian  captives ;  but 
"  you — you  often  slay  them,  or  sell  them  to  infidels,  sending 
the  members  of  Christ  as  it  were  into  a  brothel."  "Have 
you,"  adds  the  Saint,  "  any  hope  in  God — what  Christian  can 
help  you  or  abet  you  ?  " 

Then  Patrick  in  pat^sionate  grief  bewails  the  fiite  of 
the  captives.  "  Oh !  my  most  beautiful  and  most  loving 
brothers  and  children,  whom  in  countless  numbers  I  have 
begotten  for  Christ,  what  shall  I  do  for  you?  Am  I  so 
unworthy  before  God  and  man  that  I  caimot  help  you  ?  Is 
it  a  crime  to  have  been  born  in  Ireland  ?  And  have  not  wo  the 
same  God  as  they  have  ?  I  sorrow  for  j^ou — yet  I  rejoice — 
for  if  you  are  taken  from  the  world,  you  were  believers  through 
me,  and  are  gone  to  Paradise." 

^  '*  Et  devastuvcrunt  s(tvos  et  aTicillus  donuls  patris  moi." 
^  The  Decurio  wua  uiidor  tho  Enix>iro  an  otlioial  somovvhutliko  tt  Mayo/  or 
llesiduut  Mii;;ibLrtito. 


THE  LORICA,  OR  THE  DEER's  CRY.  75 

And  then  in  the  last  paragraph  he  expresses  a  hope  that 
God  will  inspire  those  wicked  men  with  penance,  and  that 
they  will  restore  their  captives,  and  save  themselves  for  this 
world  and  for  the  world  to  come.  Like  the  Confession,  this 
letter  abounds  in  quotations  from  the  old  version  of  the  Bible 
before  it  was  corrected  by  St.  Jerome. 

In  the  Brussels  MS.  of  the  Book  of  Armagh  there  is  a 
chapter  which  purports  to  give  an  account  of  "Patrick's 
conflict  against  the  King  of  Aloo,"  wtiom  it  calls  Cozrtheck, 
and  a  little  lower  down  the  name  is  given  as  Corictic.  When 
Patrick  failed  to  convert  him  by  his  letters  and  admonitions, 
which  the  tyrant  despised,  he  besought  the  Lord  to  drive 
this  reprobate  "  from  this  world  and  from  the  next."  A  very 
short  time  afterwards,  as  Coroticus  was  sitting  on  his  throne, 
he  heard  a  certain  magic  song  chanted,  and  hearing  it  he 
came  down  from  his  seat  in  the  hall  of  justice.  Thereupon 
all  his  nobles  took  up  the  same  chant ;  whereupon  suddenly 
in  the  raidst  of  the  market  place,  Coroticus  was  changed  into 
what  so-  incd  a  fox  in  the  presence  of  them  all,  and  running 
away  like  a  stream  of  water  disappeared  from  their  eyes, 
and  was  never  afterwards  heard  of. 


III. — The  Lorica,  or  the  Deer's  Cry. 

The  Lorica,  or  Shield  of  St.  Patrick,  is  a  rhythmical 
prayer  said  to  have  been  composed  by  the  Saint  to  implore 
the  divine  protection,  when  he  and  his  companions  were 
approaching  Tara  for  the  first  time  to  proclaim  the  unknown 
God  in  the  very  stronghold  of  druidism,  sustained  as  it  was 
by  all  the  power  of  the  Ard-righ  of  Erin.  It  was  a  bold  and 
perilous  thing  to  do — thus  to  face  the  pagan  king  and  his 
idol  priests  on  the  very  threshold  of  their  citadel ;  and  it 
shows  how  strongly  armed  in  faith  St.  Patrick  was  on  that 
day,  when  he  so  dared  to  bid  defiance  to  the  powers  of 
darkness. 

The  Saint  was  by  no  means  insensible  of  the  danger  to 
which  he  exposed  himself,  nor  of  the  strength  of  the  wily  foe 
whom  he  challenged  so  boldly  to  the  combat.  But  he  put 
his  confidence  not  in  man  but  in  God,  and  this  poem  is 
simply  the  poetic  expression  of  the  sentiments  which  filled 
and  strengthened  his  soul  on  that  momentous  occasion.  This 
is  the  key  to  the  meaning  of  the  poem — "It  was  to  be  a 
corslet  of  faith  for  the  protection  of  body  and  soul  against 
devils,  and  human  beings,  and  vices  ;  and  whoever  shall  sing 


76      THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

it  every  day  with  pious  meditation  on  God,  devils  shall  not 
stay  before  him."  ^ 

It  is  then  easy  to  understand  why  it  was  called  the 
Lorica,  or  Corslet  of  Patrick ;  because  it  was  his  defence 
against  the  ambushes  set  for  him  by  Laeghaire  and  his  Druids 
when  he  was  approaching  Tara.  But  it  was  also  called  the 
Faed  Fiada,  or  Deer's  Cry ;  because  it  was  said  that  the 
apostle  and  his  companions  escaped  the  ambush  by  seeming 
to  their  enemies  to  be  a  Deer  and  her  fawns  in  flight  to  the 
shelter  of  the  woods. 

Patrick  knew  that  the  Druids  of  Laeghaire  possessed 
magical  powers ;  they  even  claimed  dominion  over  the  ele- 
ments, and  therefore  strong  in  the  faith  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
he  appeals  to  the  Triune  God  of  all  the  elements  to  shield 
him  against  evil.  God  sometimes  permits  the  powers  of 
evil  to  use  His  creatures  as  instruments  to  injure  the  wicked 
and  try  the  good  ;  and  therefore  the  Saint  calls  upon  God  to 
use  His  creatures  on  this  occasion  for  His  own  glory  and  the 
protection  of  His  servant.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Patrick 
calls  to  his  aid  not  only  the  Holy  Trinit}^,  but  all  the 
elements  created  by  God,  but  sometimes  perversely  used  by 
the  Druids  for  evil  purposes. 

*'  I  bind  unto  myself  to-day 

The  strong  name  of  the  Trinity, 
By  invocation  of  the  same 

Three  in  One  and  One  in  Three,     .  ,  • 

**  I  bind  unto  myself  to-day 

The  virtues  of  the  star-lit  heaven, 
The  glorious  sun's  life  giving  ray, 

The  whiteness  of  the  moon  at  even, 
The  Hashing  of  the  lightning  free, 

The  whirling  wind's  tempestuous  shocks, 
The  stable  earth,  the  deep  salt  sea. 

Around  the  old  eternal  rocks. 

"  I  bind  unto  myself  to-day 

The  power  of  God  to  hold  and  lead, 
His  eye  to  watch.  His  might  to  slay, 

His  ear  to  hearken  to  my  need. 
The  wisdom  of  my  God  to  teach, 

His  hand  to  guide.  His  shield  to  ward; 
The  word  of  God  to  give  me  speech, 

His  heavenly  host  to  be  my  guard." 

This  is  merely  a  specimen  of  the  beautiiiil  Gacdhlic  hymn 
as    translated — and   well    translated — by   Mrs.    Alexander. 

*  Irisli  rrefuce  to  tho  Hymn. 


SECHNALL*S  HYMN  OF  ST.  PATKICK.  77 

Even  to  this  day  the  original  is  chanted  by  the  peasantry  of 
the  South  and  West  in  the  ancestral  tongue,  and  it  is  regarded 
as  a  strong  shield  against  all  evils  natural  and  supernatural. 
"VVe  know  from  the  Book  of  Armagh  that  it  has  been  thus 
recited  at  least  from  the  eighth  century,  so  that  even  then  its 
use  was  universal,  and  in  a  certain  sense  obligatory.  St. 
Patrick  is  there  declared  entitled  to  four  *  honours'  in  all  the 
churches  and  monasteries  of  Erin.  First,  his  festival  was  to 
be  celebrated  for  three  days  and  three  nights  with  every  kind 
of  good  cheer  except  flesh — that  being  forbidden  in  Lent ; 
secondly,  a  special  offertory  was  to  be  immolated  in  his 
honour,  which  seems  to  imply  that  there  was  a  special  offer- 
tory, and  perhaps  preface  for  the  Mass  on  these  days ;  thirdl}^, 
his  Hymn — that  is,  the  hymn  in  praise  of  Patrick  written  by 
his  nephew,  St.  Sechnall — was  to  be  sung  during  these  days  ; 
and  fourthly,  '*  his  Irish  Canticle  was  to  be  always  sung ''  in 
the  liturgy,  as  it  would  seem,  and  apparently  also  throughout 
the  entire  year.  So  it  appears  that  from  the  earliest  ages 
this  Canticle  was  regarded  in  the  Irish  Church  as  the  genuine 
composition  of  St.  Patrick,  and  the  greatest  efficacy  was  attri- 
buted to  its  pious  recitation. 

IV. — Sechnall's  Hymn  of  St.  Patrick. 

' The  Hymn  of  St.  Patrick' — that  is,  the  Hymn  composed 
in  his  honour  b}"  St.  Sechnall,  to  which  reference  is  made  in 
this  extract  from  the  Book  of  Armagh — is  another  very  sin- 
gular and  interesting  literary  monument  of  our  early  Celtic 
Church.  It  has  been  published  with  valuable  notes  and 
scholia  by  the  late  Dr.  Todd  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Liber 
Hymnorum}  This  curious  Latin  hymn,  which  is  justly  re- 
garded both  on  internal  and  external  evidence,  as  the  genuine 
composition  of  St.  Sechnall,  or  Secundinus,  owed  its  origin 
to  a  singular  circumstance.  The  following  is  Colgan's  account 
taken  from  the  Preface  to  the  Hymn,  as  given  by  a  very  old 
but  unknown  authority  : — 

Secundinus  (in  Irish  Sechnall),  the  son  of  Restitutus,  a 
Lombard  of  Italy  by  his  wife  Darerca,  a  sister  of  St.  Patrick, 
was  the  author  of  this  Hymn.  It  was  composed  at  Dun- 
shaughlin,  county  Meath,  which  in  Irish  is  called  Domnach- 
Sechnaill,  from  the  name  of  its  founder.  It  was  written  in 
the  time  of  Laeghaire  Mac  Neil,  then  king  of  Ireland ;  and 
it  must  have  been  written  before  the  year  a.d.  447,  when, 

1  It  was  first  published  in  1647  by  Colgan  from  the  Isidore  MS.,  and  then 
by  Ware  in  his  Opusmla  S.  Patritii.  It  is  also  published  in  Stoke's  Tripar^ 
tite  in  the  series  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls. 


7S       THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PAl  RICK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

according  to  the  Four  Masters,  "  Secundinus,  the  son  of 
Patrick's  sister,  yielded  his  spirit  on  the  27th  of  November, 
in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age"  The  object  of  the 
writer  was  to  give  due  praise  to  Patrick,  also  to  offer  it  as  a 
kind  of  apology  for  having  offended  the  Saint.  For,  on  one 
occasion,  Sechnall  was  reported  to  have  said  that  Patrick 
would  be  perfect  if  he  had  insisted  more  strongly  in  his 
preaching  on  the  dut}^  of  alms-giving  for  works  of  charity ; 
for  then  more  property  and  more  land  would  have  been 
devoted  to  pious  uses  for  the  good  of  the  Church.  This 
remark  was  carried  to  the  ears  of  Patrick,  and  moreover  was 
probably  misrepresented.  St.  Patrick  was  much  displeased  with 
his  nephew,  and  said  it  was  "  for  sake  of  charity  he  forbore 
to  preach  charity ;"  that  is,  in  order  that  the  holy  men  who 
were  to  arise  after  him  might  benefit  by  the  oblations  of  the 
faithful,  which  he  left  untouched  for  that  purpose.  Then 
Sechnall  sorrowed  much  for  the  rash  judment  of  which  he 
had  been  guilty,  and  humbly  asked  pardon  of  the  Saint,  who 
readily  granted  it.  But  in  order  fully  to  atone  for  his  sin, 
Sechnall  composed  this  hymn  in  honour  of  Patrick. 

It  consists  of  twenty-three  stanzas,  the  stanzas  beginning 
with  a  letter  of  the  alphabet  m  regular  order  from  the  first 
to  the  last.  Each  stanza  consists  of  four  strophes  or  lines, 
each  line  of  fifteen  syllables.  So  that  it  was  written  in 
what  the  grammarians  call  trochaic  tetrameter  catalectic. 
In  Irish  prosody,  however,  regard  is  had  in  measuring  the 
feet  rather  to  the  accent  or  beat  of  the  verse  than  to  the 
length  of  the  syllables. 

When  the  hymn  was  composed  Sechnall  asked  per- 
mission to  read  for  Patrick  a  hymn,  which  he  had  composed 
in  praise  of  a  certain  holy  man,  who  was  still  alive.  Patrick 
readily  granted  this  request,  for  he  said  he  would  gladly 
wish  to  hear  the  praises  of  any  of  God's  household. 

Then  Sechnall  read  the  poem,  suppressing  the  first  line 
only,  which  contains  Patrick's  own  name  as  the  subject  of 
the  eulogy.  Patrick  listened  attentively  until  Sechnall 
came  to  the  line  in  which  the  subject  of  the  poem  is  described 
as  *  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven ' — maxiimis  in  reg^no 
ccElorum.  "  How  can  that  be  said  of  any  man  ?"  said 
Patrick.  "  The  superlative  is  there  put  for  the  positive," 
replied  Sechnall;  "it  (mly  means  very  great."  Patrick 
appeared  to  be  pleased  with  the  poem,  whereupon  Sechnall 
insinuated  that  Patrick  himself  was  the  subject  of  the 
poem  ;  and,  according  to  the  Bardic;  custom  he  asked  for  a 
reward  for  his  poem.      When  Patrick,  however,  learned  that 


SECHNALL'S  hymn  of  ST.  PATRICK.  79 

the  poem  was  about  himself  he  was  not  well  pleased,  but 
knowing  Sechnall  meant  well  in  writing  it,  he  did  not  wish 
to  grieve  him  by  a  refusal.  So  he  answered  that  Sechnall 
might  expect  that  our  Saviour  in  His  mercy  would 
give  the  glory  of  heaven  to  all  who  recited  the  hymn 
piously  every  day  both  morning  and  evening.  "I  am 
content,"  said  Sechnall,  "  with  that  reward  ;  but  as  the 
hymn  is  long  and  difficult  to  be  remembered,  I  wish  you 
would  obtain  the  same  reward  for  whomsoever  recites  even  a 
part  of  it."  Then  Patrick  said  that  whoever  faithfully 
recites  the  last  three  verses  of  the  hymn  morning  and 
evening  shall  obtain  the  same  reward,  and  Sechnall  said, 
**  Deo  gratias,"  and  was  content. 

It  was  only  natural  that  this  hymn,  having  such  a 
promise  of  salvation,  though  written  in  Latin,  should  become 
very  popular,  and  be  recited  in  the  monasteries  and  churches 
of  Ireland  as  one  of  the  four  '*  Honours  of  St.  Patrick."  It 
bears  intrinsic  evidence  both  in  style  and  language  that  it 
was  written  during  the  lifetime  of  St.  Patrick.  He  is 
represented  in  the  hymn  as  still  keeping  all  God^s  com- 
mandments, and  as  one  who  will  possess  the  joys  of  heaven, 
and  will  reign  with  the  apostles  as  saint  and  judge  over 
Israel.^ 

Of  Sechnall  himself  little  is  known.  All  the  authorities 
agree  in  saying  that  he  was  the  son  of  Patrick's  sister 
Darerca,  whom  others  call  Lupait,  and  sometimes  Liemania. 
It  is  said  that  she  was  taken  captive  at  the  same  time  as 
St.  Patrick  himself,  and  was  carried  with  him  by  the  captors 
to  Ireland,  and  there  sold  as  a  slave  in  the  district  called 
Conailli  Muirtheimne,  which  is  better  known  as  the 
patrimony  of  the  greatest  of  Erin's  ancient  warriors,  the 
heroic  Cuchullin.  It  included  the  territory  around 
Dundalk,  and  stretched  northward  to  the  modern  barony  of 
Mourne,  with  its  unrivalled  mountain  scenery. 

All  the  authorities  say  that  Sechnall's  father  was 
Pestitutus,  *aLougobard  of  Leatha ;'  or,  as  some  writers 
add,  *  Armoric  Leatha.'  Now  the  Lombards  known  to 
history  did  not  conquer  the  territory,  which  bears  their 
name,  until  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century.  This  difficulty 
is  met  by  assuming  that  *  Leatha'  means  Brittany  in  France, 

*  For  instance  : —  • 

"Maximus  namque  in  regno  coelorum  vocabitur, 
Qui  quod  verbis  docet  sacris  factis  adimplet  bonis  \ 
Bono  procedit  exemplo  formamque  fidelium, 
Mundoque  in  corde  habet  ad  Deum  fiduciam." 


^0       THK  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF   HIS  DISCIPLES. 

and  nlthough  we  have  no  historical  evidence  that  a  colony  of 
the  Longobardi  ever  dwelt  there,  still  a  Roman  soldier  of 
the  Longobardic  race  might  have  been  living  there,  and 
might  have  been  married  to  one  of  the  sisters  of  St.  Patrick. 

The  word  Armorica,  as  it  is  in  Latin,  and  Airmoric  in 
Celtic,  really  signifies  any  western  land  bordering  on  the 
sea ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  in  this  sense  the  word 
should  have  been  applied  to  Ayrshire  or  Wigtown  in 
Scotland.  Others  have  suggested  that  the  word  Lungbaird, 
as  it  is  in  our  earliest  native  authorities,  means  nothing 
more  than  a  *  long-bearded' man  of  Leatha,  or  America, 
which  is  by  no  means  improbable.  This  would  also  help  to 
explain  why  Eochaidh  O'Flanagan,  an  old  poet  of  the 
eleventh  century,  calls  St.  Sechnall  by  the  surname  Ua  Baird, 
or  O'Ward,  as  if  the  tribe  name  was  really  that  of  Bardi, 
whom  some  authorities  describe  as  an  ancient  race  of  Gaul 
or  Saxony,  from  whom  the  Longobardi  derived  their  origin.' 
Later  authorities,  knowing  nothing  of  any  Longobardi  except 
those  of  Northern  Italy,  would  readily  enough  fall  into  the 
anachronism  of  placing  them  there  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick. 

Sechnall  with  Auxilius  and  Iserninus  were  disciples  of 
St.  Patrick  from  the  beginning,  and  seem  to  have  accom- 
panied him  on  his  arrival  in  Ireland.  The  Annals  of  Ulster ^ 
howeverj  mark  their  arrival  in  Ireland  as  *  Bishops'  to  aid 
Patrick  in  the  year  a.d.  439.  This  seems  to  be  the  date  of 
their  episcopal  consecration,  which  they  received  either  in 
France  or  in  Britain,  for  St.  Patrick  alone  would  be  un- 
willing to  consecrate  them  contrary  to  the  canons.  Sechnall 
seems  to  have  been  placed  temporarily  over  the  Church  of 
Armagh,  founded  a.d.  445,  and  hence  he  is  sometimes  called 
Archbishop  of  that  See. 

V. — The  Hymn  "  Sancti  Yenite." 


It  was  in  St.  Sechnall's  Church  of  Dunshaughlin  that  a 
beautiful  Eucharistic  Hymn,  *  Sancti  Venite,'  was  first  sung, 
and  most  probably  composed  by  that  saint  himself.  In  the 
Preface  of  the  Leabhar  Breac^  it  is  said  that  this  hymn  was 
first  chanted  by  angels  in  St.  Sechnairs  Church,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  reconciliation  with  St.  Patrick,  to  which  we 
have  already  referred.  The  choir  of  angels  was  heard 
singing  the  hymn  during  the  Holy  Communion,  and  '*  hence 
arose  the  custom  ever  afterwards  observed  in  Erin,"  says  the 
writer,   "  of  singing  this  hymn  at  the  Communion  ;  '*  and 

*  See  Krantz  Danaiae,  Liber  iv.,  o.   19. 


ST.   FIACC  OF  SLKTTY.  81 

hence,  too,  the  title  which  it  bears  in  the  Antiphonary  of 
Bangor — the  only  ancient  work  in  which  it  is  found — "  Hymn 
during  the  Communion  of  the  Priests/'^  We  could  wish  this 
beautiful  hymn  w^ere  still  used  in  our  national  liturgy. 
Denis  Florence  McCarthy  has  left  us  an  excellent  transla- 
tion of  this  remarkable  hymn,  of  which  we  give  the  first  and 
last  stanzas  : 

**  Draw  nigh,  ye  holy  ones,  draw  nigh, 
And  take  the  body  of  the  Lord, 
And  drink  the  Sacred  Blood  outpoured, 
By  which  redeemed  ye  shall  not  die. 


'   The  Source,  the  Stream,  the  Firs^,  the  Last, 
Even  Christ  the  Lord,  who  diel  for  men, 
Now  comes — but  he  will  come  again 
To  judge  the  world,  when  lime  hath  passed." 

The  original  stanzas  are  as  follows  : — 

*'  Sancti  Venite, 

Christi  Corpus  Sumite; 

Sanctum  bibentes 

Quo  redempti  sanguinem. 

"  Alpha  et  Omega, 

Ipse  Christus  Dominus, 
Venit  venturus 
Judicare  homines." 

St.  Sechnall  was  the  first  Christian  poet  in  Erin  ;  may  his 
name  and  memory  linger  long  amongst  the  children  of 
St.  Patrick. 

VI. — St.  FiAcc  OF  Sletty. 

St.  Fiacc,  Bishop  of  Sletty,  and  author  of  what  is  perhaps 
the  earliest  biography  of  our  national  Apostle,  belongs  also  to 
the  Patrician  era,  that  is  the  fifth  century  of  the  Irish  Church. 
A  brief  account  of  his  life  and  labours  will  be  found  interest- 
ing. He  was  sixth  or  seventh  in  descent  from  the  celebrated 
Cathair  Mor,  King  of  Leinster  towards  the  close  of  the  second 
century.  His  father  is  called  Mac  Dara,  a  prince  of  the  Hy 
Bairrche.  His  mother,  the  second  wife  of  Mac  Dara,  was  a 
sister  of  Dubhtach  Mac  Ua  Lugair,  the  Chief  Poet  and 
Brehon  of  Erin  when  St.  Patrick  arrived  in  Ireland.  Fiacc 
was  not  only  a  nephew  of  Dubhtach,  but  also  his  pupil  and 
foster  son;  and  he  is  described  as  a  ^young  poet'  in  the  retinue 
of  Dubhtach  on  that  famous  Easter  Sunday  morning,  when 

1  "Hymnus  quando  Communicarent  Sacerdotes." 


(S2       THE  AVUl'llXfi^  OF  ST.   TATinrK   AND  OF  TITS  DTSCIPLES. 

St.  Patrick  first  stood  in  tlie  royal  preeencc  on  the  Hill  of 
Tara.  Kin":  Lacf>'luiire  had  forbidden  any  of  liis  courtioi-s  to 
rise  up  in  token  of  respect  to  St.  Patrick,  aTid  accordin;;ly, 
when  Patrick  came  be  lore  the  King,  all  reniaiTied  seateMl 
except  "  Dubhtach  the  Poyal  Poet,  and  a  tender  youth  of  his 
people,  named  Fiacc,  the  same  who  is  commemorated  in 
Sletty  to-day."^  Dubhtach  was  thetir^t  who  believed  at  Tara 
on  that  day,  and  doubtless  his  youthful  disciple  soott  after 
embraced  the  same  faith  as  his  master;  although  probably  he 
was  not  baptized  until  some  yc^ars  later.  At  this  period  the 
boy  poet  was  not,  it  seems,  more  than  sixteen  or  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  must,  therefore,  have  been  born  about  the 
year  a.u.  415. 

Dubhtach,  the  ai'ch-poet  of  lAaeghaire,  was  a  Leinster 
man,  and  received  from  Crimthan,  King  of  the  Hy  Kinnselach, 
a  grant  of  a  considerable  territoiy  in  North  Wexford,  cast- 
ward  of  Gorey,  in  the  territory  then  called  Formael — *'a 
wave-bound  land  beside  the  fishful  sea."  St.  Patrick  had 
converted  and  baptized  this  king,  Crimthan,  at  llathvllly  in 
the  County  Carlow,  about  the  year  a.T).  450,  during  his 
progress  through  Leinster.  On  this  occasion  he  very 
naturally  came  to  see  his  old  friend  Dubhtach,  the  first  of  the 
believers  at  Tara,  and  found  him  at  a  place  called  Domnach 
Mor  Magh  Criathar,  that  is  Donoughmore  of  "  the  marshy 
plain.''  This  marshy  plain  extends  along  the  sea  shore  to 
the  north  of  Cahore  Point,  Co.  AVexford.  At  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  plain  are  the  ruins  of  the  old  Church  of 
Donoughmore,  half  covered  by  the  sand;  and  close  by  is  a  holy 
well  where  a  *  patron  '  was  formerly  held  on  the  last  Sunday 
of  July.  The  late  Rev.  Father  Shearman  has.  we  think, 
shown  conclusively  that  this  is  the  Donoughmore,  where 
St.  Patrick  met  Dubhtach,  the  High  Bard  of  Erin. 

On  the  occasion  of  this  meeting  Pati'ick,  anxious  to  pro- 
vide for  the  government  of  the  young  Church  in  Leinster, 
requested  Dubhtach  to  find  him  a  man  of  good  family,  and 
good  morals,  the  husband  of  one  wife,^  and  with  otie  child 
only,  that  he  might  ordain  him  Bishoj)  of  the  men  of  Leinster. 
**  Fiacc  is  the  very  man  you  require, "  said  Dubhtach  ;  ''  but 
at  present  he  is  in  Connauglit" — to  which  province  he  went, 
it  seems,  at  his  master's  request,  to  make  the  usual  bardic 
visitation,  and    bring  home  the  gifts  which  the  sub-kings 


^  Tripartite  Life. 

'  We  know  from  St.  Paul  that  no  person  wlio  Iiaa  been  twice  married 
fan  bo  lawfully  ordaiiiod.  —  1  Tim.  iii.  2. 


ST.  FIACC  OF  SLETTY.  83 

were  wont  to  offer  to  the  Chief  Poet  of  Erin.  Just  then  it 
feo  happened  that  Fiacc  came  in  sight  of  the  fort  of  Dubhtach 
on  his  return  from  his  visitation  in  Connaught.  ''  There  is 
the  man  himself,"  said  the  Arch-poet,  "  of  whom  we  have 
been  speaking."  *'But  he  may  not  wish  to  receive  orders," 
said  Patrick.  ''Proceed  as  if  to  tonsure  me,"  replied  the 
poet,  '*  and  we  shall  see."  Thereupon  St.  Patrick  made 
preparations  as  if  to  tonsure  the  aged  poet — it  was  the  first 
step  to  orders — whereupon  Fiacc  said,  "  it  would  be  a  great 
loss  to  the  Bardic  order  *o  lose  so  great  a  poet ;"  and  he 
offered  himself  for  the  S8;:vice  of  the  Church  instead  of 
Dubhtach.  The  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  and  so  Fiacc  came 
to  receive  ^r<^^^,  or  orders,  and  finally  became  Ard-espog,  or 
Chief  Bishop,  of  the  Leinster-men.  This  was  a  mere  title  of 
honour  given  to  him  on  account  of  his  seniority  and  pre- 
eminent merits.  In  the  canonical  sens3  the  office  of 
Archbishop  did  not  then  exist  in  Leinster,  nor  for  many 
centuries  afterwards. 

On  this  occasion  we  are  told  that  Patrick  wrote  an 
*  Alphabet '  for  Fiacc — that  is,  a  brief  exposition  of  the 
Christian  doctrine ;  and  he  is  said  to  have  learned  in  one 
night,  or  as  others  say,  in  fifteen  days,  the  '  ecclesiastical 
ordo,'  that  is,  the  method  of  administering  the  sacraments 
and  celebrating  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  previously  Fiacc  was  an  accomplished  poet,  a  man 
therefore  of  learning,  with  a  highly  trained  memory,  well 
skilled  in  his  native  tongue,  and  perhaps  not  altogether 
unacquainted  with  the  rudiments  of  the  Latin  language;  at 
least  he  must  have  frequently  heard  it  at  Tara  and  elsewhere, 
when  the  clergy  were  performing  their  functions. 

Fiacc  founded  two  Churches  with  which  his  name  is 
intimately  connected.  The  first  is  called  in  old  writers, 
Domnach  Mor  Fiacc,  and  is  described  as  being  situated  mid- 
way between  Clonmore  and  Aghold  ;  and  therefore  about 
six  miles  due  east  of  Tullow  on  the  borders  of  Carlo w  and 
Wicklow.  It  was  also  called  Minbeg,  that  is,  the  Little  Wood 
or  Brake,  which  was  probably  near  the  old  church.  It  is 
identical  with  Kylebeg,  the  name  of  a  townland  in  the  same 
locality.     The  old  church  itself  has  disappeared. 

Here  he  led  a  life  of  great  austerity  until  he  was  com- 
manded by  an  angel  to  remove  thence  to  the  west  of  the 
River  Barrow,  for  there  he  was  to  find  the  "place  of  his 
resurrection."  He  was  directed  to  build  his  refectory  where 
he  should  meet  with  a  boar,  and  his  Church  where  he  should 
see  a    hind.     Fiacc,  however,    was    unwilling   to  go   there 


84       THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.   I'ATRICK   AND  OK  IIlS  DISCI P/.ES. 

without  the  sanction  of  St.  Patrick.  So  Patrick  himself 
came  and  fixed  the  site  of  his  (church  at  Sletl}^  (Sleibhte), 
and  there  Fiacc  and  his  son  Fiaclira  were  afterwards 
interred,  the  two  saints  in  the  i-iiim'.  <;rave. 

Sletty  is  about  one  mile  and  a-half  north-west  of  Carlow, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Kivcr  Barrow.  It  takes  its  name 
*Hlie  Hio'hlands,"  from  the  hills  of  Slievemari-y,  in  Queen's 
County,  which  have  also  given  their  name  to  the  entire 
barony.  During  the  devastations  of  the  Danes,  Sletty  being 
so  near  a  large  river,  was  almost  totalh''  destroyed  by  the 
frequent  incursions  of  those  marauders.  A  portion  of  the 
old  church  still  remains,,  but  the  See  of  Sletty  was  long  ago 
transferred  to  Leighlin,  which  is  still  the  name  of  the 
diocese. 

In  his  monastery  of  Sletty,  Fiacc  presided  over  many 
monks,  his  disciples,  and  continued  to  lead  the  same  austere 
life,  as  at  Donoughmore.  He  was  at  once  abbot  of  tho 
monastery  at  Sletty,  and  besides  performed  his  episcopal 
functions  throuo^h  all  the  surroundins:  countrv.  Moreover, 
he  was  wont  every  year,  at  th>  beginning  of  Lent,  to 
retire  to  a  lonely  cave  at  Drum  Coblai,  taking  with  him  a 
few  barley  loaves,  which  were  the  only  food  he  used,  with 
water  from  the  spring,  during  all  the  daj^s  of  Lent,  until  he 
returned  to  his  monastery  to  celebrate  with  his  brethren  the 
great  festival  of  Easter.  This  cave  of  Drum  Coblai  has  been 
identified  with  a  remarkable  cave  at  the  base  of  the  north- 
east escarpment  of  the  hill  called  the  Doon  of  Clopook,  about 
seven  miles  north-west  of  Sletty,  and  a  little  to  the  east  of 
the  old  and  famous  monastery  of  Timahoe.  Near  at  hand 
there  is  an  ancient  church  and  graveyard,  and  it  is  said  that 
a  dim  tradition  still  lingers  in  the  neighbourhood,  of  a  saint, 
who  used  to  retire  to  this  cave  to  last  and  pray  alone  with 
God.  As  no  person  could  see  him  leave  the  cave,  he  was 
supposed  to  return  to  his  own  church  further  south  by  a 
subterranean  passage,  Avhich  is  believed  to  be  still  in 
existence,  although  no  one  can  ascertain  its  whereabouts. 

During  a  great  portion  of  his  episcopal  life  Fiacc  suftered 
much  from  a  tistula,  or  running  sore,  near  his  hip- joint,  so 
that  he  was  unable  lo  walk  except  with  much  pain  and 
difficulty.  St.  Patrick  commiserating  Bishop  Fiaco's  in- 
firmity, sent  him  all  the  way  from  Armagh  a  present  of  a 
chariot  and  liorses.  But  Fiacc  in  his  great  humdity  was 
unwilling  to  accept  the  gift,  until  an  angel  apjiearo.l  to  him, 
and  assured  him  that  Patrick  sent  him  the  chariot  and  horses 
because  he    was   acquainted  with  the  sore   infirmity,    tVoni 


ST.  FIACC  OF  SLETTY.  85 

which  Fiacc  suffered,  and  wished  to  relieve  him.  Then  Fiacc 
leluctantly  consented  to  ride  in  the  chariut. 

Thus  it  was  that  Fiacc  spent  a  long  life  in  labour,  and 
prayer,  and  silence,  enduring  also  much  physical  suffering, 
until  the  poet-saint  had  seen  '  three  twenties  of  his  own 
disciples'  precede  him  to  the  grave.  His  youth  was  given  to 
poetry,  when  he  was  taught  by  his  uncle  to  chant  the  war- 
songs  of  Ossian,  and  the  bold  deeds  of  the  Fenian  heroes  ; 
but  his  manhood  and  old  age  were  given  to  God's  service 
when  he  w^as  wont  to  chant  the  diviner  songs  of  the  E/Oyal 
Bard  of  Israel.  He  died  about  the  year  a.d.  510.  He  must 
have  been  at  that  time  over  ninety  years  of  age,  and  we  are 
told  he  was  buried  in  his  own  Church  of  Sletty. 

There  is   hardly  any  document  of   higher  importance  in 
connection  with  the  early  history  of  our  Irish  Church  than 
the  Metrical  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  written  in  his  old  age  by 
the  poet-gaint  of  Sletty.     The  author  having  been  a  Bard  by 
piolession  very  naturally  wrote  in  metre,  and  in  the  ancient 
language  of  the  Bards  of  Erin.     The  cultivation  of  poetry 
was  then  as  now  one  of  the  fine  arts  most  highly  esteemed 
by  an  imaginative  and  impulsive  race.     The  authenticity  of 
the  poem  has  been  questioned  by  some  critics,  who  think  that 
there  are  certain  expressions  in  the  work  itself,  which  show 
that  if  not  written,  it  certainly  must  have  been  retouched  at 
a  later  age.^     We  have  carefully  considered  these  arguments, 
and  we  feel  bound  to  say  that  we  consider  them  very  flimsy. 
Fiacc,    it   is   said,   speaks  of  *  history,'    as    telling   us   that 
St.  Patrick  was  born  at  Nemptur,  and  studied  under  Ger- 
manus — language,  they  say,  which  a  friend  and  contemporary 
would  hardly  use.     But  these  are  facts  which  he  could  not 
have  known  of   his  own  knowledge,  and  the  'statements  of 
St.  Patrick  himself,  and  also  of  his  associates  and  companions, 
whether  oral  or  written  might  very  well  be  described  by  the 
Irish   words    which    the    poet    used  probably   because  they 
suited  his  metre. -^     Another   objection  is  derived  from  two 
references  to  Tara,  where  the  poet  says  he  wished  not  that 
Tara  should  be  a  *  desert  ;^  and,  again,  where  he  says  that  the 
Tuatha  of  Erin  at  the  advent  of  St.  Patrick,  foretold  that  the 
land  of   Tara  would  be  *  waste  and  silent!  from  which  these 
critics  infer  that  the  poem  must  have  been  written  after  the 
cursing  and  desolation  of  Tara,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
century.     But  is  this  a  just  inference?     Can   anything  be 
more  natural  than  that  the  Druids  should  declare  the  new 
— -^ji.^^ 

^  See  Liher  Hymnorum,  vol.  ii.,  page  287.  ^Scela  and  lint. 


86      TIIK  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  rATRlCK  AND  OF  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

faith  would  be  fatal  to  the  pagan  royalty  of  Tara,  and  that 
the  poet  immediately  after  wlien  proudly  referring  to 
Patrick's  new  spiritual  sovereignty  at  Armagh,  and  the 
glory  of  his  grave  at  Down  patriot  should  add,  to  prevent 
misconception,  that  ho  himself  did  not  wish  the  destruction 
of  the  temporal  sovereignty  then  flourishing  at  Tara— 'I  wish 
not  that  Tara  should  be  a  desert.'  As  to  the  argument 
derived  from  the  fact  that  Fiacc  is  named  Ard-espog  of 
Leinster,  we  have  already  stated,  that  this  is  merely,  like 
arch-poet,  an  honorary  title  to  express  pre-eminence  and 
superioi'ity  in  tlie  spiritual  office.  The  ablest  of  our  critics 
regard  the  poem  as  the  genuine  composition  of  Fiacc  of 
Slett}^,  the  iriend  and  contemporary  of  Patrick,  written 
shortlj^  after  his  death  in  a.d.  493 ;  and  hence  the  earliest 
and  most  authentic  biograph}'  of  the  saint  that  has  come 
down  to  us.  It  is,  moreover,  a  document  of  supreme  im- 
portance, for  competent  judges,  like  O'Curry,  have  pronounced 
it  to  be  written  in  puie  and  perfect  Gaedhlic.  '*  It  bears 
internal  evidence,"  says  O'Curry,  "  of  a  high  degree  of  per- 
fection in  the  language,  at  the  time  it  was  composed ;  it  is 
unquestionably  in  all  respects  a  genuine  native  production, 
quite  untinctured  with  the  Latin  or  with  any  other  contem- 
porary style  or  idiom."  This  is  a  most  important  fact,  because 
in  our  opinion  it  settles  the  question  as  to  the  use  of  letters 
and  writing  in  Ireland  before  8t.  Patrick.  No  language  could 
by  any  possibility  in  one  or  two  generations  be  developed 
from  being  the  rude  unwritten  jargon  of  an  unlettered  people 
into  a  perfect  written  language  of  artistic  structure  with 
definite  grammatical  form  and  arrangement.  That  the  poem 
of  Fiacc  is  an  elaborate  composition  of  this  character,  indi- 
cating not  only  the  existence  of  settled  grammatical  forms, 
but  also  a  great  richness  and  flexibilit}^  in  the  language,  even 
the  meref^t  tyro  in  the  Gaedhlic  tongue  can  perceive.  Indeed 
in  every  respect  it  is  much  superior  to  the  debased  Gaedhlic 
of  the  last  three  centuries. 

This  importaiit  poem  was  first  printed  by  John  Colgan,the 
father  of  Irish  hagiology.  It  has  been  reprinted  much  more 
accurately  from  the  copy  in  the  Liber  Hymnorum,  T.C.D., 
and  also  in  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record  iox  March,  18i)S, 
where  the  philological  student  will  find  not  only  the  text  and 
glosses,  but  also  an  accurate  translation  from  the  pen  of  one 
of  our  most  eminent  Celtic  scholars,  Eugene  O'Curry  of  the 
Catholic  University  (>f  Dublin.  More  recently  the  poem 
has  been  printed  in  Stokes'  Tripartite  (Rolls  Series),  and  in 
Haddan  and  Stubbs'  Councils,  etc. 


THE  SAYINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK.  87 

VII. — The  Sayings  of  St.  Patrick. 

In  the  Book  of  Armagh  there  is  a  paragraph  headed — 
Dicta  Patritii— or  Sayings  of  Sr.  Patrick.  They  appear  to 
have  been  certain  sayings  which  were  frequently  on  the  lips 
of  the  apostle,  and  which  came  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity 
as  expressive  of  his  apostolic  spirit.  Brief  and  few  as  they 
are,  these  spiritual  maxims  have  been  well  chosen,  and  may 
be  said  to  govern  in  their  application  the  whole  life  of  the 
individual  Christian,  as  w^ell  as  of  the  Irish  Church. 

First  maxim — ''  I  had  the  fear  of  God  as  the  guide  of  my 
way  through  Gaul  and  Italy,  and  also  in  the  islands,  which 
are  in  the  Tyrhene  Soa."^  The  second  maxim — "From  the 
world  ye  have  gone  to  Paradise."  This  saying  is  taken  from 
the  Epistle  to  Coroticus,  in  which  the  Saint  after  bewailing 
his  slaughtered  neophytes,  yet  rejoices  that  it  happened  after 
they  believed,  and  were  baptized  ;  for  then  they  merely  left 
this  world  to  go  to  Paradise.  In  course  of  time  this  appears 
to  have  been  adopted  in  Ireland  as  a  consoling  thought  for 
the  survivors  that  their  deceased  friends  had  gone  from  this 
world  to  Paradise — "  De  seculo  recessistis  ad  Paradisum." 
Third  maxim — '  Deo  Gratias  " — thanks  be  to  God.  It  was 
always  on  the  lips  of  St.  Patrick — whether  the  news  was 
good  or  bad,  pleasing  or  displeasing,  thesame  word  wasthere — 
''Deo  Gratias."  The  fourth  maxim — ''O  Church  of  the  Scots — 
nay  of  the  Romans — as  ye  are  Christians,  be  ye  also  Romans." 
That  is,  as  ye  are  Christians,  and  bound  to  obey  Christ,  so 
be  yo  also  Romans,  obedient  to  the  See  of  Rome.  Maxim 
the  fifth — "'At  every  hour  of  prayer  it  is  fitting  to  sing  that 
word  of  praise — '  Lord  have  mercy  on  us,  Christ  have  mercy 
on  us.'  Let  every  Church  which  follows  me  sing — *  Kyrie 
Eleison,  Christe  Eleison,  Deo  Gratias.'  "  It  would  seem  that 
the  *  Kyrie  Eleison  '  at  the  beginning  of  Mass,  and  the  *  Deo 
Gratias '  at  the  end  of  Mass  were  not  at  that  early  period 
universally  chanted  in  the  public  liturgy.  Hence  the 
Saint,  who  seems  to  have  a  special  love  for  these  two  brief 
and  fervent  expressions  of  pardon  and  thanksgiving,  made 
it  a  rule  that  they  should  be  sung  in  the  liturgy  of  all  the 
Churches  which  he  founded  in  Iceland.  The  practice  has 
since  become  obligatory  throughout  the  universal  Church. 

^  The  entire  passage  is  as  follows: — "  Timorem  Dei  habui  ducem  itineris 
mei  per  G-allias  atque  Italiam,  etiam  in  insulis  quae  sunt  in  marl  Tyrrheno — 
De  Saeculo  recessistis  ad  paradisum — Deo  Gfratias — -^cclesia  Scotorum,  imo 
Ronianorum,  ut  Christiani  iia  et  Romani  sitis — Ut  decantetur  vobiscum 
oportet  omni  hora  orationis  vox  ilia  laudabili'?, Kyrie  eleison,  Christe  eleison — 
Omnis  secclesia,  quae  sequitur  me  cantet,  *  Kyrie  eleison,  Christe  elei*-"", 
Deo  y-ratias."* 


88       THE   WKlTlNfiS  OF  ST.    PATRICK  AND  OK  HIS  DISCIPLES. 

VIII. — Tkk  TiuPAiiTiTK  Life  of  St.  Patrick. 

The  eiirliest  memoir  of  St.  Patrick  was  perhaps  the  Metrical 
Life  by  St.  Fiacc  of  Sletty,  to  which  we  have  already  referred. 
Of  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  we  shall 
speak  in  the  next  chapter.  But  what  is  called  the  '*  Tripar- 
tite Life  "  of  the  Saint  is,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  if  not  the 
earliest,  certainly  the  fullest  and  most  authentic  account  of 
our  national  Apostle  now  extant. 

It  took   its  name  of  the  Tripartite,  or  Three-Divisioned 
Life  from  the  fact  that  the   whole   histor}^  of  St.  Patrick  is 
divided   into    three   homilies,   one    of   which   was    probably 
preached  by  its   author  on  each  of  the  three  festival  days 
celebrated  in  honour  of  the  Saint — the  Vi^il,  or  day  before — 
the  Feast  itself — and  perhaps  the  day  after,  or  ihe  Octave 
day.     The  preacher,  taking  for  his  text  the  verses  of  Isaias — 
Popiiliis  qui  sedebat  in  tenebris  vidit  hicem  magnam,  etc.,  etL'., 
declares  that  Patrick  was  of  that  light  a  ray,  and  a  flame, 
and  precious  stone,  and  a  brilliant  lamp,  which  lighted  the 
western  world  ;  and  that  he  was  Bishop  of  the  west  of  the 
earth,  and  the  father  of  the  baptism  and  belief  of  the  men  of 
Ireland.     Then  the  writer,  or  speaker,  undertakes  to  narrate 
*'  something  of  the  carnal   genealogy,  of  the   miracles  and 
marvels  of  this  holy  Patrick,  as  set  forth  in  the  Churches  of 
Christians,  on  the  sixteenth  of  the  Calends  of  xipril  (1 7th  of 
March),  as  regards  the  da}^  of  the  solar  month.''     The  Life, 
or  homily,  next  states  explicitly  that  Patrick  was  by  origin 
of  the  Britons  of  Ail-Cluade — the  Pock  of  the  Clyde — now 
Dumbarton,    a    statement    in    which    we    entirely    concur. 
Calphurn  was  his  father's  name,  and  a  noble  priest  was  he, 
and  his   grandfather  was  the  deacon  Potitus  (Fotid  in  the 
Irish  MS.).     In  those  early  days,  especially  in  the  outlying 
provinces  of  the  empire,  it  was  not  unusual  to  seek  for  the 
fittest  candidates  for  Holy  Orders  amongst  men,  who  had 
been  married,  or  who  were  even  at  the  time  of  their  selection 
married  men.     They  were  in  fact  the  best  candidates  for  the 
sacred  ministry  that  could  be  had  at  the  time  ;  for  most  of 
the  young  men  were  not  only  without  special  training,  but 
unreliable  and  licentious.     It  was,  however,  the  general  rule 
in  the  western  but  not  in  the  eastern  Church,  that  the  mar- 
ried man  after  his  ordination,  and  especially  after  his  elevation 
to  the   Episcopate,   should   abstain  from  all  conjugal  inter- 
course with  his  wife.     Such,  for  instance,  was  the  case  with 
St.  Germanus,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  the  teacher  and  friend  of 
St.  Patrick.     The  Iritsh  Canons,  too,  even  of  the  fifth  century, 


THE  TRIPARTITE  LIFE  OF  ST.  PATRICK.  89 

are  particularly  imperative  on  this  point,  and  show  clearly 
that  although  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy  was  not,  strictly 
speaking,  obligatory  even  in  the  west  during  the  centuries  of 
the  persecutions,  no  sooner  was  the  Church  free  to  carry  out 
her  own  purposes  than  she  strove  to  make  this  legislation 
compulsory  throughout  all  Christendom. 

The  second  part  of  the  Tripartite  begins  with  St.  Patrick's 
arrival  at  Tara  to  preach  to  King  Laeghaire  and  his  Druids, 
and  is  by  far  the  most  momentous  portion  of  the  work.  The 
third  part  begins  with  the  statement  that  Patrick  left  presbyter 
Conaed  in  Domnach  Airther  Maige,  in  the  province  of  the 
Northern  Hui  Briuin,  and  ends  with  an  account  of  Patrick's 
holy  death  and  illustrious  burial — '^  after  founding  churches 
in  plenty,  after  consecrating  monasteries,  after  baptizing  the 
men  of  Ireland,  after  great  patience  and  after  great  labour,  after 
destroying  idols  and  images,  and  after  rebuking  many  kings 
who  did  not  do  his  will,  and  after  raising  up  those  who  did 
his  will,  after  ordaining  three  hundred  and  three  score  and 
ten^  bishops,  and  after  ordaining  three  thousand  priests  and 
clerics  of  every  grade  in  the  Church  besides,  after  fasting  and 
prayer,  after  mercy  and  clemency,  after  gentleness  and  mild- 
ness to  the  sons  of  life,  after  the  love  of  God  and  of  his 
neighbours,  he  received  Christ's  Body  from  the  Bishop — 
from  Tassach — and  then  he  sent  his  spirit  to  heaven" — in 
the  hundredth  and  twentieth  year  of  his  age. 

The  most  interesting  question  connected  with  this  Tri- 
partite life  is  its  date  and  probable  authorship.  Unfortu- 
nately we  have  intrinsic  evidence  for  neither;  the  manuscript 
itself  is  silent  both  as  to  its  date  and  authorship.  Hence 
there  is  much  difference  of  opinion  even  amongst  learned 
and  honest  scholars.  Colgan  thought  that  St.  Evin  of 
Monasterevan,  who  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
century,  was  its  original  author,  and  0' Curry  adopted  the 
same  opinion.  Petrie  thought  it  a  "  compilation  of  the  ninth 
or  tenth  century ;"  and  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes,  in  his  excellent 
edition  of  the  Tripai^tite^  undertakes  to  show  that  **  it  could 
not  have  been  written  before  the  middle  of  the  tenth  century, 
and  that  it  was  probably  compiled  in  the  eleventh." 

His  arguments  are  two-fold — linguistic  and  historical. 
So  far  as  the  former  are  concerned,  we  may  fairly  say  that  he 
is  not  a  better  authority  than  O'Curry,  and  that  if  O'Curry 
thought  this  Life  might  have  been  of  the  sixth  century,  no 
philological  arguments  of  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes  will  override 

^  In  the  eai'ly  ages  of  the  Church  a  bishop  was  placed  over  every  town. 


90       THE  WRITINGS  OF  ST.  PATRICK  AND  OF   lllS  DlSCU'LKS. 

his  authority  in  that  respect.  But  Stokes  goes  farther,  and 
quotes  entries  from  the  Tripartite^  which  he  alleges  must 
have  been  made  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  cen- 
turies. This,  we  readily  admit,  is  a  weightier  .rgument.  He 
cites  nine  or  ten  instances  ol  this  kind,  which,  as  he  alleges, 
were  neither  additions  nor  interpolations.  Such,  for  instance, 
is  the  reference  to  Connacan,  son  of  Colman,  and  grandson  of 
Niall  Frossach,  who  was  killed  in  Ulster,  a.d.  873. 

It  is  obvious  that  to  prove  anything  it  must  be  shown 
conclusively  that  the  event  was  referred  to  in  the  original  Tri- 
partite, and  is  that  same  event  which  is  recorded  in  our  Annals 
in  the  ninth  or  tenth  centur}^  Yet  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  prove  this  essential  point.  Take,  for  instance,  one  of  the 
clearest  cases  mentioned  by  Stokes,  this  death  of  Connacan, 
grandson  of  ^'iall  Frossach.  Whoever  examines  this  passage, 
which  is  at  page  174  (not  173)  ^ill  notice  that  it  is  just  such 
a  statement  as  might  be  added  or  interpolated  by  a  copvist. 
The  original  writer  quotes  a  prophecy  of  St.  Patrick  that 
"  the  land  of  thy  place  {i.e.,  of  Conaed)  shall  not  be  reddened.'' 
The  copyist  then  adds — apparently  as  of  himself — "  Quod 
probavimus,  when  Connacan,  son  of  Colman,  son  of  Niall 
Frossach  (the  Showery)  came  into  the  land  with  an  army." 
Is  this  statement  that  of  the  copyist  or  of  the  original  writer? 
Until  it  is  clearly  shown  that  it  is  a  sentence  written  by  the 
original  author,  no  argument  as  to  the  age  of  the  Tripartite 
can  be  based  on  it,  or  on  similar  passages. 

This  Tripartite  Life  is  on  the  whole  the  most  valuable 
document  concerning  St.  Patrick  that  has  come  down  to  our 
times.  It  was  written  chiefly  in  Gaedhlic  of  the  purest  typ 3 
of  the  language,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  passages 
in  Latin.  And  it  was  because  Jocelin  has  said  that  St. 
Evin  wrote  a  work  of  this  kind,^  partly  in  Irish  and  partly 
in  Latin,  that  Colgan  not  unnaturally  infers  that  the  Tri- 
partite must  be  the  work  to  which  Jocelin  refers.  We 
certainly  know  of  no  other  work  of  a  similar  character  to 
which  Jocelin's  observation  can  apply,  and  it'  there  were  any 
other  similar  work  we  certainly  should  have  heard  of  it  either 
as  a  lost  or  an  extant  w^ork.  Hence,  although,  7'atioHe  formcey 
Colgan's  logic  may  be  weak,  ratione  niateriae^  it  is  unimpeach- 
able, no  matter  what  Dr.  Stokes  may  sivy  to  the  contrary.- 

^  "Acta  S.  Patricii  partim  Latino,  partim  Hiberuico  Seriuone.*' 
2  He  sayn  that  Colgan '«  argument  t'urniahes  a  choice  speciiuen  of  an 
undistributed  middle  term. 


CHAPTER     V. 
IRISH  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  IN  GENERAL. 

"  Fenced  early  in  this  cloistral  round 
Of  reverie,  of  shade,  of  prayer, 
How  can  we  p:row  in  other  ground  ? 
How  can  we  flower  in  foreign  air  ?  " 

I. — General  View  of  an  Irish  Monastery. 

Before  we  can  understand  the  nature  of  a  monastic  school, 
it  is  necessary  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  general  character  of 
our  Irish  monasteries,  such  as  they  were  before  the  advent  of 
the  Danish  hordes  to  this  country.  This  is  all  the  more 
necessary,  because  a  Celtic  monastery  of  the  olden  time  was 
a  very  different  thing  from  those  great  mediaeval  establish- 
ments, whose  ruins  are  still  to  be  seen  both  in  England  and 
Ireland. 

In  ancient  Erin  they  had  no  such  structures  as  were 
built  in  later  nges  by  the  Cistercians,  Dominicans,  and 
Franciscans — noblo  piles  of  buildings  with  the  stately 
church  in  the  centre,  surrounded  by  beautiful  cloisters, 
dormitories,  kitchen,  and  all  other  necessary  offices.  These 
notions  must  be  entirely  removed  from  the  mind,  if  we  wish 
to  get  an  idea  of  the  primitive  CuiLic  monastery,  as  it  existed 
in  the  earliest  and.  best  days  of  our  Irish  Church. 

Of  course  monasteries  in  the  spiritual  sense— as  moral 
entities — have  always  been  much  the  same  in  every  country 
and  in  every  age  of  the  Church's  history.  The  plan  of  the 
spiritual  edifice  is  found  in  the  Gospel,  and  has  been  drawn 
for  all  time  by  Christ  Himself. 

The  true  monk  is  a  man,  as  his  name  implies,  who 
whether  in  the  city  or  in  the  desert,  should  always  strive  to 
be  alone  with  God.  In  this  sense  the  prophets  Elias  and 
Eliseus  under  the  Old  Law,  like  John  the  Baptist  at  the 
threshold  of  the  New  Law,  were  monks  in  the  most  perfect 
sense  of  the  word.  Then,  again,  the  monk  whether  livino- 
alone  in  the  desert,  or  in  community  with  others,  must  follow 
those  counsels  of  perfection,  which  have  been  set  forth  by 
the  teaching  and  example  of  the  Son  of  God  Himself.  That 
is  to  say,  he  must  renounce  all    worldly  goods  and  live  in 


92  IRISH  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  IN  GENERAL, 

poverty,  in  chastity,  and  obedience,  when  he  has  a  superior. 
It  he  has  no  immediate  superior,  then  he  is  a  hermit,  and 
God  Himself,  whom  he  seeks  to  pleai?e  in  all  things,  becomes 
his  Superior.  These  means  of  perfection  have  been  always 
deemed  essential  to  the  monastic  character  in  the  Church  of 
God.  One  cannot  conceive  a  married  monk,  nor  one  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  his  worldly  fortune,  nor  one  without  a 
superior,  except  where  he  lives  altogether  alone  with  God, 
following  His  inspirations  ;  and  even  then  the  bishop  of  the 
locality  is  always  recognised  by  the  Church  as  the  »5uperior, 
whom  he  is  bound  to  obey. 

With  these  essential  means  of  perfection  were  also  com- 
bined silence,  prayer  and  labour,  whether  manual  or  mental. 
Idl  ness  is  unknown  to  the  monastic  state  ;  the  monk  should 
be  always  doing  something  pleasing  to  God.  It  may  be  to 
pray,  or  to  read,  or  to  work  in  the  fields,  or  to  take  his 
necessary  rest,  but  he  must  be  always  doing  the  work  of 
God. 

Monasticism  in  one  sense  or  another  always  existed,  and 
always  will  exist  in  the  Church.  It  flourished  amongst  the 
first  Christian  communities  at  Jerusalem,  who  had  only  one 
heart  and  one  soul,  who  sold  their  lands  and  houses,  and  laid 
the  price  at  the  feet  of  the  Apostles  to  feed  the  poor.  It 
existed  in  the  catacombs  during  the  persecutions,  and  took 
more  definite  shape  in  the  deserts  of  Sjria,  Egypt,  and 
Armenia. 

At  first  the  monk  was,  as  his  names  implies,  a  hermit — 
eremites — one  who  lived  alone  in  the  desert  in  the  practice  of 
evangelical  perfection.  Such  were  St.  Paul,  St.  Anthony, 
Serapion,  and  thousands  of  others  who  imitated  their 
example  and  lived  in  solitary  cells  or  rocky  caves  in  Syria, 
Armenia,  and  Nitria  on  the  western  shores  of  the  Nile  some 
thirty  miles  from  Cairo.  Pachomius  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  who  formed  these  solitaries  into  a  community  following 
one  rule  and  recognising  a  common  superior.  He  founded 
his  monastery  at  Tabenna,  on  the  Nile,  in  Lower  Egypt. 
His  sister  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  founded  a  convent 
of  nuns  not  far  from  her  brother's  monastery,  in  order  that 
she  might  have  the  benefit  of  his  advice  and  direction.  The 
exact  date  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but  as  he  died  rather 
young,  about  the  year  a.d.  o41^  it  cannot  have  been  nuich 
earlier  than  A.u.  o40.  St.  Anthony  had  indeed  already 
undertaken  the  guidance  of  certain  solitaries,  who  had 
placed  themselves  under  his  direction.  But  it  was 
Pachomius  who  really  changed    th«   monasteries,  oj*  rather 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF   nN   THTSH  MOXASTKRY.  93 

the  laurj,  into  a  '  convent/  in  which  all  the  members  of  the 
community  dwelt  within  the  same  building/  were  subject  to 
the  same  rule,  and  obedient  to  the  same  Superior.  This 
change,  however,  as  might  be  expected,  was  not  accomplished 
at  once  ;  it  was  rather  very  gradual,  and  grew  out  of  the 
necessities  of  the  time.  The  laura,  which  was  a  group  oi 
■village  of  monastic  cells,  surrounding  the  oratory  and  cell  of 
the  abbot,  under  whose  direction  the  monks  assembled  for 
their  common  devotions  in  the  church  and  sometimes  for 
their  common  meals  in  the  refectory,  was  the  intermediate 
stage  of  monastic  development,  and  it  continued  to  be,  both 
in  Egypt  and  in  Ireland,  for  many  centuries  the  prevalent 
form  of  monastic  life. 

From  Egypt  and  Syria  raonasticism  was  brought  to  Rome 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  by  Atnanasius,  the 
o^reat  champion  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  by  Honoratus,  who 
founded  the  island  monastery  of  Lerins,  and  by  John  Cassian, 
whose  Institutes  were  a  kind  of  manual  in  all  the  earlier 
monasteries  of  the  West. 

The  great  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  the  father  of  monasticism 
in  Gaul,  was  inspired  by  the  writings  of  Athanasius,  and 
under  the  influence  of  that  inspiration  founded  his  own 
monastery  at  Liguge,  and  subsequently  at  Marmoutier,  on 
the  banks  of  tbe  Loire,  which  became  the  cradles  of  monastic 
life  in  Gaul.  We  have  already  seen  that  St.  Patrick  had 
full  opportunity  of  learning  the  discipline  of  Marmoutier ^ 
and  of  course  what  he  learned  there  and  elsewhere,  he  carried 
home  with  him  to  Ireland.  But  his  life  was  too  full  of 
missionary  labours  to  be  siven  to  the  government  or 
foundation  of  monasteries.  That  work  was  left  to  the  rising 
generation  ;  by  them  it  was  undertaken  and  nobly  accom- 
plisbed.  Enda  of  Aran,  Finnian  of  Clonard,  Brendan  of 
Clonfert,  and  their  associates  of  the  Second  Order  of  the 
Irish  Saints,  were  the  men  who  first  founded  regular 
monasteries  and  monastic  schools  in  Erin. 

In  trying  to  give  a  view  of  the  general  character  of  the 
monastic  institutions  founded  by  those  holy  and  learned  men, 
it  is  well  to  consider  the  subject  in  its  various  aspects ;  that 
is  to  sa)^  the  Buildings,  the  iJiscipline  and  Government,  and 
the  Work  of  an  Irish  Monastery.  We  have  abundant 
materials  to  help  us  in  this  inquiry  in  the  Monastic  Rules, 
in  the  lives  of  the   founders  of  these   houses,  and  in  the 

*  Strictly  speaking,  that  building-  v  a"?  a  collection  of  cells,  each  oi 
which  was  tenanted  by  three  monks. 


»>^  TllISH  MONASTIC  Sf'HOOl.S  IN  GENKRAL. 

leinnants  of  the  ancient  buildings  theijis'^lves,  which  are 
still  to  be  seen  on  our  remotest  shores  iinl  islands.  But 
there  is  one  work  especially  valuable  in  this  enquiry — that 
is,  Adainnajt's  Life  of  St.  Cohtmba,  edited  by  the  learned 
Dr.  Reeves,  late  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor.  No  other 
work  that  we  know  of  is  so  valuable  and  so  indispensable  to 
the  Irish  ecclesiastical  historian,  and  none  has  been  edited 
with  greater  learninp^  and  impartiality. 

II. — The  Buildings. 

The  various  buldings  connected  with  an  Irish  monastery 
were  generally  but  not  always  surrounded  by  a  circular  or 
oval  rampart,  which    was    at    once    a    protection    against 
enemies,  or  wild  beasts,  and  also  a  limit  beyond  which  the 
brethren  were  Tiot  allowed  to  wander  without  permission,  and 
within  which  strangers,  as  a  rule,  were  not  allowed  to  intrude. 
Women  were  in  all  cases  excluded  from  the  sanctuary  within 
this  boundary.     Tiie  wall  or  rampart  was  composed  some- 
times of  earth  dug  up  from  a  fosse  at  its  base,  when   it  was 
called  a  rath  or  lis  ;  sometimes  of  stone,  when  it  was  called  a 
caiscal,  and  sometimes  of  earth  faced  with  stone,  and  then  it 
was  kuowii  rather  as  a  caithir  than  a  caiseal.    The  name  diin^ 
recording  to  Dr.  Petrie,  was  indifferently  applied  to  any  of 
these  structures.     But  O'Carry  quotes  an  ancient  legal  tract, 
wuich   proves   that   the   duiiy  strictly   speaking,    was   "  an 
enclosure  made  by  two  walls  or  mounds,  with  water  between 
them."  {Manners  and  Cttstoins,  vol.  ii.,  p.  4.)     This  mur  or 
mound   was   sometimes  very  strong  and  very  high,  fenced, 
too,  with  stakes  on  the  top,  and  when  necessary  was  double 
or  ttireeiold,  with  a  deep  dyke  between  each  rampart.    There 
was  fienerally   only   one   entrance,  and   when  danger  was 
apprehended  from   lawless  foes,  this  entrance  was  strictly 
guarded    night  and    day.      It    was  considered    sufficiently 
effective  ac:ainst  the  passing  attacks  of  the  native  spoilers ; 
but  when  the  Danes  began  their  bloody  and  relentless  raid>=. 
the  round  tower  was  found  to  afford  a  much  stroD^er  and 
saie^'  asylum. 

The  monks  in  surrounding  the  ecclesiastical  village  with 
a  rath  or  caiseal,  adopted  no  new  contrivance.  It  ^yas  the 
custom  of  the  country  to  surround  the  home  of  every 
chieftain's  family  with  a  similar  defence,  which  the  unsettled 
state  of  the  country  at  the  time  rendered  very  necessary. 

The  principal  building  within  the  monastic  enclosure  was 
of  course  the  church.  If  it  were  a  cathedral  church,  or  one 
of  the  greater  abbey  churches,  it  was  usuallv  built  of  stone, 


THE    BUTLDTNOS.  9/^ 

nnd  termed  in  Gruerllilica  daimhliag,  thnt  is,  the  stone-house 
by  exrcllence ;  because  very  many  of  the  churches  of  an 
inferior  kind  were  built  of  more  perishable  materials,  com- 
]~)osod  of  clay  and  wood,  or  wattles.  Hence  Colgan  used  the 
Latin  word  '  Basilica,'  as  equivalent  to  the  Irish  term, 
dainiJiliag.  Churches  of  this  kind  varied  of  course  in  dimen- 
sions, but  were  relatively  laro-e  ;  generally  speaking,  they 
were  about  60  feet  in  length  and  30  broad.i  If  the  church 
were  merely  an  oratory  for  the  abbot  and  his  monks,  along 
with  such  casual  strangers  as  might  happen  to  be  present  at 
the  time,  it  was  called 'a  diiirtJieacJi^  and  in  the  southern  and 
western  parts  of  the  countr}",  where  stone  abounded,  and 
wood  was  scarce,  it  was  frcquentl}^  built  of  stone  as  in  Kerry 
and  GaUvay.  But  far  more  frequently,  especially  in  the  east 
and  north-east,  it  was  built  of  wood,  which  explains  the 
frequent  reference  in  our  annals  to  the  burning  of  buildings 
of  this  character.^  The  term  itself  was  derived  from  daire^ 
an  oak  wood. 

Adjoining  the  church,  or  oratory,  there  was  frequently 
another  building  called  an  erdaink  or  7trdi(mh,  which  Petrie 
thinks  was  a  building  adjacent  to  the  side  wall  of  the  chuTch, 
whence  its  name — ear-doin,  a  side-house — serving  the  purpose 
of  a  sacristy  and  store-house  for  the  sacred  utensils.  During 
the  Danish  period  especially,  the  round  tower  is  found  near 
the  west  entrance  of  the  principal  church,  but  as  we  think 
this  was  a  later  feature  introduced  into  the  Irish  monastic 
buildings,  we  decline  to  discuss  that  question  further  for  the 
present.  The  abbot's  house  was  generally  very  near  his 
orator3%  with  which  it  was  sometimes  connected  by  a  passage 
underground,  or  roofed  with  flags;  and  sometimes  it  was 
under  the  same  roof  with  the  oratory  as  in  Columcille's  house 
at  Kells,  and  probably  also  at  St.  Kevin's  Cro  or  'Kitchen,' 
at  Glendalough.  The  cells  of  the  monks  were  distributed  in 
convenient  spots  over  the  sacred  enclosure,  sometimes  in  the 
form  of  irregular  streets  or  squares,  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  ground.  We  are  inclined  to  think  from  the  small  size  of 
the  existing  stone  cells  that  every  monk  had  a  separate  cell 
for  his  own  use ;  although  it  would,  no  doubt,  sometimes 
happen  in  Ireland,  as  it  certainly  often  happened  in  Egypt, 
that  three  or  four  monks  had  to  live  in  the  same  cell.  They 
had  no  beds,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word;  they  either 
slept  on  the  naked  earth,  or  on  a  skin,  which  sometimes 
covered  a  heap  of  straw  or  rushes.      There  was  only  a  single 

^Petrie,  p.    161.  ^Sea  Lip  of  St.  Muling,  and  of  other  saints. 


06  iniSII   MOVASTIC  SCHOOT.fS  IN   tJENKI^M,. 

entrance,  and  generally  speaking-  no  windows  of  any  kind 
to  the  cells.  In  form  they  were  nearlj^  always  circular,  about 
ten  feet  in  diameter  by  seven  in  lieight.  When  built  of  stone 
they  were  cone-shaped  and  brought  to  a  point  at  the  summit 
bv  a  ji:radunl  inclination  of  each  course  of  fla^fs  above  the 
other,  yet  the  builders  seeme  1  to  bo  ignorant  ot  the  principle 
o'  the  arch.  More  generally,  however,  the  cells  were  con- 
structed of  wood,  or  wicker  work,  and  these,  although  by  no 
means  so  du ruble,  were  probably  much  more  comfortable  than 
the  cells  of  stone. 

One  of  the  most  necessary  buildings  for  a  laura  or  monas- 
tery was  the  kitchen — the  ciiicin  in  Irish,  or  culina  in  Latin. 
St.  Patrick's  'kitchen'  at  Armagh  was  seventeen  feet  long, 
and  is  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  principil  buildings  within  the 
lis,  or  monastic  enclosure.  The  Tripartite  Life  of  the  Saint 
in  the  same  place  tells  us  that  the  Great  House  was  twenty- 
seven  feet  in  length,  and  consequently  much  longer  than  the 
*  kitchen  '  with  which  it  seems  to  have  been  connected.  The 
Great  House — if  not  the  church — was  in  all  probability  the 
refectory  or  dining-room,  which  is  more  generally  and  appro- 
priately called  in  Irish,  the  proinn-teach,  or  dinner-house.  It  is 
doubtful  if  we  have  any  specimens  of  the  Refectories  or 
Kitchens  of  our  earliest  monasteries  still  surviving,  because 
as  a  rule  tbey  were  composed  of  perishable  materials.  Another 
important  building  annexed  to  the  monastery,  but  generally 
outside  the  enclosure  was  the  Hospice,  or  Guest-House,  where 
strangers  were  entertained  with  the  utmost  hospitality, 
whether  they  came  as  mere  visitors  [peregrini)^  or  penitents  to 
atone  for  their  sins,  and  receive  spiritual  consolation.  There 
was,  however,  another  class  of  guests  {hospites),  distinguished 
ecclesiastics  or  princes,  the  friends  of  the  abbot  or  community, 
w^ho  were  treated  with  the  greatest  consideration.  They 
were  admitted  within  the  sacred  enclosure,  and  if  bishops  or 
priests  they  were  usually  invited  to  officiate  for  the  commu- 
nity. There  is  no  more  beautiful  trait  of  monas^tic  hospitality 
than  the  consideration  with  which  the  monks  treated  dis- 
tinguished strangers,  and  the  care  they  bestowed  on  the  poor. 

There  were  two  other  indispensable  buildings  connected 
with  the  monastery — the  store-hou<e  for  provisions,  and, 
wherever  a  stream  of  water  could  be  had,  a  kiln  for  drying,  and 
a  mill  for  jjrindino-  their  corn.  Bread  was  always  the  main 
sustenance  of  the  monks,  and  hence  the  site  t)f  tlu^  monastery 
was  generally  ^>o  chosen  that  a  rivulet  could  be  artificially 
dammed  up,  and  thus  supply  sufiicient  power  to  turn  a 
small  water-wheel  to  grind  tlieir  corn.     A\\'  tind  traces  ot 


THE  BUILDINGS.  97 

these  dams  even  in  the  most  unlikely  places,  where  in  onr 
day  no  one  would  dream  of  erecting  a  mill.    The  manifest 
reason  is  that  it  was  a  great  saving  of  manual  labour,  for  if 
the  monks  did  not  grind  their  corn  with  water,  they  should 
grind  it  with  the  hand-quern.  For  obvious  reasons,  too,  one, 
or  more  wells  were  also  near  the  monastery ;    sometimes, 
too,  they  were  covered  over  to  preserve  the  water  from  the 
pollution  of  cattle  or  rubbish.   These  wells,  used  and  blessed 
by  so  many  generations  of  holy  men,  are  very  naturally 
now  deemed  "  blessed  wells."    Such  then  was  the  general 
character  of  the  monastic  enclosure  and  the  monastic  build- 
ings— not  one  imposing  edifice,  as  in  more  modern  times,  but 
rather  a  village  of  huts  surrounding  the  church  and  house  of 
the  abbot,  and  enclosed  by  a  large  circular  rampart  of  earth 
or  stones.    Within  the  enclosure  in  the  larger  monasteries  a 
workshop  for  the  smith  and  carpenter  was  generally  provided, 
and  the  lay  brothers  were  frequently  expert  in  the  use  of 
their  tools.  When  the  monastery  was  surrounded  by  marshy 
land,  a  tochar  or  stone  causeway  was  built  to  the  nearest 
highway,   in   order  to  facilitate  communications   with  the 
outer  world. 

III. — Discipline. 

In  monasteries  we  must  not  confound  the  essential  dis- 
cipline of  every  true  religious  house  with  the  accidental 
differences,  which  may  be  found  in  different  monasteries,  and 
still  more  in  different  Orders,  or  under  different  Rules.  The 
essential  monastic  discipline  is  always  the  same,  but  there 
are,  so  to  speak,  several  varieties  of  the  species,  and  these 
varieties  are  best  exhibited  to  us  in  the  various  Rules  vhich 
the  founders  of  Religious  Orders  have  left  for  the  guidance 
of  their  spiritual  posterity.  The  learned  Dr.  Reeves^  seems 
to  doubt  if  the  founders  of  our  Irish  Religious  Houses  ever 
promulgated  any  systematic  Rule  like  that  of  St.  Benedict. 
We  certainly  have  no  Irish  Rule,  not  even  that  of  Colum- 
banus,  so  definite  or  so  systematic  as  that  of  St.  Benedict ; 
the  legal  organizing  mind  of  the  Italian  herein  displays  its 
superiority  to  the  untutored  mind  of  the  Celt.  Moreover, 
Benedict  is,  so  to  speak,  more  human ;  he  is  not  so  terribly 
austere  in  his  discipline  as  are  our  Irish  Saints ;  and  no 
doubt  this  was  one  great  reason  why  it  was  that  when  his 
Rule  and  that  of  St.  Columbanus  were  brought  into  rivalry 
in  France  and  Northern  Italy,  the  Rule  of  Benedict  con- 
quered. 

^  Additional  Notes,  page  336 

G 


98  IRISH   MONASTIC   SCHOOLS   IN   GENERAL. 

We  cannot,  however,  admit  that  our  Irish  Saints  did  not 
frame  distinctive  and  definite  liules,  although  not  at  nil,  in 
our  opinion,  so  distinctive  or  so  definite  as  the  great  llule  of 
St.  Benedict.  Eugene  O'Curry  tells  us  that  he  examined  in 
the  original  Irish,  eight  different  Monastic  Eules,  of  which 
"six  are  in  verse,  and  two  in  prose,  seven  in  vellum  MSS., 
and  one  on  paper."  These  are  the  Eule  of  St.  Ailhy  of  Emly, 
addressed  to  Eugene,  son  of  Saran  ;  the  Rule  of  St.  Ciaran  of 
Clonmacnoise ;  the  Eule  of  St.  Comghall  of  Bangor ;  the 
Eule  of  St.  Columcille  ;  the  Eule  of  St.  Carthach  of  Lismore ; 
St.  Maelruain's  Eules  for  the  Culdees ;  a  Eule  of  later  date 
for  the  Grey  Monks ;  and  lastly,  the  Eule  written  by  the 
famous  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan,  the  King-Bishop  of  Cashel. 
The  three  most  important  of  these  Eules  have  been  published 
in  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record^  that  is  the  first,  the  Eule 
of  St.  Ailby,  for  the,  son  of  Saran ;  the  Eule  of  St.  Carthach 
of  Lismore ;  and  the  Eule  of  St.  Maelruain  of  Tallaght. 

By  comparing  the  general  ordinances  laid  down  by  the 
founders  of  our  early  monasteries,  and  still  more  by  carefully 
noting  the  references  made  to  the  domestic  and  religious 
discipline  in  the  Lives  of  the  founders  themselves,  we  can 
obtain  a  very  distinct  idea  of  the  true  character  of  monastic 
life  in  Ireland. 

The  "  Abbot "  was  the  superior  of  the  monastic  family, 
and  frequently  had  several  houses  under  his  supreme  control. 
He  generally  lived  at  the  mother-house,  where  he  had  a 
separate  cell  larger  than  that  of  the  other  brethren,  and 
usually  very  near  to  the  church  or  oratory.  The  branch 
houses  were  then  governed  by  local  superiors  frequently 
called  *  priors,'  but  they  were  subject  to  removal  by  the 
Abbot,  who  had  the  right  at  any  time  of  visiting  the  estab- 
liohments  subordinate  to  the  mother-house  ;  and  this  right 
wcis  repeatedly  exercised,  as  we  know,  from  the  Lives  of 
Enda,  Brendan,  and  Columcille.  Sometimes  the  Abbot  was 
a  bishop,  ^but  more  frequently  during  the  sixth  century  he 
was  not,  as  in  the  case  of  Enda  and  Columcille,  and  very  pro- 
bably of  St.  Brendan  also.  Nearly  always,  however,  in  that  case 
a  bishop  was  a  member  of  the  religious  community,  who  ])er- 
formed  all  the  episcopal  functions  and  received  uU  the  honour 
due  to  his  office ;  but,  as  a  member  of  the  comnmnity,  he  was 
inferior  in  jurisdiction,  and  otherwise  obedient  to  the  Abbot. 
During  this  period  diocesan  jurisdiction  was  not  well  defined, 
because  there  was  a  great  number  of  bishops  in  the  country, 
and  dioceses  properly  so  called  were  only  in  ])rocess  of  forma- 
tion. At  this  early  age  the  diocese,  or  '  parrochia,'  of  a  bishop 


DISCIPLINE.  99 

in  many  cases  extended  only  to  the  diurch  or  cliurclies  which 
he  or  his  predecessor  had  founded,  and  to  their  adjacent  ter- 
ritory. It  was  a  fixed  maxim,  however,  that  if  one  saint  had 
established  himself  in  a  district  another  was  not  to  intrude 
on  his  territory  without  his  permission.  St.  Brendan  is  said 
to  have  at  first  established  himself  near  the  Shannon,  at  a 
place  called  Tulach  Brendain ;  but  when  he  found  that  he 
was  within  hearing  of  the  bell  of  St.  R-uadhan  of  Lorrha,  he 
removed  further  to  the  north  and  established  himself  at  Clon- 
fert,  whereupon  St.  Ruadhan  prophesied  that  Brendan's 
^  parrochia '  would  be  blessed  by  God,  and  in  after  years 
become  greater  than  his  own.    And  so  it  came  to  pass. 

The  mona.stic  "  Family  "  included  priests,  deacons,  minor 
clerics,  and  lay  brethren,  who  all  yielded  implicit  obedience 
to  the  Abbot  as  to  the  representative  of  God  in  their  regard. 
The  life  of  the  community  was  a  '  warfare ;  '  they  were 
soldiers  of  Christ,  and  hence  were  to  be  trained  and  armed 
for  this  spiritual  combat.  Therefore  they  stripped  them- 
selves of  the  encumbrance  of  worldly  goods,  and  entered  the 
'  arena '  quite  '  naked.'  They  were  obedient  to  the  voice  of 
the  general,  and  always  ready  to  sacrifice  their  lives  for 
Christ.  Their  obedience  was  like  that  of  Christ — an 
obedience  unto  death.  St.  Brendan  once  told  one  of  his 
monks  to  go  to  save  another  who  was  sinking,  and  die  in 
his  stead.  The  monk  did  so  without  a  murmur — the  brother 
was  saved  but  the  rescuer  perished.^ 

The  E/ule  of  St.  Columba  prescribes  absolute  nahedness 
from  worldly  goods  in  imitation  of  Christ.  No  brother  could 
possess  anything  of  his  own — everything  was  in  common. 
The  community  itself  was  poor ;  the  inmates  were  to  be  con- 
tent with  the  bare  necessaries  of  life — anything  beyond  that 
was  for  the  poor  and  the  stranger.  Of  course  chastity  was 
deemed  essential,  so  much  so  that  no  woman  was  permitted  to 
enter  the  monastic  enclosure  ;  in  certain  cases  they  were  even 
excluded  from  the  island  on  which  the  monastery  was  built. 
The  members  of  the  community  were  to  be  "  virgins  in  mind 
and  in  body ;  "  it  was  not  mere  celibacy,  but  perfect  chastity— 
in  thought,  and  word,  and  work — that  was  required  from  all 
true  monks.  In  all  this,  however,  there  is  nothing  peculiar 
to  Irish  monasteries — these  virtues  have  been  always  con- 
sidered essential  to  the  monastic  state,  although  not  always 
professed  by  solemn  vow. 

"  Silence,  which  is  the  practice  of  justice,"  says  the  Hule 


^  Vita  Brendani,  cap.  14. 


100  IRISH    MONASTIC   SCHOOLS   IN   GENERAL. 

of  St.  Coliimbanus/  "  must,  at  every  task  and  in  everyplace, 
bo  carefully  observed."  The  tongue  is  the  source  of  many 
sins,  and  hence  the  monks  are  strictly  forbidden  to  speak 
except  when  there  is  need,  and  even  then  with  caution.  Of 
course  when  abroad  it  would  be  difficult  to  observe  silence, 
but  still  the  spirit  of  the  E-ule  was  to  be  followed.  Even  the 
Abbot,  in  his  necessary  communication  with  his  subordin- 
ates, was  to  be  brief  and  to  the  point.  The  monks  frequently 
communicated  their  more  usual  wants  by  silent  signals, 
especially  in  the  refectory,  lest  speaking  would  interfere 
with  the  reading,  which  always  took  place  at  meal  time. 

"  Humility "  in  spirit  and  the  external  practice  of  that 
virtue  were  specially  inculcated,  because  spiritual  pride  is 
one  of  the  sins  most  dangerous  to  religious  men,  and  most 
difficult  to  guard  against.  The  Rule  of  St.  Carthach  of 
Lismore  requires  the  monk  to  live  in  humility  and  self- 
abasement  towards  all  persons,  high  and  low,  showing  to 
every  one  "  devotion,  humbleness,  and  enslavement."  The 
brethren  in  Columcille's  monasteries  spoke  to  the  Abbot  on 
their  knees.  If  rebuked  by  his  superiors  for  any  fault  the 
monk  remained  prostrate  on  the  ground  until  the  words  of 
blessing  admonished  him  to  rise  up — it  mattered  not  whether 
the  brother  was  really  culpable  or  not,  he  was  to  demean 
himself  as  a  cidprit. 

One  of  the  characteristic  virtues  of  our  Celtic  monasteries 
was  their  spirit  of  hospitality.  Every  monastery  had  its 
guest-house  for  the  reception  of  strangers.  They  were  to  be 
saluted  both  when  coming  and  going  by  bowing  down  the 
head,  and  in  case  of  persons  of  greater  consideration  by  pros- 
tration. St.  Comgall  of  Bangor,  himself,  washed  the  feet  of 
Columba  and  his  companions,  when  they  came  to  visit  him  at 
Bangor.  Upon  their  arrival  the  guests  were  generally  received 
either  by  the  Abbot  in  person,  who  gave  t%iem  the  kiss  of 
peace,  or  by  the  brother  in  charge  of  the  hospice,  who 
attended  to  their  immediate  wants.  One  of  the  first  things 
done  was  to  wash  their  feet ;  they  were  then  led  to  the 
church  to  join  in  a  short  prayer  for  their  safe  arrival.  After- 
wards they  partook  of  refreshment,  and  had  an  opportunity 
of  conferring  with  the  Abbot.  When  a  distinguished  guest 
arrived,  the  best  cheer  the  monastery  afforded  was  ])roduced. 
It  became  a  feast  day  for  the  entire  community :  even  if  it 
were  an  ordinary  fasting  day,  by  St.  l^enedict's  Rule  the  fast 
was  to  be  relaxed  in  honour  of  the  guest.     No  sinner,  who 


*Cap.  II.,  DeSilentio. 


DISCIPLINE.  101 

came  m  a  spirit  of  penance  was  excluded;  but  if  not  peni- 
tent, notorious  sinners  were  very  properly  excluded  from 
the  monastic  enclosure. 

The  discipline  of  the  Irish  monasteries  as  to  fasting  was 
very  rigid.   This  rigour  began  in  the  monasteries  of  Egypt  and 
Syria,  and  was  afterwards  imitated  in  the  West.   But  in  the 
cold  and  stormy  climate  of  Ireland  such  observances  must 
have  been  exceedingly  tiying  to  human  nature.     Yet,  per- 
haps, nowhere  in  the  Church  were  these  penitential  exercises 
carried  out  with  such  unsparing  rigour.   The  penances,  even 
apart  from  fasting,  practised  by  some  of  our  Irish  Saints  were 
simply  appalling.  In  our  days  we  should  consider  them  almost 
suicidal.   To  spend  half  the  night  up  to  the  neck  in  a  stream 
of  cold  water,  to  sleep  on  the  rock  in  a  cell  or  cave  without 
coverlet  or  pillow,  to  wear  the  same  coarse  garment  until  it 
fell  to  pieces  in  rags,  to  spend  the  whole  of  Lent  in  the  woods 
or  mountains  with  only  a  few  loaves  of  bread  and  a  little 
water,  were  not  unusual  exercises  of  mortification  in  those 
days  of  primitive  fervour.    This  was,  however,  mostly  the 
case  with  hermits  or  recluses.   The  discipline  of  the  regular 
monastic  life  was  severe,  but  not  quite  so  rigorous  as  this. 
The  ordinary  meal  for  the  '  family '  was  barley  or  oaten 
bread,  with  milk  when  it  could  be  had,  and  a  little  fish,  per- 
haps sometimes  eggs.    Flesh  meat  was  rarely  allowed  except 
on  high  festival  days  or  when  distinguished  strangers  came 
to  the  monastery.   The  brethren  were  then  allowed  a  share  of 
the  good  cheer  provided  for  the  strangers.    There  was,  how- 
ever, except  for  those  labouring  in  the  fields,  only  one  meal 
in   the  day — the   Columban   Rule   borrowed   from    Bangor 
expressly  says  that  the  fare  was  to  be  plain  and  taken  only 
in  the  evening,  that  is,  after  noon.^    Vegetables,  porridge, 
and  baked  bread  are  the  principal  items  mentioned  as  allow- 
able, and  barely  as  much  as  would  support  life.     Excessive 
abstinence  from  food,  hoAvever,  was  to  be  deemed  a  vice,  not 
a  virtue ;  but  to  some  extent  a  monk  was  to  fast  every  day. 
The  '  order  of  refection,  and  of  the  refectoiy,'  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  portions  of  the  Rule  of  St.  Carthach  of  Lis- 
more.^  He  allows  an  ample  meal  for  the  workman  and  special 
delicacies  for  the  sick.    On  Sundays  and  other  festivals  of 
the  year,  especially  on  the  greater  festivals,  meals  were  '  in- 
creased.'  Erom  Easter  to  Pentecost  was  also  a  season  of  full 
meals — "without   fasting,  . heavy   labour,    or   great  vigils." 
The  Summer  and  Winter  Lent  are  more  bitter  to  laics  than 

^  "Cibiis  sit  vilis  et  vespertiims."         -  See  /.  Ecdes.  Record,  Jan.  1865. 


102  IRISH   MONASTIC   SCHOOLS   IN   GENERAL. 

to  monks,  for  to  the  latter  all  seasons  should  be  as  Lent. 
The  meal  was  to  be  at  vesper  time  only,  except  from  Easter 
to  St.  John's  Day,  when  a  refection  was  also  allowed  at  noon. 
The  bell  was  to  be  the  signal  for  the  meal,  but  first  there  was 
a  Pater  with  three  genuflections  in  the  church ;  then  the 
meal  was  blessed.  Alleluia  was  sung,  and  a  benediction  pro- 
nounced by  the  Senior,  who  said,  "  God  bless  you."  The  meal 
was  followed  by  thanksgiving,  after  which  all  retired  to  their 
cell  for  private  prayer  preparatory  to  vespers.  Wednesday 
and  Friday  were  generally  fast  days. 

The  ordinary  dress  consisted  of  a  cuculla  or  habit  of  coarse 
undyed  wool  with  a  hood,  and  a  tunic  or  short  underneath 
garment.  Sandals  were  sometimes  worn  when  travelling, 
but  rarely  at  home.  There  is  no  mention  made  of  any 
covering  for  the  head  but  the  cowl  or  hood,  which  vvas 
sometimes  thrown  over  it.  'No  doubt  a  leathern  or  hempen 
girdle  was  worn  round  the  loins.  The  monk  slept  in  his 
clothes  on  a  pallet  of  straw  in  his  cell.  He  had  ♦a  straw 
pillow  under  his  head,  and  probably  some  kind  of  a  rujr  for 
a  coverlet  in  severe  weather.  St.  Columba  himself  slept  on 
the  bare  stone,  which  was  covered  only  with  a  skin,  and 
this  practice  seems  not  to  have  been  unusual. 

IV. — The  Daily  Labour  of  the  Monastery. 

St.  Columbanus  tersely  describes  the  daily  work  of  .every 
naonastery  when  he  says — "  Ergo  quotidie  jejunandum  est, 
sicut  quotidie  orandum  est,  quotidie  laboranckim,  quotidieque 
est  legendum."^  Fasting  and  prayer,  labour  and  study,  are 
the  daily  task  of  the  monks  in  every  monastery.  How 
patiently  and  unselfishly  that  toil  was  ])erformed  the  history 
of  Europe  tells.  The  monks  made  roads,  cleared  the  forests, 
and  fertilized  the  desert.  Their  monasteries  in  Ireland  were 
the  sites  of  our  cities.  To  this  day  the  land  about  a  monas- 
tery is  well  known  to  be  the  greenest  and  best  in  the  district ; 
and  it  was  made  fertile  by  the  labour  of  the  monks.  They 
preserved  for  us  the  literary  treasures  of  antiquity  ;  they 
multi])lied  co]iies  of  all  the  bt^st  and  newest  works  :  thev 
illuminated  them  with  the  most  h)vini2:  care.  Thev  tautrht  the 
children  of  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike  ;  they  built  the  church 
and  the  palace;  they  were  the  o*reat(»st  authors,  painters, 
arcliitects,  since  the  decline  of  the  lloman  I*hn])ire.  41un' 
W(M'e  the  ])hysicians  of  the  ]ioor  wIumi  there  were  no  dis[)en- 
sary  doctors;   they  served  the  sick  in  their  hospitals  and  at 

*  ^  Regiila. ,  cap.  3. 


THE  DAILY  LABOUR  OF  THE  MONASTERY  103 

their  homes.  And  when  the  day's  work  was  done  in  the  fields 
or  in  the  study,  they  praised  God,  and  prayed  for  men  who 
were  unable  or  unwilling  to  pray  for  themselves.  Ignorant 
and  prejudiced  men  have  sj^oken  of  them  as  an  idle  and 
useless  race.  They  were  in  reality  the  greatest  toilers,  and 
the  greatest  benefactors  of  humanity  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen. 

Religious  exercises  were  the  first  duty  of  the  monk — 
'  OrareJ'  This  was  called  the  Work  of  God,  and  consisted  of 
Mass,  the  Divine  office,  with  private  prayer  and  meditation. 
The  Holy  Sacrifice  was  celebrated  every  day,  at  which  all 
the  community  was  to  attend;  it  was  generally  at  an  early 
hour  in  the  morning,  before  the  labour  of  the  day  began. 
The  ordinary  canonical  hours  were  chanted  in  choir — 
Matins  and  Lauds  generally  at  midnight.  Mistakes,  even 
from  inadvertence  in  chanting,  were  punished  by  Columbanus 
with  a  small  penance-genuflection.  The  brethren  labouring 
in  the  field  were  not  required  to  attend  in  choir  during  the 
day.  The  entire  psaltery  seems  to  have  been  recited  during 
the  daily  office  at  least  at  certain  times  of  the  year.  If  a 
brother  had  any  leisure  he  might,  at  any  time,  retire  to  the 
oratory  to  pray.  At  all  their  incomings  and  outgoings  they 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  sometimes  turning  themselves  to 
the  east.  It  seems,  too,  that  making  the  same  holy  sign  way 
a  frequent  method  of  salutation. 

A  novitiate  of  varying  length  was  observed  before  a 
candidate  was  admitted  to  the  brotherhood.  After  suitable 
probation,  .he  took  the  monastic  vow^  before  the  Abbot  and 
the  brethren  on  his  knees  in  the  church.  It  was  a  very 
solemn  vow  taken  "  in  the  Name  of  the  High  God.'^  The 
tonsure  (up  to  a.d.  (J40)  from  ear  to  ear  was  generally 
received  by  the  brethren,  even  when  they  did  not  intend  to 
proceed  to  higher  orders.  It  was  considered  to  be  a  sign  of 
the  total  renunciation  of  the  world,  and  a  dedication  of  one- 
self to  the  service  of  God.  Yet,  the  monk  did  not,  properly 
speaking,  belong  to  the  clergy. 

Study. — The  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  was  daily 
practised  by  the  learned  members  of  the  community — the 
younger  got  by  rote  a  portion  of  the  Psalter  until  they  could 
recite  the  whole  from  memory,  for  books  were  then  very 
scarce.  They  had  also  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages,  and  of  the  Fathers  in  the  Irish  Monasteries,  as 
we  shall  more  fully  explain  hereafter.     The  Lives  of  the 


1  (( 


Votum  Monasticum. " — Adamnan. 


104  IRISH   MONASTIC   SCHOOJ.S   IN   GENERAL. 

Saints  were  read  for  the  community  and  conferences — 
collatione^s — like  those  of  Cassian  on  spiritual  and  theolopjical 
questions  were  frequently  held  under  the  presidency  of  the 
abbot  or  prior. 

Writing  formed  a  principal  part  of  the  literary  work 
in  every  monastery.  There  was  a  special  building  set  apart 
for  that  purpose  called  the  Scriptorium  where  all  necessary 
appliances,  waxen  tablets,  parchments,  inks,  styles,  pens, 
were  to  be  had,  and  a  library  was  also  kept  for  the  use  of 
the  students  and  the  custody  of  the  books.  Too  often  both 
buildings  were  burned,  and  their  precious  treasures  lost  for 
ever.  The  work  of  transcription  was  executed  with  great 
care  and  beauty.  To  be  '  a  choice  scribe '  was  an  accom- 
plishment highly  prizv^d  by  the  individual  and  by  the 
community.  That  our  Celtic  monks  were  indeed  the  choicest 
of  the  choice  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  marvellous  beauty 
of  many  of  our  existing  manuscripts. 

Manual  Lahour. — It  was  a  maxim  in  all  our  primitive 
Irish  monasteries  that  the  monks  were  to  support  themselves 
by  the  labour  of  their  hands.  The  mendicant  orders,  who 
lived  to  a  great  extent  on  the  alms  of  the  faithful,  were  a 
later  institution,  first  introduced  into  Ireland  about  the  year 
A.D.  1225.  Hence,  in  every  monastery  a  number  of  the 
stronger  brethren  devoted  themselves  mainly  to  manual 
labour,  and  indeed  all,  even  the  scribes  as  well  as  the  literary 
and  artistic  workmen,  were  required  to  give  some  time  to 
manual  labour  also.  In  their  case  it  would  serve  as  healthy 
recreation,  while,  at  the  same  time  it  would  remind  them 
that  all  the  members  of  the  community  were  on  terms  of  strict 
equality,  and  that  no  privileged  classes  were  recognised 
amongst  them.  Everything  that  the  community  needed  was 
produced  or  procured  by  themselves.  They  raised  their  own 
corn ;  they  themselves  dried  and  ground  and  baked  it  into 
bread.  They  had  their  own  daiiy ;  they  milked  their  own 
cows ;  they  made  excellent  cheese  and  butter ;  for  no  female 
was  allowed  to  live  amongst  them,  or  even  permitted  to  enter 
the  monastery.  They  had  their  own  sheep,  and  their  habits 
were  produced  from  the  wool,  combed,  spun,  and  woven  bv 
thems(dv(»s.  Th(»v  built  their  own  cliurches  and  cells, 
wheth(M'  of  stone  or  of  timber;  they  made  their  own  simph^ 
furniture  and  kitchen  utensils ;  they  cut  and  dried  their  own 
fuel,  l)oth  turf  and  wood;  they  washed  their  own  habits, 
about  the  ch.^anliness  of  which,  however,  they  were  not 
always  over  ])articuhir.  AVluvn  a  monk  died  there  was  no 
need  of  an  undertaker — his  brethren  made  tlie  grave,  and  he 


THE  DAILY  LABOUR  OF  THE  MONASTERY  105 

was  simply  buried  in  his  babit,  with  the  cowl  over  his  head. 
No  man  could  say  they  were  idlers,  or  that  they  were  a 
burden  to  the  community.  They  owed  nothing  to  the 
general  community,  but  the  community  owed  much  to  them. 
Everything  needed  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  they 
produced  themselves — even  the  very  soil  of  their  fields  they 
reclaimed  from  the  woods  and  the  wilderness. 

Both  church  and  monastery  were  furnished  in  the 
simplest  style^ — they  devoted  more  attention  to  holiness  of 
life  and  purity  of  heart  than  to  the  magnificence  of  their 
buildings.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  church  was  not 
large,  only  what  was  needed  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
brethren,  and  where  the  community  was  large  we  find 
several  churches  close  together,  to  which  the  various  sub- 
divisions of  the  community  repaired.  The  altar  was  generally 
of  stone,  sometimes  merely  a  rectangle  of  plain  masonry — 
not  even  cemented — and  covered  with  a  flag  or  slate.  Such  is 
the  altar  in  the  oratory  of  St.  Molaise  on  Innismurray  Island, 
which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  that  highly  interesting  spot, 
within  the  little  stone-roofed  duirteach  of  St.  Molaise. 
The  chalices  were  of  simple  workmanship — of  metal,  wood, 
or  even  sometimes  of  stone,  if  the  vessel  No.  34,  second  cross 
case,  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  be  indeed  an  ancient 
chalice.  The  paten  was  generally  composed  of  the  same 
material  as  the  chalice  itself.  vSt.  Patrick  is  said  to  have 
discovered  chalices  of  glass  or  crystal  in  a  cavern  ,in  the 
mountains  of  Breifnej^,  after  crossing  the  Shannon  for  the 
first  time  into  Connaught.  We  have  no  specimen  of  very 
ancient  vestments ;  they  were,  probably,  of  a  simple 
character,  but  certainly  not  destitute  of  embroidery.^ 

In  some  of  the  churches  mention  is  made  of  an  urdumh, 
or  sacristy,  properly  a  '  side-house,'  opening  on  the  chancel 
of  the  church,   and  having  also  an   exterior   door  for  the 

^  St.  I'atrick  had,  we  are  told,  three  maidens  who  were  constantly  em- 
ployed on  embroidery  work  for  sacred  purposes — one  was  his  own  sister, 
Lupait,  another  is  called  Cruimtheris,  and  the  third  was  King  Daire's 
royal  daughter. 

*'  Beneath  a  pine  three  vestals  sat  close  veiled  ; 
A  song  these  childless  sang  of  Bethlehem's  child, 
^  Low-toned,  and  worked  their  altar  cloth,  a  Lamb, 

All  white,  on  golden  blazon." 
Columcille,  too,  had  his  own  special  embroideress  for  working  his  vestments 
and  altar  cloths.  She  was  called  Coca,  and  has  given  her  name  to  the 
ancient  church  of  Kilcock,  in  the  County  Kildare,  wliich  she  founded.* 
In  the  Book  of  Kells,  too,  we  find  examples  of  vestments  in  the  ornamenta- 
tion portrayed  in  the  richest  and  most  vivid  colouring. 

*  See  O'Curry,  Manners  and  Customs^  vol.  iii.,  p.  123. 


10b  IRISH   MONASTIC   SCHOOLS   IN   GENERAL. 

clergy  as  at  present.  In  several  of  the  clmrclies,  however, 
we  find  no  trace  of  any  sacristy.  Bells  were  used  to  summon 
the  community  to  the  church  and  to  the  refectory  ;  they  were 
generally  square  hand-hells,  made  of  sheet  iron  or  hronze,  of 
which  some  very  ancient  specimens  are  still  extant. 

In  the  refectory  we  find  reference  made  to  the  table, 
also  to  the  use  of  knives,  drinking-cups,  probably  made  of 
wood,  and  ladles;  in  the  kitchen  we  hear  of  frying-pans, 
grid-irons,  pots  and  water  jars,  doubtless  similar  to  those 
used  in  the  houses  of  hospitality  throughout  the  country 
generally,  specimens  of  which  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
museum  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  They  were  able  to  fuse 
metals  in  Hy,  for  on  one  occasion  we  are  told  that  St. 
Columba  blessed  inadvertently  a  butcher's  knife,  but  his 
attention  being  called  to  the  nature  of  the  article,  he  said  it 
would  never  hurt  man  or  beast  again.  As  the  butcher  tried 
in  vain  to  kill  a  heifer  with  the  knife — it  could  not  on  ac- 
count of  the  saint's  blessing,  even  pierce  the  skin — the  knife 
was  smelted  down,  and  all  the  instruments  were  dipped  in 
the  liquid  metal,  so  that  they  never  again  cut  or  wounded 
any  flesh  on  account  of  the  might  of  the  saint's  blessing.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that,  at  least  in  the  larger  establish- 
ments, besides  the  carpenter,  there  were  also  brothers  of  the 
community,  who  worked  in  metals,  such  for  instance  as 
smiths  and  braziers.  Existing  remains  prove  beyond  doubt 
that  in  metallurgy  the  Irish  monks  were  pre-eminently 
skilful,  both  in  originality  of  design  and  delicacy  of  execu- 
tion. In  this  special  department  they  seemed  to  have 
distanced  all  rivalry  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

We  see,  then,  that  in  the  monastery  there  were  not 
merely  artisans,  such  as  are  needed  for  the  purposes  of  every- 
day life,  but  artists  of  the  greatest  skill  and  ingenuity. 

We  shall  take  occasion  hereafter  to  point  out  how 
instruction  was  communicated  in  the  schools,  and  to  explain 
what  educational  appliances  were  at  their  disposal,  the 
subjects  that  were  taught,  and  the  proficiency  attained. 

In  connection,  however,  with  this  chapter,  it  is  necessary 
to  say  something  of  the  Three  Orders  of  Irish  Saints,  to 
which  reference  will  frequently  be  made  in  the  following 
pagtfs. 

y. — The  Three  Ordeks  of  Ikisu  Saints. 

We  vshall  find,  at  least,  to  some  extern!,  a  new  departure 
in  the  gr(*at  monasteries  and  monastic  schools,  foiuuhMl  dur- 
ing the  sixth  century  by  the  saints  of  the  Second   OnU'r. 


THE  THREE  ORDERS  OF  IRISH  SAINTS.  107 

Every  one  who  knows  anj^hing  of  the  history  of  this  period 
will  have  heard  of  these  Three  Orders  of  Saints  in  the  Celtic 
Church,  but  by  Avhoni  they  were  first  thus  arranged  and 
characterised  is  altogether  unknown.  jTighernach,  the  cele- 
brated annalist  of  Clonmacnoise,  is  the  earliest  who  refers 
to  them  as  thus  classified,  and  he  died  a.d.  1088. 

The  ancient  document  in  which  they  are  thus  formally 
classified  purports  to  be  a  "Catalogue  of  the  Saints  in  Ireland, 
according  to  the  different  times  in  which  they  flourished." 

The  First  Order  was  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick.  They 
were  all  then  great  and  holy  bishops  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  350  in  number,  the  founders  of  churches,  worshipping 
one  head,  namely,  Christ,  following  one  leader,  Patrick,  and 
having  one  tonsure,  and  one  celebration  of  Mass,  and  one 
Easter,  which  they  celebrated  after  the  vernal  equinox ;  and 
what  was  excommunicated  by  one  Church  all  excommuni- 
cated. They  did  not  reject  the  service  and  society  of 
females,  because  founded  on  Christ  the  Rock,  they  feared  not 
the  wind  of  temptation.  This  Order  flourished  during  four 
reigns,  that  is,  during  the  time  of  Laeghaire,  son  of  Niall 
(a.d.  432),  who  reigned  thirty-seven  years,  and  of  Ailill 
ilolt,  who  reigned  thirty  years,  and  of  Lugaid,  who  reigned 
seven  years.  And  this  Order  continued  to  the  last  years  of 
Tuathal  Maelgarbh  (a.d.  543).  They  all  continued  holy 
bishops,  and  they  were  chiefly  Franks  and  Romans,'  and 
Britons,  and  Scots  by  birth. 

The  Second  Order  of  Saints  was  as  follows :  — In  the 
Second  Order  there  were  few  bishops,  but  many  priests — in 
number  300.  Whilst  worshipping  God  as  their  one  head, 
they  had  different  rites  for  celebrating,  and  different  rules  of 
living  ;  they  celebrated  one  Easter  on  the  14th  noon ;  they 
had  a  uniform  tonsure,  videlicet,  from  ear  to  ear.  They 
shunned  the  society  and  services  of  women,  and  excluded  them 
from  their  monasteries.  This  Order  also  flourished  during  four 
reigns,  i.e.,  during  the  last  years  of  Tuathal  Maelgarbh,  and 
during  the  thirty  years  of  the  reign  of  Diarmaid,  the  son  of 
-Cearbliall,  and  during  the  time  of  the  two  grandsons  of 
Muiredach,  who  reigned  seven  years,  and  during  the  time  of 
Aedh,  son  of  Ainmire,  who  reigned  thirty  years  (a.d.  597). 
These  received  their  rite  for  celebrating  Masses  from  the 
holy  men  of  Britain,  from  St.  David,  and  St.  Gildas,  and 
St.  Docus.  And  the  names  of  these  are — Finnian,  Enda, 
Colman,  Com  gall,  Aldus,  Ciaran,  Columba,  Brandan,  Birchin, 

^  The  Romans  were  those  who  enjoyed  the  rights  of  the  Imperial 
iitizenship,  which  at  this  time  had  come  to  be  in  reality  a  badge  of  slavery. 


108  IRISH    MONASTIC   SCHOOLS    IN    GENERAL. 

Cainnech,  Coemglian,  Lasrian,  Lugeus,  Banind,  and  many 
others  who  were  of  this  Second  Order  of  Saints. 

The  Third  Order  was  of  this  kind  :  — They  were  holy 
priests  and  a  few  bishops,  one  hundred  in  number,  who  dwelt 
in  desert  places.  They  lived  on  herbs  and  the  alms  of  the 
faithful;  they  despised  all  things  earthly,  and  entirely 
avoided  all  whispering  and  detraction.  They  had  different 
rules  (of  life),  and  different  rites  for  celebrating;  they  had 
also  a  different  tonsure,  for  some  had  the  crown  (shaven), 
but  others  kept  their  hair  (on  the  crown).  They  had  also  a 
different  pashcal  solemnity ;  for  some  celebrated  it  on  the 
fourteenth,  but  others  on  the  thirteenth  moon.  This  Order 
flourished  during  four  reigns,  that  is,  from  the  time  of  Aedh 
Slaine,  who  reigned  only  three  years,  and  during  the  reign 
of  Domhnall,  who  reigned  thirty  years,  and  during  the 
time  of  the  sons  of  Maelcobha,  and  during  the  time  (of  the 
sons  of)  Aedh  Slaine.  And  this  Order  continued  down  to 
the  time  of  the  great  plague  (in  a.d.  664).  Then  follows  a 
list  of  their  names. 

Whereupon  the  writer  says  : — ''  Note  that  the  First  Order 
was  most  holy,  the  Second  holier,  and  the  Third  holy.  The 
First  glowed  like  the  sun  in  the  fervour  of  their  charity  ;  the 
Second  cast  a  pale  radiance  like  the  moon ;  the  Third  shone 
like  the  aurora.  These  Three  Orders  the  blessed  Patrick 
foreknew,  enlightened  by  heavenly  wisdom,  when  in  pro- 
phetic vision  he  saw  at  first  all  Ireland  ablaze,  and  afterwards 
only  the  mountains  on  fire  ;  and  at  last  saw  lamps  lit  in  the 
vallevs.  These  things  have  been  extracted  from  an  old  Life 
of  Patrick:'' 

Such  is  the  account  ffiven  in  our  ancient  books  of  the 
Three  Orders  of  the  Irish  Saints. 

We  have  here  followed  the  copy  of  this  ancient  document, 
taken  from  the  Salamanca  MS.,  lately  published  at  the 
expense  of  the  Marquis  of  Bute.  It  is  beyond  doubt  a  very 
ancient  and  most  interesting  document ;  but  for  the  present 
we  can  only  refer  to  those  points  that  concern  our  immediate 
purpose. 

It  clearly  marks  a  transition  as  having  taken  place  in  the 
early  part  of  the  sixth  century  from  the  missionary  church 
of  St.  Patrick,  who  was  enij^aged  in  founding  churches  and 
preaching  the  Gospel,  to  the  monastic  church  of  the  sixth 
century.  It  emphasises  the  rejection  of  female  ministratii>n 
by  the  monks,  and  the  e\clusi(m  of  females  from  the  monas- 
teries, a  thing  that  could  not  be  done  and  never  has  lu>ei> 
^  See  the  Salamanca  MS.,  p.  161. 


THE  THREE  ORDERS  OF  IRISH  SAINTS.  109 

done  in  the  case  of  the  secular  clergy  living  in  the  world,  and 
engaged  in  missionary  labour.   The  observation  that  "  what 
was  excommunicated  by  one  church  was  excommunicated  by 
all,"  seems  to  point  to  a  more  perfect  unity  in  the  Patrician 
Church  than  existed  during  the  second  -half  of  the  sixth 
century.     The  central  authority  both  in  Church  and  State 
during  the  latter  period  was  notably  weakened.    It  is  clear, 
too,  that  different  rules  of  life  were  followed  in  different 
monasteries,  and  also  that  different  rites  were  used  in  the 
celebration  of  Mass,  and  this  document  asserts  that  the  rite 
used  by  the  saints  of  the  Second  Order  was  derived  from 
Wales — from  David,   Gildas,  and  Docus.     This  is  a  most 
important  statement,  if  it  is  well  founded ;  for  it  shows  that 
these  saints  of  the  Second  Order  derived  .both  their  liturgy 
and  discipline,  not  from  St.  Patrick  and  his  immediate  dis- 
ciples, but  rather  from  the  great  Welsh  Schools  that  grew 
up  during  the  sixty  years  when  St.  Patrick  was  engaged  in 
preaching  tlie  Gospel  in  Ireland.    Indeed,   although  Ware 
says  that  St.  Patrick  himself  wrote  a  monastic  Hule,  we  can 
find  no  good  authority  for  the  statement.    His  hands  were 
full,  and  he  was  too  busy  to  attend  to  the  organization  of 
monastic  life,  beyond  laying  down  these  general  principles 
that  are  common  to   all  monastic  houses.     It  is  a  much 
stranger  thing  that  the  saints  of  the  Second  Order  should 
introduce  into  Ireland,   so  soon  after  St.   Patrick's  death, 
those  later  modifications  in  the  liturgy  which  they  saw  in 
use  in  the  Welsh  monasteries.   It  is  insinuated,  too,  that  St. 
Patrick  and  his  disciples  followed  the  correct  Easter,  but 
that  the  saints  of  the  Second  Order  introduced  the  British 
Easter,  which  was  celebrated  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
moon,  as  well  as  the  frontal  tonsure  from  ear  to  ear.   As  we 
shall  hereafter  see,  this  statement  about  the  time  of  cele- 
brating Easter  is  quite  inaccurate,  but  may  have  crept  into 
the  text  through  the  fault  of  copyists. 

The  important  point  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  these  saints 
of  the  Second  >Order  are  represented  as  deriving  their  liturgy 
and  discipline  from  British  sources  ;  and  it  is  also  expressly 
stated  that  this  liturgy  and  discipline  differed  in  some 
r?spects  from  the  liturgy  and  discipline  introduced  into 
Ireland  by  St.  Patrick,  and  practised  by  his  immediate  dis- 
ciples. This  is  a  question  of  great  interest,  but  by  ^no  means 
easily  solved.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  seems  highly, probable 
that  the  saints  .of  the  Second  Order  did,  to  a  great  extent, 
derive  their  monastic  discipline  from  two  great  British 
sources,  as  will  again  be  more  fully  explained  in  treating 
of  St.  Enda  of  Aran  and  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard. 


CHAPTER    YI. 
SCHOOLS   OF   THE   FIFTH   CENTUEY. 


Our  Kings  sat  of  old  in  Emania  and  Tara  ; 

These  new  Kings  whence  are  they  ?     Their  names  are  unknown  ! 

Our  saints  lie  entomb'd  in  Ardmagh  and  Kildara  ; 

Their  relics  are  healing,  their  graves  are  grass-grown. 


I. — The  School  of  Armagh. 

The  Scliool  of  Armagh  seems  to  have  been  the  oldest,  and 
always  continued  to  be  one  of  the  most  celebrated,  of  the 
ancient  schools  of  Ireland.  It  dates  in  all  probability  from 
the  very  foundation  of  the  See  of  Armagh,  for  it  has  always 
been  regarded  in  the  Church  as  one  of  the  primary  duties  of 
a  bishop  to  make  provision  for  the  training  and  education  of 
his  ecclesiastics,  and  as  far  as  possible  under  his  own  imme- 
diate sujjervision.  We  may  be  sure  that  our  great  Apostle 
did  not  neglect  his  duty ;  and,  indeed,  the  most  ancient 
writers  inform  us  that  the  School  of  Armagh  dates  from  the 
foundation  of  the  See — the  history  of  one  is  in  fact  told  in 
the  history  of  the  other. 

St.  Patrick  had  purposed  to  build  his  Church  and  found 
his  primatial  See  in  the  sweet  and  flowery  fields  of  Louth, 
where  the  deep  seclusion  of  a  sheltered  meadow  wooed  his 
weary  heart  to  build  a  house  for  God,  and  a  home  for  his  own 
declining  years.  Bu.t  God  had  willed  otherwise.  "  Get  thee 
northward,'*  said  the  angel  visitor,  "  to  the  height  of  Macha 
(Ard-Macha) ;  it  is  there  that  Providence  wills  that  you 
should  build  your  church  and  fix  your  chair  for  ever." 
Promptly,  though  regretfully,  the  Apostle  obeyed ;  and 
crossing  the  slopes  of  Slieve  Gullion  soon  came  in  sisfht  of 
the  swelling  hills  of  Macha  of  which  God's  angel  spoke — 

"  So  long  as  Sea 
Girdeth  this  isle,  so  long  thy  name  shall  hang 
In  splendour  o'er  it  like  the  stars  of  God." 

The  place  had  long  been  famous  in  the  legendary  history 
of  Ireland.  It  was  the  classic  ground  of  poetry  and  romance. 
Navan  fort,  just  one  mile  to  tlie  west  oi  the  present  city  of 


THE   SCHOOL   OF   ARMAGH.  Ill 

Armagh,  was  the  site  of  the  ancient  and  famous  palace  of 
Emania,  founded  three  hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era  by  Macha  of  the  golden  hair,  who  traced  the  site  of  the 
rath  with  the  brooch  of  gold  from  her  neck,  and  hence  it 
was  called  Eamhuin,  in  Latin  Emania,  but  pronounced  in 
Irish  avan,  so  that  with  the  article  prefixed  it  becomes 
Navan,  or  ''  the  fort  of  the  neck-brooch,"  the  name  which  it 
retains  to  the  present  day.  Macha  of  the  golden  hair  was 
buried  on  the  height  called  from  her  Ard-Macha,  although 
the  spot  cannot  be  exactly  identified.  To  the  westward  of 
Navan  fort  is  a  townland  now  called  Creeveroe,  which  takes 
its  name  from  the  famous  Eed  Branch  Knights  (Craebh- 
ruadh),  who  dwelt  on  that  western  slope  of  Emania  where 
they  had  a  school  of  Chivalry,  in  which  they  were  trained  to 
all  martial  feats  of  valour,  and  were  always  at  hand  to  defend 
their  sovereign  and  follow  him  to  the  battle-field.  When  St. 
Patrick  came  to  Ard-Macha,  that  home  of  chivalry  was 
silent  and  deserted,  for  Emania  had  been  totally  destroyed 
by  the  Three  Collas  about  the  year  a.d.  322,  after  it  had 
flourished  for  more  than  600  years.  The  old  order  changed, 
yielding  place  to  the  new,  and  the  foundress  of  Emania  gave 
her  name  to  the  royal  seat  of  a  more  enduring  kingdom. 

When  Patrick,  with  his  train  of  clerics,  came  to  Armagh, 
he  went  straight  to  the  local  dynast,  whose  name  was  Daire 
— a  grandson,  it  seems,  of  Eoghan,  son  of  Niallan,  who 
gave  his  name  to  the  barony  of  Oneilland.  Daire  was 
a  rough  and  bold,  but  not  a  cruel  prince ;  he  had  heard,  too, 
of  Patrick  and  of  the  God  of  Christians ;  so  when  the  Saint 
asked  him  for  a  site  of  a  church  on  the  Ridge  of  the  Wil- 
lows, (Druim-Saileach),  although  he  refused  him  that  proud 
site  on  the  hill,  he  granted  him  leave  to  build  a  church  in 
the  neighbouring  plain  to  the  west,  which  was  called  Na 
Fearta,  or  the  Church  of  the  Graves.  But  Daire,  greedy 
even  for  what  he  had  given  to  God,  sent  down  two  of  his 
fleet  coursers  to  graze  on  the  green  and  fertile  meadow  which 
Patrick  had  enclosed  for  his  church.  It  was  very  necessary 
to  teach  the  rude  warriors  of  the  time  that  God's  acre  may 
not  lawfully  be  profaned  by  man  or  beast,  so  it  came  to  pass 
that  when  the  horses  tasted  of  the  grass,  they  both  fell  dead, 
and  the  king's  servants  brought  word  to  their  master  that 
the  Christian  priest  had  killed  them.  Daire's  brow  grew 
dark,  and  mentally  he  swore  that  he  would  slay  Patrick 
and  all,  his  people,  when  suddenly  he  sickened  with  a  sick- 
ness nigh  to  death.  Then  in  great  haste  the  queen,  ''  whose 
lustrous  violet  eyes  were  lost  in  tears,"  sent  a^messenger  to 


112  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH   CENTURY. 

the  8aint  and  bosouglit  him  to  heal  her  hushand,  for  she 
knew  his  malady  was  a  chastisement  from  God.  Patrick 
yiekhnl  to  the  woman's  gracious  prayer,  and  blessing  water 
from  the  font,  he  gave  it  to  the  messengers,  and  bade  them 
sprinkle  ^therewith  the  horses  and  the  king.  This  was  done, 
and  lo !  the  horses  came  to  life  again,  and  the  king's  sore 
sickness  left  him. 

Then  Daire  sent  to  Patrick  as  a  gift  a  huge  bronze  caul- 
dron, in  those  days  a  gift  not  unworthy  of  a  king.  The 
Saint,  raising  his  eyes  from  his  breviary,  said  "  Deo  gratias,'' 
but  no  more.  "How  did  the  priest  receive  my  gift?"  said 
the  king.  "  'Gratzicam '  was  all  he  said,"  replied  the  mes- 
sengers. Then  the  king  in  wrath  bade  them  go  again,  and 
bear  away  the  gift  from  the  ungrateful  priest ;  and  again 
Patrick  merely  said,  "  Deo  gratias."  "What  said  he  now?" 
asked  the  king.  "  Only  '  Gratzicam,'  "  answered  the  messen- 
gers. "It  is  strange,"  said  Daire.  "  *  Gratzicam,'  when  it  is 
given  ;  and  '  Gratzicam  '  when  it  is  taken  away.  The  word 
must  be  good.  I  will  restore  him  the  cauldron,  and  give 
him  the  fiidge  of  the  Willows  that  he  may  build  a  church 
unto  his  God." 

So  Patrick,  and  Daire  with, his  queen,  and  the  clerics  and 
the  warriors  of  Daire  ascended  the  slope,  and  on  the  crown 
of  that  sacred  hill,  Patrick,  book  in  hand,  marked  out  the 
site  of  the  church,  and  all  the  buildings  connected  therewith, 
and  consecrated  it  to  God  for  ever.  Now  it  came  to  pass  that 
as  the  concourse  was  advancing,  a  doe  with  her  fawn  was 
lying  under  a  tree.  The  startled  doe  flew  swiftly  away  to 
the  north,  and  the  king's  attendants  were  going  to  kill  the 
little  fawn,  but  Patrick  said,  "  No  " ;  and  stretching  foi*th 
his  hand  he  took  the  fawn,  and  put  it  on  his  own  shoulders, 
and  the  doe  taking  courage  followed  him  home,  and  re- 
mained with  the  nuns  of  Na  Fearta  ever  after,  giving  them 
milk,  too,  beside  feeding  her  fawns.  This  lesson  of  dove 
and  tenderness  even  to  the  brute  creation  produced  a  great 
effect  on  the  warriors  of  Daire.  They  saw  how  Patrick  pitied 
the  poor  doe,  and  would  not  hurt  its  offspring ;  they  saw  in 
him  the  image  of  that  Good  Shepherd  of  whom  he  spoke  to 
them  so  often ;  and  thus  they  were  made  to  learn  that  the 
Gospel  of  Patrick  was  a  message  of  love — of  love  for  God, 
their  great  Father  in  heaven,  and  for  all  their  fellow-men  on 
earth. 

According  to  the  Booh  of  Armagh,  written  about  the  year 
A.D.  807,  the  doe  with  her  fawn  was  lying  on  the  verv  "  spot 
where  the  altar  of  the  northern  cliurch  in  Ard-Macna  now 
stands  ;  "  and  Patrick  carried  the  fawn  on  his  shoulders  until 


THF,  SriTOOT.  OF  AKMAUH. 


IVd 


be  laid  it  "on  anoilier  eminence  at  the  north  side  of  Armagli 
where,  according  to  the  statement  of  those  who  know  the 
place,  miraculous  attestations  are  to  be  witnessed  to  this  clay." 
(Fol  6:  b.  2.)  The  northern  church  to  which  the  reference 
is  made — built  on  the  very  spot  where  the  doe  was  lying — 
is  generally  thought  to  have  been  the  Sabhall,  or  Barn,  called 
also  the  "  Ecc/esm  Sinistralis^'  because  it  was  to  the  left  ol 
the  great  church,  for  persons  entering  the  latter  from  the 
west.  The  great  church  itself  known  as  the  Dainhliac 
(Duleek)»  or  the  great  Stone  Church,  occupied  the  site  of  the 
present  Protestant  cathedral ;  and  it  is  an  extraordinary  co- 
incidence that  the  new  Catholic  Cathedral,  the  crowning 
glory  of  modern  Armagh,  stands  on  the  opposite  hill  to  the 
north  dwarfing  by  its  majestic  proportions  the  Protestant 
churcli — and  stands,  it  is  said,  on  that  very  "  eminence  to  the 
north  "  whither  the  great  apostle  carried  the  fawn  on  his 
shoulders!  The  hunted  doe  there  found  rest;  and  there, 
too,  that  other  '^miik  white  hind,'^  during  the  stormy  centu- 
ries of  the  past,  so  often  doomed  to  death,  yet  fated  not  to  die, 
w^s  destined  to  find  a  refuge  and  a  home.  *'  Great  shall  be 
the  glory  of  this  last  House,  more  than  of  the  first,  and  in 
this  place  I  will  give  thee  peace,  said  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 
\Agg.  2,10.) 

There  were  many  other  ecclesiastical  buildings  at  Armagh, 
of  which  we  can  only  mention  the  names.  There  was  the 
Dainhliac  Toga,  or  the  "  Stone  Church  of  the  Elections,"  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Cathedral,  but  close  at  hand ;  there  was 
a  CloictecJi,  or  Hound  Tower,  at  its  north-west  angle;  there 
\»as  a  Teach  Screaptra,  or  House  of  Writings,  also  within 
the  oii.!inal  rath  ;  and  besides  the  Abbot's  House,  we  hear  of 
the  Cuicin  or  Kitchen,  the  prison  for  refractory  monks  or 
students,  and  the  Reilig  or  Cemetery,  which  was  more  to  the 
south,  but  afterwards  extended  all  round  the  church.  It  was 
there  that  Brian  Boru  and  his  gallant  son,  Murchadh,  were 
interred  after  the  battle  of  Clontarf  in  1014.  Maelmuire,  the 
Primate,  proceeded  with  his  clergy  and  relics  to  Swords,  and 
waked  the  royal  dead  with  all  honour  and  reverence.  Then 
they  carried  the  bodies  to  Armagh,  and  they  were  both  in- 
terred in  the  same  new  tomb. 

All  these  buildings,  including  the  houses  for  the  monks 
and  students,  crowned  the  summit  of  the  holy  hill,  and  were 
surrounded  with  a  large  rath  or  earthen  mound,  as  well  as 
by  a  Fith-nemhedh,  or  Sacred  Grove,  where  learning  and 
religion  sat  side  by  side  enthroned  for  many  centuries  in  spite 
of  nxuch  turbulence  and  bloodshed. 

n 


il4  SCirOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

Tlio  Churches  and  Schools  of  Armagh  are  said  to  have  boon 
founded  botwecn  the  years  a.d.  450  and  457 — we  cnn  scarcely 
assig-n  an  earlier  date.  At  that  time  8t.  Patrick  had  done 
much  for  the  conversion  of  Ireland,  but  much  still  remained 
to  be  accomplished,  so  he  chose  and  consecrated  as  his 
coadjutor  J^enignus,  his  young  and  fiiithful  desoiple,  to  pre- 
side over  the  Cliurch  of  Armagh  and  over  all  its  monasteries 
and  schools.  Thus  in  truth  we  may  regard  Benignus  as 
the  first  president,  and  one  of  the  chief  professors  of  the 
young  seminary  which  St.  Patrick  had  just  founded. 
Benignus  from  his  boyhood  had  been  trained  hy  St.  Patrick 
himself ;  he  had  accompanied  him  hitherto  on  all  his  mis- 
sionary journeys;  he  was  "  psalm- singer '*  to  the  Saint,  by 
whom  he  was  tenderly  loved,  and  not  without  good  cause. 
The  biief  story  of  the  life  of  Benignus  is  very  touching — 
beautiful  with  a  beauty  that  is  all  divine. 

As  we  have  seen,  when  St.  Patrick  first  came  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  Ireland,  he  coasted  northward,  seeking  a  suitable  spot 
to  land,  and  amongst  other  places  he  put  in  for  a  little  at  the 
stream  now  called  the  J^anny  Water  in  the  Count}^  Meath,  a 
little  to  the  south  of  Drogheda.  There  he  visited  the  house 
of  a  certain  man  of  noble  birth,  bv  name  Sescnen,  whom,  after 
due  instruction,  he  baptized,  together  with  his  wife  and 
family.  Amongst  the  children  there  was  one,  a  fair  and 
gentle  boy,  to  whom  the  saint,  on  account  of  the  sweetness 
:ind  meekness  of  his  disposition,  gave  in  baptism  the  appro- 
priate name  of  Benignus.  Shortly  after  the  bapti--m  Patrick, 
w- ea)ied  out  with  his  labours  by  sea  and  land,  fell  asleep  where 
he  sat,  as  it  would  seem,  on  the  green  sward  before  the  house 
of  Sescnen.  Then  the  loving  child,  robed  in  his  baptismal 
whiteness,  gathered  together  bunches  of  fragrant  flowers  and 
sweet  smelling  herbs  and  strewed  them  gently  over  the  head 
and  face  of  the  weary  Saint  ;  the  child  then  sat  at  his  feet, 
and  pressed  Patrick's  tired  limbs  close  to  his  own  pure  Iveart 
and  kissed  them  tenderly.  The  Saint's  companions  were  in 
the  act  of  chiding  the  boy,  lest  he  might  disturb  Patrick,  who 
thereupon  awaking  and  perceiving  w^hat  took  place,  thanked 
the  tender-hearted  child  lor  his  kindness,  and  said  to  those 
standing  by :  *'  Leave  him  so  ;  he  shall  be  the  heir  of  my 
kingdom,"  by  which  he  meant,  says  the  author  of  the 
Tripartite  Life,  to  signify  that  God  had  destined  Inmignu'^ 
to  succeed  Patrick  in  the  primatial  chair  as  ruler  of  the  Irish 
Church.  After  this  nothing  could  separate  the  boy  i'rom  his 
spiritual  fatluM*;  he  liung  on  the  words  of  wisdom  tiiat  fell 
from   Patrick's  lips  :  he   accompanied  him  overywhero,  und 


THE  SCTTOol.  OF  ARMAGH. 


115 


thus  from  his  boyhood  was  trained  by  the  apostle  himself  in 
all  divine  and  human  knowledge.  We  cannot  stay  to  discuss 
the  question  wliether  Secundinus  preceded  Benignus  as 
coadjutor  to  St.  Patrick  in  the  See  oi*  Armagh.  It  seems  he 
did ;  it  is  certain  at  any  rate  tliat  for  ten  years,  about  the 
time  we  speak  of,  tliat  is,  from  a.d.  455  to  465,  Benignus 
ruled  under  the  guidance  of  Patrick  the  Church  and  School 
of  Armagh. 

His  voice  was  sweet  and  pleasing,  and  his  knowledge  of 
the  chants  of  the  church  was  very  considerable,  acquired 
doubtless  from  Patrick  himself,  who  had  been  trained  in  Gaul 
and  Britain.  Hence  he  was  "psalmist"  to  Patrick,  he  led 
the  choir  of  priests  and  monks  at  all  the  solemn  ceremonies, 
and  he  trained  the  "wild  eyed"  O-^ltic  youth  to  sing  the 
praises  of  God  like  another  Orpheus,  softening  them  into 
Chrisiian  meekness  by  the  charms  of  sweet  melody — the 
melody  of  his  voice  and  the  still  sweeter  melody  of  his  gentle 
heart. 

Yet  thouofh  a  child  of  grace  he  had  need  of  caution.  His 
own  sweet  winning  ways,^  the  music  of  his  voice,  his  face  so 
modest  and  so  lair,  deeply,  though  to  himself  unconsciously, 
won  the  affei^tions  of  Ercnat,  the  beautiful  and  yet  unbaptized 
daughter  of  Xing  Daire.  Most  of  all  she  was  smitten  by  his 
sweet  voice  in  the  choir  of  the  church.  But  she  told  no  one  ; 
only  going  home  she  pined  away  in  silence,  and  "through 
grief  of  love  the  maiden  lay  as  dead."  Then  at  length 
Benignus  hearing  the  cause,  went  and  told  his  father  Patrick, 
and  Patrick  gave  him  holy  water,  and  bade  him  go  and 
sprinkle  it  over  the  dying  maiden.  At  once  she  awoke  to  a 
new  life,  with  her  heart  emancipated  from  every  trace  of 
earthly  love. 

"  Thenceforth  she  loved  the  spouse  of  souls. 
It  was  as  though  some  child  that  dreaming  wept, 
Its  childish  playthings  lost,  by  bells  awaked — 
Bride-bells,  had  found  herself  a  Quoen  new  wed 
Unto  her  Country's  Lord." 

— Aiibrey  de  Vere» 

St.  Benignus  died,  it  is  generally  stated,  on  the  9th  of 
November,  a.u.  468.  A  short  time  before  his  death  he  is 
said  to  have  resigned  his  primatial  coadj utorship,  for 
St.  Patrick  was  still  alive,  at  least  according  to  the  much 

1  Benignus  wag,  says  the  author  of  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  an 
"  adolescens  facie  decorug,  vultu  modestus,  moribus  integer, nomine  uti  et  in 
re  Benignus,"  and  his  voice  "  cunctos  oblectans." 


116  wtlHOni  S  OF  TKK   nFTTI   (^ENTUllY. 

more  general  and  more  probable  opinion,  which  places  his 
death  in  a.d.  49.'),  at  the  great  age  of  120  years.  The  death 
of  Benignus  is  thus  not  iced  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal : 

"November  8Hi,  Benignus,  i.e.  Renen,  son  of  Sescnen,  disciple  oi' 
St.  Patrick,  and  his  successor,  that  is  Primate  of  Ard-Macha  .  .  . 
The  holy  Benen  was  benign,  was  devout;  he  was  a  virgin  without 
ever  defiling  his  virginity,  for  when  he  was  psalm-singer  at  Ard- 
Macha  along  with  his  master,  St.  Patrick,  Ercnat,  daughter  of  Daire, 
loved  him  and  she  was  seized  with  a  disease  so  that  she  died  (appeared 
to  die)  suddenly ;  and  Benen  brought  holy  water  to  her  from 
St.  Patrick,  and  he  shook  it  upon  her,  and  she  arose  alive  and  well ; 
and  she  loved  him  spiritually  afterwards,  and  she  subsequently  went 
to  Patrick  and  confessed  all  her  .sins  to  him,  and  offered  her  virginity 
to  God,  so  that  she  went  to  heaven  ;  and  the  name  of  God,  of  Patrick, 
and  of  Benen  was  magnified  through  it." 

The  celebrated  Irish  work  called  the  LeabJiar  Na 
g-Ceart,  or  Book  of  Rights,  has  been  generally  attributed 
to  St.  Benignus,  althougli  there  seems  to  be  good  reason  for 
doubting  if  he  was  really  its  author,  at  least  in  its  present 
form.  The  title  or  inscription  of  the  book  certainly  attri- 
butes it  to  Benignus.  It  is  to  this  effect :  *'  The  beginning 
ot  the  Book  of  Rights,  which  relates  to  the  revenues  and 
subsidies  of  Ireland  as  ordered  by  Benen,  son  of  Sescnen, 
Psalmist  of  Patrick,  as  is  related  in  the  Book  of  Glendaioch.' 
The  Book  of  Glendaloch  is  no  longer  extanc ;  but  it  seenis 
clear  from  this  very  title  that  the  work  in  its  present  form 
is  derived  from  the  ancient  compilation  known  as  the  Book 
of  Glendaloch,  and  which  the  Four  Masters  tell  us  was  in 
their  hands  when  composing  their  own  immortal  work.  The 
copy  in  the  Book  of  Glendaloch  may  have  been  itself  made 
from  the  original  treatise  on  the  sur'oject  by  St.  Benignus, 
who  was  in  every  way  well  qualified  for  the  task,  both  by  his 
literary  training  as  well  as  by  his  knowledge  of  his  native 
language,  and  his  familiarity  with  the  laws  and  customs  (►[ 
the  various  provinces. 

The  title  of  the  book  very  fairly  describes  its  contents,  it 
gives  an  exceedingly  minute  and  interesting  account  of  the 
revenues  and  rights  of  the  supreme  king  ;  of  the  service:^  and 
duties  rendered  to  him  by  the  provincial  kings  and  inferior 
chief's,  as  well  as  of  the  gifts  and  subsidies  vvhicli  he  owed 
them  in  return.  It  gives  also  a  lull  account  of  the  revenues 
and  rights  of  each  of  the  provincial  monarchs,  and  thu 
services  to  be  rendered  to  them  by  the  sub-chiels  of  the 
various  districts,  and  the  hereditary  offices  and  honours  held 
by  the  heads  of  the  great  families  in  the  provincial  ass.'mblie.s. 
The  work  is  partly  in  poetry  and  partly  in  prose;  and  although 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  ARMAGH.  117 

in  its  present  form  it  cannot  have  dated  from  the  time  of 
St.  Benigiius,  it  is  still  an  exceedingly  valuable  work  as 
illustrating  the  internal  organization  of  the  entire  kingdom, 
and  its  minor  principalities,  and  may  have  been  originally 
drawn  up  by  that  learned  and  holy  man,  uith  a  view  of  pre- 
venting internecine  feuds,  by  definitely  and  authoritatively 
fixing  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  various  princes  and  chiefs 
of  the  kingdom.  This  work  has  been  translated  and  anno- 
tated for  the  Dublin  Archaeological  Society  by  the  late  John 
O'Donovan.  St.  Benignus  is  said  by  Jocelin  to  have  written 
also  a  life  of  St.  Patrick,  but  no  copy  of  it  is  now  known  to 
exist ;  and  he  has  been  always  regarded  as  one  of  the 
compilers  of  the  great  collection  of  Brehon  Laws  known  as 
the  Senchus  Mor. 

The  School  of  Armagh  seems  to  have  been  primarily  a 
great  theological  seminary.  This  is  only  natural ;  for  the 
seat  of  authority  should  be  also  the  fountain  of  sound 
doctrine.  Of  course  in  those  far  distant  days  theological 
learning  had  not  assumed  the  strictly  scientific  form  which 
was  given  to  it  by  the  great  scholastic  doctors,  and  which 
has  bten  retained  and  gradually  perfected  ever  since.  It 
was  the  Positive  Theology  of  the  Fathers  that  was  taught  in 
our  ancient  Irish  schools.  But  the  diffeience  regards  the 
iorm  rather  than  the  matter;  in  both  cases  the  matter  is 
derived  from  divine  revelation.  The  Fathers,  liowever, 
explained  and  enibrced  the  great  principles  of  Christian 
doctrine  and  morality  with  rhetorical  fulness  and  vigour, 
exhibiting  much  fecundity  of  thought  and  richness  of 
imagery,  but  not  attending  so  closely  as  the  great  scholastics 
to  scientific  arrangement,  or  to  the  accurate  development  of 
their  principles  and  the  logical  cogency  of  their  proofs. 
Each  of  these  systems  has  its  own  merits  and  defects  ;  the 
former  is  better  suited  for  the  instiuction  and  exhortation  of 
the  faithful,  the  latter  for  the  refutation  of  error;  the 
Positive  Theology  was  of  spontaneous  growth  ;  the  Scholastic 
System  has  been  elaborately  constructed  ;  the  one  is  a  stately 
tree,  that  with  the  years  of  its  life,  has  gradually  grown  in 
size  and  beauty  to  be  the  pride  of  the  forest ;  the  other  is  the 
Gothic  Cathedral  that  from  its  broad  and  deep  foundations 
has  been  laboriously  built  up,  stone  by  stone,  unto  the  glory 
of  its  majestic  proportions  and  the  strength  of  its  perfect 
unity. 

One  of  the  most  famous  books  in  the  schools  of  Ireland, 
and  especially  of  Armagh,  was  the  Morals  of  St.  Gregory  the 
Great.     It  is  a  very  large   treatise  in   thirtv-five  books,  and 


118  srnoors  of  ttik  fifih  cFNTniY. 

thougli  nominally  a  commentary  on  the  Book  of  Job,  it  is  in 
reality  one  of  the  most  beiuitiful  works  on  moral  theology  in 
its  widest  sense  that  have  been  ever  pinm  d.  Every  verse  of 
Job  is  made  the  text  for  a  hom'ly,  not  a  homily  of  a  formal 
character,  but  a  series  of  mora!  reflections  conveyed  in  sweet 
and  touching  language — language  in  which  argument  and 
exhortation  are  very  happily  blended. 

On  Sacred  Scripture  St.  Jerome  seems  to  h'lve  boeu  their 
great  authority.  AYe  know  both  from  the  fragments  of 
Aileran  the  Wise,  published  by  MIgne,  aiid  from  the  Irish 
manuscripts  of  St.  Columban's  great  monastery  at  Bobbio, 
that  our  Irish  scholars  were  familiar  with  nearly  all  his 
works.  In  Dogmatic  Theology  we  do  not  thitdc  that  during 
the  first  two  centuries  of  their  history  the  Celtic  scholars 
were  familiar  with  the  writings  of  St.  Augustine  on  Grace ; 
they  seem  to  have  derived  their  dogma  from  St.  Hilary,  and 
other  writers  of  tbe  French  Church,  rather  than  from  the 
great  Father  of  the  African  Church. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  distinguished  teachers  of  the 
School  of  Armagh,  alter  the  time  of  ISt.  Patrick  and 
Benignus,  was  Grildas  the  Wise,  Many  writers  think  there 
were  at  least  two  great  saints  of  this  name — the  Albanian 
Gildas,  and  his  namesake,  Gildas  of  Badon  (Badonicus),  to 
whom  the  appellation  of  the  Wise  more  properly  belongs. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  there  w^as  only  one  great  saint  of 
the  name,  and  that  the  distinction  is  due  to  that  confusion 
and  uncertainty  in  our  early  chronology,  which  has  been  the 
fruitful  parent  of  many  errors.  However,  we  are  more  con- 
cerned with  facts  than  with  dates,  and  it  is  an  undoubted 
fact,  stated  by  his  biographer,  Caradoc  of  Llancarvan,  that 
Gildas  was  Regent  or  Hector  of  the  great  School  of  Armagh 
for  several  years,  alter  which  he  returned  to  Wales  from 
Ireland  about  a.d.  508,  when  he  heard  that  his  brother  Huel 
had  been  slain  by  King  Ai'thur,  w^ho,  by  the  way,  in  sober 
histoiy  is  by  no  means  the  "  blameless  King*'  he  is  repre- 
sented to  be  in  the  romantic  idyls  of  Lord  Tennyson.  Here 
are  the  exact  words  of  Caradoo^the  biographer  of  Gildas. 
After  stating  that  Gildas,  a  most  *'  holy  preacher  of  the 
Gospel,"  passed  over  to  Ireland  from  Wales,  and  there  con- 
verted very  many  to  the  Catholic  faith,  he  adds: — "Gildas, 
the  historian  of  the  Britons,  who  was  at  that  time  (when  his 
brother  was  killed),  living  in  Ireland,  being  rector  of  the 
school,  and  a  preacher  in  the  city  of  Armagh,  hearing  of  the 
death  of  his  brother,*'  returned  to  AVules  and  was  reeoneilod 
to  Arthur.     Thus  we  learn  that  Gildus,  the  historian  of  the 


THE  SrTfooI,  or  ARAIAGH.  119 

Britons,  was  tlie  same  Gildas  who  had  been  head  of  the 
School  of  Armagh,  the  preacher  renowned  throughout  all 
the  Britains,  and  the  first  historian  of  that  nation,  flis  work 
called  The  Destruction  of  Britain}  is  still  extant,  and  shows 
that  he  was  a  man  of  large  culture  and  of  great  holiness,  in 
every  way  qualified  to  rule  the  Schools  of  Armagh.  He  gives 
a  fearful  picture  of  the  Britons  of  his  time,  reduced  as  they 
were,  to  the  greatest  extremities  by  domestic  tyrants  and 
foreign  foes.  The  first  part  of  his  work  gives  a  sketch  of 
British  history,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  during  the 
Roman  domination  in  Britain,  of  the  devastations  by  the 
Picts  and  Scots,  and  of  the  advent  of  the  Saxons  and  Angles. 
The  second  part,  colled  the  "  Epistle  of  Gildas,''  is  addressed 
to  the  five  petty  princes,  or  tyrants,  of  Britain — to 
Constantino,  w^hom  he  charges  with  perjur}^,  robbery, 
adultery,  and  murder ;  to  Aurelius,  whom  he  calls  a  *'  lion's 
cub;"  to  the  "  panther,"  Yortiporius ;  to  the  ''butcher," 
Cuneglass  ;  and  to  Magnoclunus,  the  "  insular  dragon.'^  On 
the  whole,  it  is  a  very  spicy  piece  of  writing,  and  clearly 
proves  that  the  Welshmen  of  the  time  more  than  meriteil 
by  their  crimes  the  bitter  chastisements  which  they  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  Saxons.  The  third  part  of  the  work  is 
addressed  to  the  cltrgy,  and  he  rebukes  them  with  no  less 
severity  of  language.  He  is  a  new  Jeremias,  denouncing 
woe  against  the  faithless  pastors  \vho  sold  the  priesthood,  who 
are  the  blind  leaders  of  a  blind  flock,'  which  they  bring  with 
themselves  into  perdition.  There  is  certainly  no  want  of 
vigour, although  there  sometimes  maybe  of  eloquence,  in  the 
style  of  this  work.  It  shows  a  wonderful  familiarity  with 
the  text  and  the  application  of  Sacred  Scripture  ;  and  shows, 
too,  that  Gildas  the  Wise,  the  regent  of  the  School  of 
Armagh,  was  in  truth  a  deep  divine,  and  must  have  been, 
beyond  all  doubt,  a  powerful  preacher. 

We  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  writings  of  the  subse- 
quent teachers  in  the  School  of  Armagh,  but  we  have  a 
record  of  the  names  of  several,  with  eulogies  of  their  wisdom 
and  scholarship.  The  number  of  English  students  attracted 
to  these  schools  by  the  fame  of  their  professors  w  as  so  great 
that  in  later  times  we  find  that  the  city  was  divided  into 
three  wards,  or  thirds,  as  they  were  called — the  Trian  Mor, 
the  Trian-Masain,  and  the  Trian-Saxon — the  last  be  ng  the 
English  quarter,  in  which  the  crowds  of  students  from 
Saxon-land  took  up  their  abode,  and  where,  as  we  know  on 

^  The  full  title  of  the  work  is  De  Excldio  Britanice  Liber  Querulus. 


120  SCHOOLS  01'  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

the  express  tcsiiinony  of  a  con  temporary  writer,  the  Vener- 
able Bede,  they  were  received  \yith  true  Irish  hospitality, 
and  w^ere  all,  rich  and  poor,  supplied  gratuitously  with  food, 
books,  and  education.  No  more  honourable  testimony  has 
been  ever  borne  to  any  nation's  hospitality  and  love  of 
learning  than  this.  Alas,  that  England,  in  the  centuries 
that  ibllowed,  could  make  no  better  return  to  the  Irish 
people,  who,  says  Bede,  had  been  always  most  friendly  to  the 
English,  than  to  make  it  penal  for  an  Irish  Catholic  to  teach 
a  school  in  his  native  land. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  learned  Bishop  Reeves,  the  Trian- 
Saxon  was  the  district  now  occupied  by  Upper  English  Street 
and  Abbey  Street,  and  gave  its  name  to  the  former. 

Any  one  glancing  at  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  will 
find  frequent  reference  made  from  the  sixth  to  the  twelfth 
century  to  the  deaths  of  the  "learned  suribes,"  the  "professors 
of  divinity,"  the  "  wise  doctors,"  and  the  "  moderators,"  or 
rectors  of  the  School  of  Arraagli.  In  a.d.  720,  727,  and  749, 
w^e  tind  recorded  the  dtath  of  three  of  these  learned  scribes 
within  a  very  short  period.  The  r  duty  was  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  transcription  of  manuscript-books  in  the  Teach- 
screaptra,  or  House  of  Writings,  corresponding  to  the 
modern  librar3\  The  Book  of  Armagh,  transcribed  there 
in  A.D.  807,  shows  how  patiently  and  lovingly  they  laboured 
at  the  wearyins:  work ;  "as  if,"  says  Miss  Stokes,  "  they  had 
concentrated  all  their  brains  in  the  point  of  the  pen."  In 
A.D.  829  died  Cernech,  a  priest  and  scribe  who  was  known 
as  the  Wise  by  excellence  ;  in  a.d.  925  died  Maelbrighde, 
successor  of  Patrick,  "  a  vessel  full  of  all  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  his  time,"  and  eulogies  of  this  fashion  are  of 
very  frequent  occurrence  in  recording  the  deaths  of  the  great 
scholars  of  Armagh. 

And  yet,  during  these  very  centuries  the  schools,  the 
churches,  and  the  town  itself  suffered  terribly  from  the 
lawless  men  of  those  days,  especially  from  the  Danes.  Armagh 
was  burned  no  less  than  sixteen  times  between  the  years  a.d. 
670  and  1179,  and  it  was  plundered  nine  times,  mostly  by 
Danes,  during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  How  it 
survived  during  these  centuries  of  fire  and  blood  is  truly 
marvellous.  In  a.d.  1020,  for  instance,  we  are  told  by  the 
Four  Masters  that  "  xVrd-Macha  was  burned  with  all  the 
ibrt,  without  the  saving  of  any  house  in  it  except  the  House 
of  Writings  only,  and  many  houses  were  burned  in  the 
Trians  (or  streets),  and  the  Great  Church  was  burned,  and 
the  belfry  with  its  bells  ;  and  the  uther  stone  churches  were 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  ARMAGH.  121 

jilso  burned,  and  the  old  preaching  cLair,  and  the  chariot  of 
the  abbotS/and  their  books  in  the  houses  of  the  students,  with 
mvich  gold,  silver,  and  other  precious  things.''  It  is  evident 
that  on  this  occasion  the  efforts  of  the  community  were 
directed  to  secure  their  invaluable  manuscripts,  the  loss  of 
which  could  never  be  repaired.  Yet  the  city  and  schools  of 
St.  Patiick  rose  again  Pha3nix-like  from  their  ashes.  In 
A.D.  1100,  Imar  G'Hagan,  the  master  of  the  great  St.  Malachy, 
was  made  abbot  just  two  years  before  the  death  of  St.  Malachy's 
father,  the  blessed  Mugron  O'More,  who  had  been  "  chief 
lector  of  divinity  of  this  school,  and  of  all  the  west  of 
Europe." 

It  was  this  same  Imar  O'Hagan,  who,  when  made  arch- 
bishop in  AD.  1126,  rebuilt  the  great  church  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  in  more  than  its  ancient  splendour,  and  introduced 
into  the  Abbey  the  Canons  Regular  of  St.  Augustine.  These 
Canons  by  their  learning  and  zeal  etfected  a  complete  restora- 
tion of  piety,  discipline  and  learning,  which  had  been  much 
neglected  during  the  ravages  of  the  Danes.  Twelve  years 
later  we  have  a  record  of  the  death  of  O'Drugan,  chief 
professor  of  Ard-Macha,  ''paragon  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
Irish,  and  head  of  the  council  of  the  west  of  lilurope  in  piety 
and  in  devotion."  Just  at  this  time,  in  a.d.  1137,  the  great 
Gelasius,  who  well  deserved  his  name — the  Giolla  losa,  or 
servant  of  Jesus — succeeded  St.  Malachv  in  the  See  of 
Armagh,  and  in  spite  of  the  disturbed  state  of  the  times 
raised  the  school  to  the  zenith  of  its  splendour.  In  a.d.  1162 
he  presided  over  a  synod  of  twenty-six  bishops,  held  at  Clane 
in  the  County  Kildare,  in  which  it  was  enacted  that  no 
person  should  be  allowed  to  teach  divinity  in  any  school  in 
Ireland  who  had  not,  as  we  should  now  say,  graduated  in  the 
School  of  Armagh.  To  make  Armagh  worthy  of  this  pre- 
eminence, we  find  that  in  a.d.  1169,  the  very  year  in  which 
the  Norman  adventurers  first  landed  in  Ireland,  King  Pory 
O'Connor  "  granted  ten  cows  every  yeav  from  himself,  and 
from  every  king  that  should  succeed  him  for  ever,  to  the 
professor  of  Ard-Macha  in  honour  of  St.  Patrick,  to  instruct 
the  youths  of  Ireland  and  Alba  in  learning."  And  the  pro- 
fessor at  the  time  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  this  special 
endowment;  for  he  was  Florence  O'Gorman,  "head  moderator 
of  this  school  and  of  all  the  schools  in  Ireland,  a  man  well 
skilled  in  divinity  and  deeply  learned  in  all  the  sciences." 
He  had  travelled  twenty-one  years  in  France  and  England, 
and  at  his  death  in  a.d.  1174  had  ruled  the  Schools  of  Armagh 
for  twenty  years-     It  was  well  f^r  the  venerable  sage  that  he 


1^2  SCHOOLS  OF  THE   FIFTH  CKNTURY. 

died  in  peace.  Had  he  lived  four  years  moi\",  he  would  have 
seen  the  sun  of  Armagh's  ancient  glory  set  in  darkness  and  in 
blood,  when  DeCourcy  and  DeBurgo  and  DeLacy  year  after 
year  swooped  down  on  the  ancient  city,  and  plundered  its 
shrines,  and  slaughtered  or  drove  far  away  its  students,  its 
priests,  and  its  professors.  Once  again  Ernania  was  made 
desolate  by  ruthless  hands,  and  that  desolation  was  more 
complete  and  more  enduring  than  the  first.  We  mav  hope, 
however,  that  the  proud  cathedral  just  built  on  Macha's 
Height  gives  promise  of  a  glorious  future  yet  in  store  for  the 
ancient  city  of  St.  Patrick. 

In  connection  with  the  School  of  Arraa;>h  we  may  appro- 
priately speak  of  the  Book  of  Armagh.  It  is  one  of  the 
oldest,  and,  beyond  any  doubt,  the  most  valuable  of  the 
ancient  books  of  Ireland.^  Its  contents  are  singularly  varied 
and  interesting,  and  its  history,  too,  ha-*  a  melancholy  interest 
for  Irish  scholars.  To  Dr.  Ch.  Graves,  Protectant  Bishop  ol 
Limerick,  is  due  the  merit  of  fixing  the  date  of  its  transcrip- 
tion. In  one  place  there  is  ^  entry  asking  a  prayer  lor 
Ferdomnach — pro  Ferdoranacho  ores — and  in  another  place 
there  is  an  entry  Avhich  Dr.  Graves  deciphered  with  the  use 
of  acids,  to  this  effect — "  Ferdomnach  wrote  this  book  from 
the  dictation  of  Toibach,  the  heir  of  St.  Patrick.""^  Torbach 
was  primate  only  for  a  single  year  (a.d.  807)  ;  and  w^e  find 
from  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  that  Ferdomnach  '*  a 
sage  and  choice  scribe  of  the  Church  of  Armagh,"  died  in 
A.D.  844.  We  are  justified,  therefore,  in  concluding  that 
Torbach,  the  primate  in  a.d.  807  (he  died  on  the  16th  of 
July  in  that  year)  had  this  great  work  transcribed  under  his 
own  direction  by  the  choice  scribe,  Ferdomnach.  Moreover, 
be  tore  his  elevation  to  the  primacy,  Torbach  had  been  himself 
a  scribe  of  the  Church  of  Armagh,  and  thus  very  naturally 
took  an  interest  in  the  transcription  and  preservation  of  this 
great  treasure  of  his  church. 

The  Danes,  too,  jit  this  time,  hungry  for  pillage  and 
slaujjhter,  were  hoverinor  around  the  coasts  of  Ireland.     Thev 

CD  '  cD  v 

had  as  yet  made  no  descent  on  Armagh,  but  they  bad  at 
several  points  round  the  coast,  especiully  on  the  islands,  as 
at  Rathlin  in  a.d.  794,  and  Innismurray,  oft*  the  coast  of 
Sligo,  in  A.D.  804,  and  at  \im\  wber '  sixty  of  the  e'ergy 
and  laity  were  slain  by  the  foreigners.     It  was  of  the  highest* 

1  "The  ponmiin.sliip  is,"  says  Bishop  Keevos,  "of  extreme  elegaiiuo,  «iui 
is  admirat)l(i  throughout  for  its  distiuctuesa  and  unifonnity." 

^  "  Fcrdoinruicti  liuiKilihrmu,  dictuiitu  Torhach,  horedo  ratricii  soripsit." 
The  only  word  ttoniowhat  illryiblo  i."  *'  Torbucli." 


THK  SCHOOL  OF  ARMAGH.  123 

importance,  therefore,  just  at  this  time,  to  secure  a  copy  of 
this  ancient  book.       We  know,  too,  from  several  marginal 
entries,  that    it    had   in    some    places    become   so  illegible 
from  age  and  use  that  the  "  choice  scribe  "had  great  difficulty 
in  ascertaining  the  genuine  text,  so  that  we  are  justified  in 
inferring  that  even  in  a.d.  807  it  was  a  very  old  book,  highly 
prized  in  the  Church  of  Armagh.     The  sketch  of  the  life  of 
St.  Patrick  given  in  this  book  purports  to  be  taken  down  by 
Bishop  Tirechan  from  St.   Ultan,  who  so  early  as  a.d.  650 
was  Bishop  of  Ardbraccan,  in  Meath,  and  partly  also  from 
the  dictation  of  Muirchu  Maccu  Mactheni,  at  the  request  of 
his  preceptor,  Aedh,  Bishop   of  Sletty.     It  is  not  too  much 
then  to   say   that  the   Life  of   St.  Patrick   in  the  Book  of 
Armagh^  is  perhaps  the  oldest  and  certainly  the  most  authentic 
document  ot   its  kind  in   existence  in  Ireland.     The  hand- 
writing of  the  book,  too,  is  uniform   throughout,  and  very 
beautiful,  showing  that  Ferdomnach  was,   indeed,   as  he   is 
called  in  the  Annals,  a  *'  choice  scribe." 

Some  leaves  are  wanting  in  the  beginning,  but  they  do 
not  seem  to  be  of  great  importance.  We  have,  first  of  all, 
the  short  life  of  St.  Patrick,  and  annotations  thereon  in 
Latin  and  Irish — the  Irish  is  now,  perhaps,  the  very  oldest 
form  of  the  language  to  be  found  anywhere.  We  have  next 
a  treatise  on  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Church  of 
Armtigh  ;  then  the  Confession  of  St.  Patrick,  followed  by 
the  words — and  they  are  very  important — "Hucusque 
volumen  quod  Patritius  scripsitmanu  sua" — this  is  the  part 
of  the  volume  which  Patrick  wrote  with  his  own  hand. 
The  reference  seems  to  be  principally  to  the  Confession,  and 
clearly  implies  that  the  original  copy  was  made  from  the 
autograph  of  the  apostle  himself. 

After  this  come  several  other  tracts,  amongst  them  an 
entire  copy  of  the  New  Testament,^  Gospels  and  Epistles, 
including  the  spurious  epistle  to  the  Laodiceans.  The 
Gospels,  in  Dr.  Todd's  opinion,  are  of  the  recension  of 
St.  Jerome,  but  not  so  the  Epistles.  They  bear  no  traces  of 
his  correction,  a  thing,  however,  not  without  example  in 
ancient  manuscripts.  There  is  next  a  copy  of  the  beautiful 
life  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  written  by  the  ''  Christian 
Sallust,"  SulpiciusSeverus,  which  is  the  last  complete  treatise 
in   the  book,  although   there    are,  here  and   there,  extracts 


*  This  is  the  only  complete  copy  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  has  coine  down  to  our  times  from  the  Celtic  Church  of  Ireland.  The 
rest  were  all  destroyed  by  the  Duues. 


i'M:  SCHOOLS  OF  THE   FIFTH   CENTURY. 

from  that  work  so  famous  in  the  larly  Irish  Church,  the 
Moralia  of  8t.  Gregory  the  Great. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  the  Book  oj 
Armagh  is  that  many  of  the  Gospel  headings  are  written  in 
Greek  characters,  and  the  last  entry  of  all  is  a  colophon  ci 
four  Latin  lines,  but  written  in  Greek  letters,  showing 
clearly  that  even  at  this  early  date  a  knowledge  of  Greek  wa> 
geneial  in  our  Irish  schools. 

This  book  was,  not  unnaturally,  looked  upon,  on  account 
3f  its  sacred  character  and  great  antiquity,  as  the  priceless 
treasure^  of  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick.  It  was  incased  in  a 
shrine  so  early  as  a.d.  937  by  Donogh,  son  of  Flann,  King 
of  Ireland,  and  a  special  custoiian  was  appointed  to  guard 
it.  He  was  called  the  maor^  or  steward,  who  had  the  custody 
of  the  book,  and  as  the  office  became  hereditary  in  one 
family,  tliey  wer(^  allowed  lands  for  their  support,  and  came 
to  be  called  MacMoyres — the  descendants  of  the  Keeper. 
Alas,  for  human  nature  !  when  Oliver  Plunket,  the  martyr 
Primate  of  Armagh,  was  tried  in  a.d.  1681  for  treason,  in 
London,  and  sentenced  to  be  executed  on  the  testimony  of 
those  whom  the  sainted  prelate  described  as  ''merciless 
perjurers/'  two  of  the  MacMoyies,  Florence  and  his  brother 
John,  were  amongst  the  perjurtd  witnesses  that  swore  away 
his  life.  And  what  is  saddest  of  all,  the  wretch,  Florence 
MacMoyre.  was  at  the  time  the  custodian,  or  keeper,  of  the 
Book  of  Armagh,  and  pawned  it  for  £5  to  a  Protestant 
gentleman,  Arthur  Brownlow  of  Lurgan,  that  he  might,  it 
seems,  find  means  to  go  over  to  London  and  earn  his  blood - 
money  by  betraying  the  noblest  Heir  of  Patrick  that  ever  sat. 
in  his  primatial  chair. 

The  folios  of  the  ^t'c^/L'  of  ArniagJi  were  arranged,  num- 
bered, and  incased  by  Mr.  Brownlow,  in  who.ve  familv  the 
work  continued  down  to  the  j^ear  a.d.  1853,  when  it  was  pur 
chused  for  £300  by  the  late  venerable  and  learned  Dr.  "Reeves, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  preparing  to  print  it,  and  there 
was  none  more  capable  than  he  to  execute  that  task.  From  Dr. 
Reeves  the  book  passed  on  the  same  tei  ms  to  Primate  Beresf ord, 
by  whom  it  was  presented  to  the  library  of  Trinity  College, 
♦vhere  it  is  open  to  the  inspection  of  all  .scholars  through  the 
great  courtesy  of  the  librarian.  Dr.  Ingram,  F.T. CD. 

'  The    ornamentatiou  is    so    minute    and    elaborate     that    Profeisor 

Westwood  declares  that  he  counted  in  the  Miuall  .space  of  three  quarters  oi' 
an  inch  lon^  by  lesH  than  half-an-inch  in  width,  uo  fewer  than  loS  iuterhnu'- 
inents  of  a  wleiider  ribbou  pattern!— ^iv/uB'/.  J<>Himl,  vt»l.  \.    p.  '27."». 


CHAPT  IlK     Wl—^contmucu). 

SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

II. — Tfie  School  of  Kildare. 

**  Brigid  is  the  Mnry  of  the  Gaedhil." 

—Book  of  Hymns. 

From  Armagli  we  not  unnaturally  turn  to  Kildare.  II 
St.  Patrick  is  the  father,  St.  Brigid  is  the  mother  of  all  the 
saints  of  Erin,  both  monks  and  nuns.  She  may  be  regarded 
not  onl}'  as  the  foundress  of  the  monasteries  and  School  of 
Kildare,  but  also,  in  one  s^nse  at  least,  of  the  diocese  oi 
Kildnre  itself.  She  has  always  been  deemed  one  of  the 
three  great  patron  saints  of  Ireland.  Her  festival  was 
honoured  next  after  that  of  St.  Patrick  himself.  The  name 
has  always  been  a  favourite  one  with  the  daugliteis  oi 
Ireland.  She  was  a  woman  not  only  of  great  virtues  but  of 
great  talents ;  and  exercised  a  powerful  influence  on  the 
Church  in  her  own  day.  She  was  the  hope  of  the  poor,  the 
counsellor  of  bishops,  the  guide  of  kings;  and  to  some  extent 
that  influence  is  felt  even  at  the  present  hour.  Her  history, 
too,  is  exceedingly  interesting,  and  throws  much  light  on  the 
manners  and  morals  of  those  early  davs.  We  can,  however, 
only  give  the  reader  a  brief  sketch  of  the  leading  incidents  in 
her  very  remarkable  career. 

Although  Brigid  was  the  greatest,  she  certainly  was  not 
the  first  of  the  daughters  of  Erin  who  dedicated  their 
virginity  and  their  lives  to  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
received  the  veil  from  St.  Patrick  himself. 

The  sisters  twain  who  died  after  their  bapti.^m  at  Clebach's 
Well,  on  the  slopes  of  Bath  Cruachan — Fedelm  the  ruddy, 
and  Ethne  of  the  golden  hair — w^re  probably  the  first 
daughters  of  Erin^  who  put  on  the  veil  for  Christ. 

"Patrick  put  a  white  veil  upon  their  heads,"  as  we  are 
told  in  the  Tripartite,  and  having  received  Communion — 
Christ's  Body  and  His  Blood— they  fell  asleep  in  death,  and 
Patrick  laid  them  side  by  side  under  one  mantle  in  the  same 
bed.  And  their  friends  bewailed  them  greatly ;  but  God's 
angels  rejoiced,  for  they  were  the  first  fruits  that  the  Spouse 
took  to  himself  from  all  the  land  of  Erin. 

^  If  the  nuns  at  Clonbroney,  Co.  Longford,  were  not  before  them. 


126  /»CHOOLS  OF  THK   FIFTH  CENTURY. 

About  tlie  same  time  Matliona,  the  sister  of  the  youni; 
and  gentle  ]5euignus,  received  the  veil  from  Patrick  in  the 
first  bloom  of  lier  youth  and  beauty.  It  seems  she  accom- 
panied her  brother,  who  attended  the  Apostle  all  the  way 
from  the  banks  of  the  Boyne  ;  and  that  she,  too,  had  the 
privilege  of  ministering  to  J\atrick  and  his  companions.  She 
had  heard,  it' she  had  not  seen,  how,  when  Patrick  abode  at 
her  father's  house  near  Inver  Boinde,  the  earth  opened  wide 
its  jaws  and  swallowed  up  the  wizard  or  Druid,  who  had 
mocked  at  Mary's  virginity  ;^  and  she  resolved  to  become  a 
virgin  like  unto  Mary.  So  wlien  Patrick  had  crossed  the 
Shannon,  and  was  come  to  Elphin  in  Roscommon,  we  are  told 
that  he  went  thence  to  Dumacha  of  the  Hy  Ailella,  and 
founded  there  at  Senchell,  near  Elphin,  a  church  in  which  he 
placed  Maichet,  and  Cetchen,  and  Bodan,  the  arch-priest, 
and  Mathona,Benen's  sister,  who  took  the  veil  from  Patrick 
and  from  Bodan,  and  became  a  religious.  She  afterwards 
crossed  the  mountain  to  the  north-east  and  founded  a  church 
and  convent  of  her  own  at  Tawnngh,  near  Lough  Arrow,  in  the 
county  Sligo.  This  is  the  second  express  reference  to  the 
profession  of  a  nun  in  Ireland.  Bishop  Cairell  was  also 
placed  by  St.  Patrick  in  Tawnagh  to  watch  over  that  infant 
establishment. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  *  sisters  twain  of  Fochlut's 
wood,'  whose  infant  voices  had  summoned  Patrick  over  the 
sea,  calling  him  to  come  and  walk  once  more  amongst 
them,  were  also  clothed  with  the  religious  veil  by  the  Saint, 
when  he  went  to  lyrawley.  He  certainl}^  baplized  them 
there,  and  we  are  told  that  they  are  the  patronesses  of  the 
church  called  ^'  Cell  Forgland/'  which  was  situated  a  little  to 
the  north  of  Killala  over  the  present  road  to  Palraerston. 

"  On  a  cliff 
Where  Fochlut's  "Wood  blackened  the  northern  sea, 
Their  convent  rose.     Therein  these  sisters  twain, 
Whose  cry  had  summoned  Patrick   o'er  thp  d'  pp. 
Abode,  no  longer  weepers.     Pallid  still 
In  radiance  now  their  faces  shone  ;  and  sweet 
Their  psalms  amid  the  clangour  of  rough  brino."^ 

We  are  told  in  the  same  Tripartite  that  once  when  Patrick 
was  at  Armagh,  nine  daughters  of  the  King  of  the  Lombards 
came  over  the  sea,  and  a  daughter  of  the  King  of  Britain  came 


^  TrijHirtitey  page  37. — "  Patrick  went  to  Inver  Boindo.  He  found  a 
wizard  m  that  ])lHce  wlio  luockod  ».t  IMnry's  virginity,  rntiiok  saintnl  \X\<^ 
eartli,anil  it  swallowed  up  tlio  AvizarU." 

'"^  Aubrey  do  Vere,  J.eyends  vf  St.  Patrick. 


THE  SCHOOT.  OF   Kir,T)AllE.  127 

also  on  a  pilorimao^e  to  Patrick,  and  they  tarried  at  the  place 
near  Armagh,  called  Coll-nan-Ingen — the  Hazel  of  the 
Daughters.  Some  of  the  virgins  died  and  were  buried  there, 
but  the  others  went  to  Drum-Fendeda,  and  there  abode.  The 
virgin  Cruimtheris,  however,  went  and  set  up  at  Cengoba, 
and  Benen  used  to  carry  food  to  her  until  Patrick  planted  an 
apple  tree  for  the  holy  virgin  ;  and  then  she  lived  on  the 
fruit  of  that  tree  and  on  the  milk  of  a  doe,  that  grazed  in  her 
little  orchard. 

There  is  no  doubt  therefore  that  Patrick  received  the 
vows  of  many  holy  virgins  in  Erin  before  St.  Brigid 
was  professed.  As  Beneii  himself  was  the  earliest  and 
apparently  the  best  beloved  of  Patrick's  disciples,  so  his 
sister  was  amonarst  the  first  of  the  dauo^hters  of  Erin  that  ho 
clothed  with  the  veil  of  virginity,  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  her  holy  relics  sleep  in  the  old  church  of 
Tawnagh,  in  Tirerrill,  co.  Siigo. 

It  is  not  improbable,  too,  that  Patrick  received  the  vows 
of  St.  Fanchea,  the  sister  of  the  celebrated  St.  Enda  of  Aran, 
whose  convent  was  established  at  Rossory,  on  the  shore  of 
Lough  Erne.  Hereafter  we  shall  see  how  Enda  owed  his 
own  conversion  to  his  sister,  St.  Fanchea,  and  as  this  event 
must  have  taken  place  about  the  year  a.d.  480,  she  herself 
may  have  seen  St.  Patrick,  if  she  did  not  receive  the  veil 
from  his  hands. 

We  shall  see  hereafter  also,  when  treating  of  St.  Brendan, 
that  the  convent  of  St.  Ita  was  founded  about  the  same  time. 

She  was  the  Brigid  of  Munster  and  the  nursing  mother 
of  many  other  saints  besides  St.  Brendan.  Her  memory  is 
fondly  cherished  to  this  day  in  the  co.  Limerick,  and 
immense  crowds  of  people  still  assemble  on  her  feast  day  at 
Killeedy,  where  the  ruins  of  her  ancient  church  are  still  to 
be  seen.  So  the  virgins  of  Christ  were  established  every- 
where in  Ireland  during  the  life-time  of  St.  Patrick  himself, 
and  man}^  must  have  made  their  profession  before  St.  Brigid. 
But  that  holy  virgin  in  other  respects  has  eclipsed  them  all, 
and  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  queen  and  the  mother  of 
all  the  holy  virgins,  whose  names  are  known  in  Erin,  or  as 
^ngus  calls  her — '  the  head  of  the  nuns  of  Erin.' 

A  great  controversy  rages  round  the  parentage  of 
St.  Brigid.  Cogitosus,  the  author  of  the  Second  Life^  as 
given  by  Colgan,  was  a  mock  of  Kildare,  who  flourished  not 
later  than  the  end  of  the  eighth  century,  and  must  the;  efore  be 
recognised  as  a  competent  authority.  He  declares  that  she  was 
born  of  Christian  parents  of  a  noble  race,  and  this  statement 


128  .NCiiooLti  OF  nil':  fifth  ckntuiiy, 

is  confirmed  by  the  author  of  the  Sixth  Life^  who  was  a  m-iik 
of  the  island  of  Iniscaltra,  in  Lough  Derg.  All  tlie  autbori- 
ties,  indeed,  admit  that  she  was  noble  on  the  father's  side, 
for  Dubhtnch,  her  father,  was  a  chieftain,  the  tenth  in  descent 
from  the  celebrated  Feidhlimidh  Il'.>chtmar,  the  Lawgiver,  a 
King  of  Ireland,  who  flourished  in  the  second  century  of  the 
Christian  era.  But  the  authors  of  the  Thirds  FourtJiy  and  Fifth 
Lives  of  the  Saint  declare  that  Brigid's  mother  was  a  female 
slave  or  captive  in  the  house  of  Dubhtach,  that  her  own  birth 
was  illegitimate,  and  that  shortly  before  that  event  took  place, 
the  captive  maiden,  her  mother,  whose  name  was  Brocessa, 
was  driven  from  her  home  through  the  bitter  jealousy  of  her 
master's  wife,  and  sold  to  a  certain  Druid  or  magus,  who 
carried  her  to  Faughart,  where  the  future  saint  was  born.  It 
is  difficult  to  assign  any  reason  why  the  a  Imirers  of  St.  Brigid 
(juld  invent  this  story  ;  ou  the  other  hand  it  is  easy  to  see 
why  Co;>itosus,  jealous  for  glory  of  the  foundress  of  his  own 
Kildare,  might  be  induced  to  pass  it  over  in  silence.  It  is 
certainly  consistent  with  the  manners  of  the  time,  for  the 
Brehon  Code  clearly  shows  that  then  and  long  after  slavery 
and  its  attendant  evils  existed  in  Iieland.  The  very  fact  that 
Brigid  was  not  born  in  the  house  of  her  father,  who  seems  to 
have  dwelt  in  Leinsier,  appears  to  be  a  i'urther  confirmation 
of  the  story.  St.  Patrick  was  at  one  time  a  slave,  and  so  it 
appears,  too,  that  Brigid,  to  whom  Ireland  owes  so  much, 
was  born  of  a  slave-mother,  and  during  the  years  of  her 
youth  had  herself  to  endure,  even  after  she  came  to  her 
father's  house,  the  bitter  taunts  of  her  father's  wife,  and  the 
ceai^eless  drudgeiy  of  a  captive  maid.  So  it  was  that 
Providence  prepared  her,  as  it  prepared  Patrick,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  her  lofty  mission. 

There  are  still  many  interesting  memorials  of  St.  Brigid 
at  Faughart.  The  village  is  not  quite  two  miles  to  the  north- 
east of  Dundalk.  It  is  situated  amid  fertile  fields,  overlook- 
ing the  sparkling  waters  of  the  Bay,  and  nestling  under  the 
shelter  of  the  Cariingford  mountains.  It  was  once  ruled  over 
by  Cuchullin,  the  Hound  of  the  North,  who  kept  the  ford  of 
Ardee  agiunst  the  hosts  and  the  heroes  of  Queen  Meave  ;  and 
in  its  old  church-yard  was  buried  the  headless  trunk  of  the 
galhant  Edward  Bruce,  who  was  slain  close  at  hand — ih<^spot 
is  still  shown — in  the  year  a.d.  1318.  St.  Brigid's  A\'ell  is 
there,  roofed  over  with  masonry,  but  its  waters  are  gone. 
The  fla^-  on  which  she  was  placed  after  her  birth  is  also 
pointed  out,  nnd  th^ve  also  are  Urigid's  Pillar,  and  Brigid's 
8  one,  of  a   horse-shoo    shape,   and  the   remains  uC    un   old 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  KILDAUE. 


129 


churcb,  but  certainly  not  dating  from  Brlgid*s  time.  The 
old  church-yard  surrounding  it  is  crowded  with  ancient 
graves,  and  enclosed  by  a  tall  hedge  of  fragrant  hawthorns. 
There  are  several  *  forts '  and  ancient  *  mounds '  in  the 
neighbourhood,  which  show  that  it  had  been  a  populous  and 
important  place,  probably  from  the  pre-historic  ages  of 
Cuchullin.  One  of  them  is  sixty  feet  in  height,  and  its  level 
summit  is  still  crowned  with  the  foundations  of  a  strong 
octagonal  building,  the  purpose  of  which  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.^ 

St.  Brigid  was  born  about  the  year  a.d.  450,  and  was 
baptized  shortly  after  her  birth,  with  the  consent  of  the 
magus  or  Druid  in  whose  service  her  mother  was  engaged. 
She  grew  up,  according  to  all  her  biographers,  to  be  a  young 
girl  of  sinoulnr  grace  and  beauty,  greatly  favoured  by  nature, 
but  still  more  richly  endowed  by  grace.  The  daughter  of 
the  captive  was  watched  over  by  guardian  angels  ;  her  food 
was  the  milk  of  a  white  cow,  that  typefied  tlie  purity  of  her 
own  young  heart;  and  the  butter  from  her  master's  dairy, 
that  she  too  generously  gave  to  the  poor,  was  miraculously 
replaced  that  she  and  her  mother  might  not  be  blamed  on 
account  of  waste  or  extravagance. 

We  cannot  trace  all  the  events  of  her  marvellous  history — 
how  she  was  carried  to  Connaught  and  to  Munster ;  how 
many  suitors  vainly  sought  her  hand  ;  how  she  returned  to 
her  father's  house  and  provoked  the  jealousy  of  her  step- 
mother;  how  for  peace  sake  her  father  offered  to  sell  his 
beautiful  dauohter  to  the  king  of  North  Leinster,  as  he  had 
sold  her  mother  to  the  magus.  But  Providence  watched 
over  her  in  all  her  ways,  and  at  length  brought  about  the 
consummation  of  her  most  ardent  wishes.  With  seven  other 
young  virgins  she  received  the  religious  veil  from  the  hands 
of  Bishop  Macaille,  whose  church  was  on  the  eastern  slope  of 
Cruachan  Bri  Eile  in  the  modern  King's  County,  not  far 
from  the  historic  field  of  Tyrrell s  Pass.  It  is  still  called 
Croghan  Hill,  and  an  old  church-yard  yet  marks  the  site  of 
St.  Macaille's  church.  It  is  uncertain,  however,  whether 
Brigid  was  veiled  there  or  at  Uisnech  Hill  in  Westmoath, 
where,  according  to  other  accounts,  the  holy  bishop  was  at  the 
time.  The  exact  spot  would  be  worth  knowing,  for  during 
the  course  of  the  ceremony  when  Brigid's  hand  touched  the 
wood  of  the  altar,  that  dry  wood  felt  the  virtue  of  the  virgin's 
touch,  and  became  in  the  sight  of  all  as  fresh  and  green  as  it 


» See  O'Hanlon'fl  Life  of  St.  Brigid. 


1  50  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

was  on  the  day  when  it  felt  the  wood-man's  axe  in  the  forest. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  Brigid  and  her  seven  virgin  com- 
panions lived  for  some  time  at  Croghan  Ilill  under  the  care 
of  8t.  Macaille ;  afterwards,  however  she  returned  to  her 
father's  territory  and  founded,  nigh  to  an  old  oak  tree,  the 
church,  which  ever  since  bears  the  name  of  Kildare — the 
Church  of  the  Oak.  It  was  founded  in  Magli  LifFe,  the  Plain 
of  the  Liffey,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  even  when  her  most 
ancient  lives  were  written,  the  holy  virgin  is  represented  as 
driving  in  her  chariot  over  the  Curragh  of  Kildare,  which 
even  then  was  used  as  a  race-course. 

Some  authorities  say  that  Brigid  made  her  religious  vows 
in  the  hands  of  St.  Mel  of  Ardagh,  whose  name  is  frequently 
mentioned  in  some  of  her  lives.  It  is  strange  that  so  little 
reference  is  made  to  St.  Patrick,  if  he  were  indeed  alive,  as 
is  commonly  supposed,  for  many  years  after  Brigid's  profes- 
sion, which  took  place  about  the  year  a.d.  467.  There  is  no 
mention  made  of  Brigid  in  the  Lives  of  St.  Patrick  except 
once.  The  Saint  had  founded  the  Church  of  Clogher  for  St. 
Mac  Cairthini],  and  afterwards  went  to  preach  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood at  a  place  called  Lemain,  a  plain  watered  by  the 
river  Laune,  which  takes  its  name  from  the  plain.  For  three 
daj^s  and  three  nights  he  was  preaching,  and  Brigid  fell 
asleep  during  his  preaching  ;  but  the  saint  would  not  allow 
Brigid  to  be  disturbed,  for  he  knew  that  she  w^as  sleeping  a 
mystic  sleep.  As  she  slept  she  dreamt,  and  thought  she  saw 
at  first  white  oxen  in  white  cornfields  ;  then  she  saw  darker 
oxen,  and  lastly  oxen  that  were  black.  After  these  she  saw 
sheep,  and  swine,  and  dogs,  and  wolves  quarrelling  with  each 
otlier — all  of  which,  Patrick  explained,  were  symbols  of  the 
present  and  future  state  of  the  Irish  Church — a  prediction 
that  has  been  wonderfully  verified  by  the  event.  It  was 
on  the  same  occasion  that  King  Echu  allowed  his  daughter 
to  be  united  to  Christ,  and  Patrick  made  her  his  own  disciple, 
and  she  was  taught  by  a  certain  virgin  at  Druim  Dubain,  in 
which  place  both  virgins  have  their  rest.  It  is  stated  in 
Tirechan's  collections  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  that  Bishop 
Mac  Cairthinn  was  tlie  uncle  of  the  holy  Brigid — '  Brigtae ' — 
the  abbreviated  form  of  the  name.  This  fact  would  expltri*"^* 
her  presence  at  Clogher  on  this  interesting  occasion. 

We  are  told  that  Kildare  was  first  called  Drumcree — 
Druim  Criaidh — before  it  took  the  name  of  Cell-Dara  from 
the  beautiful  oak  tree  which  Brigid  loved  mu  h,  and  under 
whose  shade  she  built  her  first  little  oratory.  That  tree  re- 
mained down  to  the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  when  Animosus 


THE  SCHOOL  OF   KTLDAUE.  131 

wrote  her  life ;  and  it  was  held  in  such,  veneration  that  no 
profane  hand  dare  venture  to  touch  it  with  a  weapon.  lu 
a  very  short  time  after  its  foundation  Kildare  grew  to  be  a 
great  relig-ious  establishment,  having  two  monasteries  sepa- 
rate, yet  side  by  side,  one  for  women  and  one  for  men — and 
both,  to  a  certain  extent,  under  her  own  supervision.  *' See- 
ing," says  her  biographer,  "  that  this  state  of  things  could 
not  exist  without  a  pontiff  to  consecrate  her  churches,  and 
ordain  the  sacred  ministers,  she  chose  an  illustpous  anchorite, 
celebrated  for  his  virtues  and  miracles,  that  as  Bishop  he 
might  aid  her  in  the  government  of  the  Church,  and  that 
nothing  should  be  wanting  for  the  proper  discharge  of  all 
ecclesiastical  functions."  it  is  obvious  from  these  words  that 
Brigid  herself  selected  St.  Conlaeth,  or  Conlaedb,to  rule  her 
churches  and  monasteries,  but  in  accordance  with  her  sugges- 
tions and  advice.  She,  of  course,  conferred  no  jurisdiction 
on  St.  Conlaeth,  but  she  selected  the  person  to  whom  the 
church  gave  this  jurisdiction.  Her  biographer  does  not  say 
that  Conlaeth  was  subject  to  Brigid,  but  that  Brigid  chose 
him  to  govern  the  Church  along  with  herself — ut  ecclesiam 
in  episcopali  dignitate  cu7n  ea  gubernaret.  These  few  simple 
words  dispose  of  a  vast  amount  of  foolish  talk  about  Brigid's 
jurisdiction  over  St.  Conlaeth.  She,  herself,  never  claimed 
nor  possessed  any  such  thing. 

It  is,  how^ever,  abundantly  evident  that  Brigid  was  a 
woman  of  strong  mind  and  of  great  talents,  that  she  was 
admirably  fitted  to  rule  and  to  organize,  that  her  influ- 
ence was  widely  felt,  and  her  wisdom  and  prudence  held  in 
the  highest  estimation  by  the  greatest  ecclesiastics  of  her 
time.  Moreover,  her  great  virtues  were  confirmed  by  many 
miracles,  so  that  crowds  of  men  and  women  came  from  all  parts 
of  the  country  either  to  make  a  pilgrimage,  or  place  themselves 
permanently  under  her  guidance.  But  Brigid  did  more  than 
this.  One  of  her  greatest  virtues  was  her  hospitality  to  all 
the  ecclesiastics  who  came  to  visit  her,  and  especially  to  the 
bishops.  She  seems,  too,  to  have  accepted  their  invitations, 
and  to  have  made  many  journeys,  especially  through  the 
South  and  West  of  Ireland,  where  she  made  so  deep  an  im- 
pression by  her  preaching,  her  miracles,  and  her  example, 
that  her  memory  is  still  fondly  cherished  in  all  parts  of  the 
country.  She  became  the  "  Mary  of  Ireland" — what  Patrick 
was  for  the  men,  she  was  for  the  women — their  national  saint 
and  patroness.  They  called  their  daughters  by  her  sweet 
name.  The  wells  at  which  she  drank  and  prayed  became  for 
ever  blessed  wells.     The  parishes  which  she  visited  were  in 


132  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

many  instances  place:!  under  licr  special  protection,  an  1  called 
by  her  name.  ^  And.  so  we  have  Tubber-bride  and  Kil-bride 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  exactly  as  we  have  Kil-patrick 
and  Tubbor-patrick. 

It  is  very  manifest  that  St.  Brio-id  felt  from  the  beginning 
that  a  monastery  of  men  at  Kildare,  presided  over  by  a  bishop, 
would  be  a  great  means  of  protecting  her  own  nunnery  of 
tender  virgins  and  widows.  It  was  a  lawless  age,  as  the 
history  of  St.  Enda  shows,  and  hence  Brigid  wished  for  secu- 
rity, as  well  as  for  instruction  and  religious  guidance,  to  have 
the  bishop  and  his  clergy  near  her.  She  was  anxious  to  have 
a  complete  and  self-sufficing  religious  city  at  Kildare,  and 
such,  in  fact,  ic  very  soon  became.  Besides  St.  Conlaeth  to 
rule  and  to  ordain,  she  had  another  bishop,  St.  Nadfraoich, 
to  instruct  herself  and  her  nuns,  for  Bishop  Mel  had  told  her 
that  she  should  never  take  food  without  having  first  heard 
the  Word  of  God  preached  to  her.  She  had  secured  another 
holy  prelate,  St.  Ninnidhius,  to  administer  the  viaticum  to 
her  when  dying,  and  that  saint  hearing  this  covered  his  right 
hand  with  a  case  or  shell  of  metal,  so  that  the  hand  which 
was  to  give  the  Communion  to  Brigidmightnever  be  defiled. 
Hence  he  w^as  called  Ninnidh  of  the  Clean  Hand. 

It  is  said — but  the  tradition  is  rather  uncertain — that 
Brigid  had  the  consoling  privilege  of  weaving  with  her  own 
hands  the  winding  sheet  in  which  the  body  of  St.  Patrick 
was  laid.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  if,  as  is  generally  be- 
lieved, he  died  in  a.d.  493,  Brigid  must  have  been  a  nun  for 
several  years,  and  have  already  founded  lier  own  great  con- 
vent at  Kildare.  S  e  lived,  however,  until  a.d.  523,  or  more 
probably  until  a.d.  o25j  and  then  dying  in  her  own  holy 
city,  was  buried  at  the  right  of  the  High  Altar — Bishop  Con- 
laeth, having  been  already  laid  on  the  left  hand  of  the  same 
altar,  and  both  witiiin  the  sanctuary. 

Brigid  is  called  by  ^Engus  the  chaste  head  of  the  nuns 
of  Erin  ;  and  St.  Cuimin  of  Connor  describes  her  '*  as  Brigid 
of  the  blessings,  fond  beyond  all  women  of  mortiiication,  of 
vigils,  of  early  rising  to  pray,  and  of  hospitality  to  saintly 
men."  Her  very  name  was  prophetic,  for  it  signifies  either 
a  '  fiery  dart '  or  the  '  strength'  of  her  virtue — brigi  being 
the  Celtic  for  strength  or  might. 

Kildare,  as  might  be  expected,  became,  during  the  life 
and  after  the  death  of  Brigid,  a  great  city  and  a  great  school 
— Cogitosus,  with  pardonable  exaggiM-ation,  di  si^ril)cs  it  as  the 
head  city  of  all  the  bish()[)s,  a!ul  calls  Conlaeth  ami  his  suc- 
cessors Arch-bishops  of  the  Bishops  of   Ireland,  and  lirigid 


^  She   was   in    an   especial    manner    the  patrt)ne»!i    of    the    *  Son*   «»» 

lioatling-,'  as  stu'lonta  wero  tlu<n  (•aU«>l  ;  '*  aiul  the  lioril  jfiv>M  them,  through 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  KILDARR.  133 

(anrl  }  er  successors)  the  Abtoss,  whom  all  the  Abbesses  of 
Ireland  hold  in  veneration.  He  says  that  no  one  could  count 
the  crowds  of  people  coming  to  Kildare  from  all  the  provinces 
of  Erin  ;  that  some  come  for  the  feasting  or  food — ad  epulas 
— that  the  sick  come  to  be  healed  ;  the  rich  come  with  gifts 
for  the  shrine  of  St.  Brigid,  especially  on  the  1st  of  February; 
and  that  sight-seeis  come  to  enjoy  the  wonderful  spectacle. 

He  also  g^ives  a  most  interesting  description  of  the  great 
Church  of  Kildare  in  his  own  time.  It  w^as  very  lofty  and 
very  large,  richly  adorned  with  pictures,  hangings,  and  orna- 
mentnl  door- ways.  A  partition  ran  across  the  breadth  of  the 
church  near  the  chancel,  or  sanctuary ;  at  one  of  its  extre- 
mities there  was  a  door  which  admitted  the  bishop  and  his 
clergy  to  the  sanctuary  and  to  the  altar;  at  the  other  extre- 
mity, on  the  opposite  side,  there  was  a  similar  door  b}^  which 
Brigid  and  her  virgins  and  widows  used  to  enter  to  enjoy  the 
banquet  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  Then  a  central 
partition  ran  down  the  nave,  dividing  the  men  from  the 
women — the  men  being  on  the  right  and  the  women  on  the 
Itft,  each  division  having  its  own  lateral  entrance.  These 
partitions  did  not  rise  to  the  roof  of  tho  church,  but  only  so 
high  as  to  serve  their  purpose.  The  partition  at  the  sanctu- 
ary, or  chancel,  was  formed  of  boards  of  wood,  decoiated  with 
pictures  and  covered  with  linen  hangings,  which  might,  it 
seems,  be  drawn  aside  at  the  consecration  to  give  the  people 
in  the  nave  a  better  view  of  the  Holy  Mysteries.  Such  was 
the  great  Church  of  Kildare  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  cen- 
turies, before  the  advent  of  the  Danes  to  Ireland. 

In  connection  with  St.  Brigid  and  the  School  of  Kildare, 
we  may  here  make  brief  reference  to  the  celebrated  scholars 
who  have  compiled  her  biography. 

The  first  of  the  six  Lives  printed  by  the  learned  Father 
John  Colgan  is  the  metrical  Hymn  of  the  Saint  commonly 
attributed  to  St.  Brogan  Cloen  of  Hostuirc  in  the  Diocese  of 
Ossor}'.  The  original  Hymn  is  written  in  the  Irish  language  ; 
Colgan  also  gives  a  Latin  translation.  But  the  Irish  original 
has  been  printed  by  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes,  and  also  in  the 
IrisJi  Ecclesiastical  Record  for  February,  1868.  This  Irish 
original  has  been  preserved  in  the  Liber  Hymnorum^  and 
also  in  a  MS.  in  Trinity  College  of  very  recent  date.  The 
following  Irish  preface  is  prefixed  to  the  Hymn  in  the  MS.  of 
St.  Isidore's,  now  in  Merchants'  Quay,  Dublin. 

The  place  where  this  hymn  was  composed  was  Sliabh  Bladhma 
(Slieve  Bloom),  or  Chiain  Mcr  Moedhog.  The  author  was  Brogan 
Clren.     The  time  (to  which  it  refers)  was   whfn  Lughaidh,  son  of 


134 


SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 


riaej2;hiiire,  whs  King  of  Ireland,  and  Aili.l.  son  of  Dunlani;;-,  King  of 
Leinster.  The  cause  of  writing  it,  viz.,  "(Jltan  of  Ardbraccan,  the 
tutor  of  Brogan,  requested  him  to  narrate  the  miracles  of  Brigid  in 
Fiiitable  poetical  language,  for  Ultan  had  collected  all  the  miracles  of 
Brigid  for  him." 

We  gather  from  this  interesting  statement  that  St.  Ultan 
of  Ardbraccan,  who  was  an  uncle  on  the  mother's  side  of 
St.  Brigid,  collected  the  materials  for  this  poem.  It  is  true 
St.  Uitan  (lid  not  die  untd  the  year  a.d.  i)5^  or  657,  but  if 
he  were  then,  as  is  stated  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal, 
189  years  of  age,  he  might  well  have  been  the  uncle  and  con- 
temporary of  the  Virgin  Saint.  He  was  a  very  celebrated 
man,  and  was  especially  remarkable  for  his  love  of  poor 
orphans,  for  he  often  had  no  less  than  200  of  them  together, 
whom  he  us^d  to  feed  with  his  own  hands.  He  was  also  very 
mortified  in  his  life,  sleeping  on  the  bare  board  in  his  narrow 
stone  ceil,  and  bathing  his  body  in  cold  water  in  the  sharpest 
blasts  of  the  wintry  wind.  "  It  was  he,"  says  the  same 
authority,  "  that  collected  the  miracles  of  Brigid  in  one  book, 
and  gave  them  to  his  disciplo  Brogan  Cloen  to  render  them 
in  verse." 

St.  Brogan  Cloen  himself  lived,  it  seems,  for  some  time  in 
the  monastery  near  Slieve  Bloom,  founded  by  St.  Molua,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  Clonmore,  in  the  barony  of  Bantry, 
county  Wexford,  which  was  founded  by  St.  Aidan  about  the 
year  a.d.  620.  The  scholiast  doubts  whether  he  composed 
this  hymn  while  at  Slieve  Bloom  or  Clonmore ;  so  we  may 
fairly  suppose  that  it  was  composed  sometime  between  a.d. 
620  and  657,  when  St.  Ultan  died.  The  statement  of  the 
scholiast  as  to  the  time  of  the  hymn  seems  to  refer  not  to 
the  time  of  its  composition,  but  to  the  time  of  the  events 
which  it  narrates  ;  and  which,  he  says,  took  V)lace  during  the 
reign  of  Lughaidh,  King  of  Tara,  and  Ailill,  King  of  Leinster. 
The  former  reigned  25  years  and  died  in  a.d.  503 ;  the  latter 
died  in  a.d.  523,  so  that  their  joint  reigns  would  exactly 
mark  the  period  during  which  St.  Brigid  flourished  in  Kildare. 
The  hymn  consists  of  212  lines  or  53  stanzas  of  lour  lines 
each.  It  describes  at  great  length  the  virtues  and  miracles 
of  St.  Brigid,  but  is  unhappily  too  meagre  in  historical  facts. 
Tlie  writer  assumes  that  because  her  history  w^as  well  known 
in  his  own  time,  it  would  continue  to  be  equally  well  known 
to  future  generations.  It  is,  however,  a  most  interesting 
monument  of  our  early  Irish  Church,  aiid  eoM»])etent  judges 
pronounce  it  to  be  an  admirable  s[)iv'imeu  of  early  Coltie 
veisiiieation. 


THE  SCHOOL  TTf  KTLDARE.  135 

There  is  also  in  the  Book  of  Hymns  published  by  Dr. 
Todd,  what  seems  to  be  a  fragment  of  an  ancient  Latin 
hjann  in  praise  of  St.  Brigid.  The  preface  to  this  Hj^mn 
attributes  it  either  to  St.  Ninnidh  of  the  Clean  Hand,  Brigid'? 
chaplain,  or  to  St.  Fiacc  of  Sleibte,  or  to  St.  Ultan  of  Ard- 
braccan.  This  last  conjecture,  however,  seems  to  arise  from 
the  statement  that  Ultan  collected  the  miracles  of  St.  Brigid 
into  one  book.  It  was  an  abecedarian  hymn  originally,  and 
is  undoubtedly  a  very  ancient  composition.  At  present  it 
consists  of  four  stanzas  of  four  lines  each,  having  a  rhyme 
or  assonance  in  the  middle  and  at  the  end  of  each  line,  which 
properly  should  consist  of  sixteen  syllables.  The  first  line 
at  present  is  : — 

'*  Christus  in  nostra  insula  quae  vocatur  Hibernia," 
and  notwithstanding  the  statement  of  the  scholiast  that  the 
hymn  was  abecedarian,  these  words — Christus  in  nostra 
insula — appear  to  have  been  always  regarded  as  the  beginning 
of  the  hymn.  In  the  eighth  line  Brigid  is  declared  to  be 
*'  Mariae  sanctae  similem,"  an  expression  which  may  have 
given  origin  to  the  saying  that  Brigid  was  the  '^  Mary  of  the 
Irish."  The  following  passage  from  the  LeabJiar  Breac  gives 
a  glowing  eulogv  of  St.  Brigid,  and  formally  calls  her  the 
"  Mary  of  the  Gaedhil." 

*'  There  was  not  in  the  world  one  of  more  bashfulness  and  modesty 
than  this  holy  virgin.  She  never  washed  (as  was  then  not  unfrequent) 
her  hands,  or  her  feet,  or  head  before  men.  She  never  looked  a  man 
in  the  face.  She  never  spoke  without  blushing.  She  was  abstinent, 
unblemished,  fond  of  prayer,  patient,  rejoicing  in  God's  commands, 
benevolent,  humble,  forgiving,  charitable.  She  was  a  consecrated 
shiine  for  the  preservation  of  the  Body  of  Christ.  She  was  a  temple 
of  God.  Her  heart  and  mind  were  the  throne  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
she  was  meek  before  God.  She  was  distressed  with  the  miserable. 
She  was  bright  in  miracles.  And  hence  in  things  created  her  type  is 
the  Dove  among  birds,  the  Vine  amongst  trees,  and  the  Sun  above 
the  stars." 

This  beautiful  eulogy  concludes  by  declaring  that  Brigid 
is  "  The  Queen  of  the  South.  She  is  the  Mary  of  the 
Gaedhil.'^ 

The  Second  Life,  printed  by  Colgan,  is  the  celebrated 
;vork  of  Cogitosus,  to  which  we  have  already  referred.  He 
tells  us  himself  that  he  v^  as  a  monk  of  Kildare,  and  that  he 
wrote  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  the  community,  not  of  his 
own  presumptuous  motion.  In  the  last  chapter  he  asks  a 
prayer,  "Pro  me  Cogitoso  culpabili,''  but  it  is  e'/ident  when 
he  calls  himself  a  'nepos,'  that  he  docs  not  mean  that  he  was 
the    *nepos'  of   St.  Brigid,  as  some   have  fancied.     In   his 


13G  SCHOOLS  OF  TIIK  FIFTH  CENTUIIY. 

humility  ho  uses  the  word  in  its  secondary  classical  sense, 
and  calls  himself  a  sinful  spendthrift  of  God's  time  and  of 
God's  graces.  The  use  of  the  word  *nepos/  therefore, 
furnishes  no  argument  that  this  Life  was  written  shortly 
after  the  death  of  St.  Brigid.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
nothing  in  this  Life  that,  as  Basnage  insinuates,  *  smells  of  a 
later  age '  than  the  eighth  or  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century.  As  we  have  already  observed,  the  description  which 
Cogitosus  gives  of  the  great  Church  of  Kildare,  of  its  wealth, 
of  the  tomb  of  its  founders,  and  the  inviolable  character  of 
the  city,  clearly  proves  that  it  must  have  been  written 
earlier  than  the  ravages  of  the  Danes.  There  are,  however, 
some  expressions  that  show  it  was  written  a  considerable 
time  after  the  decease  of  St.  Brigid  and  St.  Conlaeth.  The 
writer  speaks  of  *the  prosperous  succession'  of  prelates  and 
abbesses  who  ruled  in  the  sacred  city,  ritu  perpetuo,  a  strong 
expression,  which  points  to  a  long  series  of  successors  in 
Kildare.  The  very  use  of  the  Latin  word  *  archiepiscopus,' 
which  Cogitosus  uses  when  speaking  of  the  prelates  of 
Kildare,  shows  that  the  work  cannot  have  been  written 
before  the  eighth  century.  Petrie  in  his  observations  on  this 
subject  makes  one  remark  which  we  venture  to  think  is 
founded  on  a  false  assumption.^  Cogitosus  tells  us  that  in 
his  own  time  the  bodies  of  St.  Brigid  and  of  St.  Conlaeth  were 
placed  in  tombs  richly  adorned,  one  on  the  right  and  the  other 
on  the  left  of  the  high  altar.  Now  the  Annals  of  Ulster 
state  that  a.d.  799,  the  relics  of  Conlaeth  were  placed  in  a 
shrine  of  gold  and  silver,  whence  Petrie  infers  that  Cogitosus 
must  have  written  after  this  enshrining,  that  is,  after 
A.D.  799,  but  before  a.u.  835,  when  Kildare  was  pillaged  by 
the  Danes  and  half  the  church  burned.  But  Cogitosus 
speaks  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints  as  being  placed  in 
tombs,  not  of  the  enshrining  of  the  relics  of  one  of  them, 
which  is  a  ver}''  different  tiling.  Tiie  shrine  was  a  metal 
case,  highly  ornamented,  for  containing  the  relics  of  a  saint, 
not  a  tomb  for  the  body.  Ivather  the  language  of  Cogitosus 
clearly  shows  that  he  must  have  written  before  this  enshrin- 
ing of  the  relics  of  Conlaeth,  for  in  his  time  the  body  of 
that  saint  was  in  a  tomb.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  about 
this  time,  and  through  fear  of  the  Danes,  the  relics  of 
St.  Brigid  were  carried  to  Downpatrick  as  being  then  a  safer 
place,  and  at  the  same  time  the  relics  of  Conlaeth  were  also 
taken   from   the  tomb-monument,  and  placed   iu  the   rich 


*See  Hound  Towers^  pago  203. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  K1LDA.RK.  137 

shrine,  which  was  easily  portable,  and  might  be  carried  off 
at  the  approach  of  danger,  with  its  precious  contents. 

The  language  and  style  of  Cogitosus  show  considerable 
;icquaintance  with  the  Latin  tongue,  and  the  work  furnishes 
us  with  a  very  creditable  specimen  of  the  scholarship 
possessed  by  the  monks  of  Kildare  in  the  eighth  century. 

"We  need  make  no  special  reference  to  the  other  four 
anonymous  Lives  printed  by  Colgan.  The  Third  is  attributed, 
but  without  any  proof,  to  St.  Ultan  ;  the  Fourth  is  probably 
the  work  of  a  monk  called  Animosus,  of  whom  nothing  else 
is  known  ;  the  Fifth  was  written  by  an  Englishman,  Laurence 
of  Durham,  in  the  twelfth  century.  The  iSixth,  like  the 
First  Life,  is  a  poetic  work  in  Latin,  which  Colgan  got  from 
Monte  Cassino,  and  which  the  MS.  itself  attributes  to 
Chilien,  or,  perhaps,  more  properly,  Coelan,  a  monk  of  Ini— 
caltra,  or  the  Holy  Island,  in  Lough  Derg,  who  probably' 
flourished  in  the  eighth  century.  We  know  that  many 
monks  from  Holy  Island  went  abroad  in  the  ninth  and  tentii 
centuries  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and,  doubtless,  one  of  them 
carried  this  MS.  with  him  either  to  Bobbio,  or  some  othc 
Benedictine  Monastery,  whence  it  might  easily  find  its  way 
to  Monte  Cassino.  The  prologue  of  the  poem  is  attributed  to 
Donatus,  an  Irish  prelate  in  Tuscany,  during  the  ninth 
century.  This  also  helps  to  explain  how  the  Irish-born 
prelate  would  get  this  volume  from  some  of  his  countrymen 
abroad,  and  also  write  a  prologue  to  this  poetic  life  of  the 
Queen  of  Ireland's  virgin  saints. 

Kildare  is  the  only  religious  establishment  in  Ireland 
which  preserved  down  to  a  comparatively  recent  period  the 
double  line  of  succession,  of  abbot-bishops  and  of  abbesses, 
and  what  is  more,  the  annalists  take  care  to  record  the  names 
of  the  abbesses  as  well  as  of  the  abbots.  This,  no  doubt, 
arose  from  the  fact  that  at  least  in  public  estimation  the 
lad}'- abbesses  of  Kildare  enjoyed  a  kind  of  primacy  over  all 
the  nuns  in  Ireland,  and,  moreover,  were  in  some  sense 
independent  of  episcopal  jurisdiction,  if,  indeed,  the  Bishops 
of  Kildare  were  not  rather  to  some  extent  dependent  on 
them. 

St.  Conlaeth  was  not  only  a  scholar  and  a  bishop,  but  also 
a  most  cunning  artificer  in  metal  work,  and  made  all  kinds 
of  chalices,  patens,  bells,  and  shrines  for  the  use  of  his 
churches  and  monasteries.  It  appears  to  be  quite  evident,  too, 
that  he  founded  a  school  of  metal  work  and  decora.tive  art  at 
Kildare,  which  was  conducted  with  much  success  under  his 
successors  in  that  see.     In  our  own  times  sacred  art  is  left  to 


138  SCHOOLS  OF  thk  Firm  ckniury. 

take  its  chance ;  little  or  no  official  patronage  is  extended  to 
the  workmen,  and  no  special  care  is  given  to  their  training. 
Not  so  in  ancient  Erin.  The  greatest  attention  was  paid  to 
these  subjects,  and,  as  we  know,  the  arts  of  metallurfi^y,  of 
the  iilumination  of  MSS.,  of  sculpture,  and  of  architectural 
ornamentation  were  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection  under 
the  p.itroiiage  of  distinguished  ecclesiastics. 

The  ancient  buildings  of  Kildare  have,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Round  Tower,  completely  disappeared.  This  is 
al[  the  more  to  be  regretted,  when  we  see  the  beautiful  orna- 
mental door-way  of  the  Round  Tower,  a  class  of  buildings  in 
which  ornamentation  of  any  kind  is  rarely  met  with.  Even 
in  the  time  of  Giraldus  Cambrensis  it  was  a  venerable  build- 
ing, and  he  tells  a  story  of  a  falcon  that  used  to  nestle  in  its 
summit  all  alone,  admitting  no  mate,  and  was  on  quite 
familiar  terms  with  the  monks  and  citizens,  for  it  was  called 
St,  Brigid's  bird.  This  beautiful  tower,  the  tallest;  in  Ireland, 
is  136  feet  7  inches  in  height,  and  still  pointing  heavenward, 
as  of  old,  marks  out  for  every  stranger  who  travels  by  the 
Greiit  Southern  Line,  the  sacred  city  of  St.  Brigid,  in  the 
great  plain  of  the  Liffey. 

'Notwithstanding  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  we  find  the 
obits  of  many  of  the  Professors  of  the  School  of  Kildare 
recorded  in  the  Annals.  We  find  also  reference  made  to  the 
Chief  Professor  of  Kildare,  Cosgrach,  who  died  a.d.  1041; 
and  Cobthac,  another  professor  of  Kildare,  who  died  in 
AD.  1069,  was  celebrated  for  ''his  universal  knowledge  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline."  In  a.d.  1110,  died  I^erdomhach, 
the  Blind  Professor  of  Kildare,  who  was  eminently  skilled  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  In  a.d.  1135  Diarmaid  Mac  Murrogh, 
who  had  even  then  begun  his  career  of  violence  and  crime, 
''  forcibly  carried  away  the  Abbess  of  Kildare  from  her 
cloister,  and  compelled  her  to  marry  one  of  his  own  people." 
Next  year  Diarmaid  O'Brian  and  his  brothers  plundered  and 
burned  the  town.  Yet  the  holy  line  of  Brigid's  successors 
w;is  still  carried  on — there  was  a  Comorbana  of  Brigid  who 
died  in  a.d.  1171.  But  in  a.d.  1220  Henry  de  Loundres  put 
out  the  fire  of  St.  Brigid,  called  the  inextinguishable,  which 
hud  been  preserved  burnin-j:  by  the  nuns  of  St.  Brigid,  in  all 
])robability  from  the  time  of  the  foundress  herself.  It  was 
lit  again  by  order  of  the  Bishop  of  Kildare,  and  continued  to 
burn  in  spite  of  all  the  troubles  of  the  limes  down  to  the 
total  suppr^^ssion  of  tlie  monasteries  by  Queen  Elizabetlu 

We  iindno  saiisCautory  nccount  of  the  origin  and  purpose 
of  this  perpefunl   lire    of  Kildare.       Di'    Loundres   thought, 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  KILDARE.  1?.9 

peiTiapc,  there  was  fcometliiiig  eavourlng  of  paganism  or 
superstition  about  it,  or  he  would  hardly  undertake  the  risk 
and  odium  of  having  it  extinguished.  His  conduct  would  be 
still  more  inexplicable  if  this  fire  were  kept  always  burning 
in  the  guest  house,  as  some  think,  for  the  comfort  of 
benighted  travellers.  But  English  prelates  have  never  been 
discerning  judges  of  Irish  usages,  and  we  are  not  bound  to 
set  much  store  on  the  soundness  of  the  Norman  bishop's 
judgment  in  this  instance.  They  came  ovei'  to  reform,  as 
well  as  to  conquer;  and  if  abuses  did  not  exist,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  appearance  sake  to  assume  their  existence.  Can  it 
be  that  the  Kildare  nuns  anticipated  the  general  and  now 
obligatory  rule  of  keeping  a  perpetual  lamp  before  the  Blessed 
Sacrament?  Or  was  it  a  sacred  fire  that  was  kept  always 
burning  before  the  tomb  of  their  holy  foundress?  "The 
'early  Christians,  as  well  as  the  Jews  and  pagans,  were  accus- 
tomed to  place  lamps  in  the  company  of  the  dead,''^  great 
numbers  of  which  have  been  found  in  the  catacombs  and 
elsewhere.  Many  of  them,  too,  are  beautifulh^  wrought  in 
various  material,  and  bear  characteristic  Christian  symbols. 
In  all  probability  the  perpetual  fire  of  Kildaie  was  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  lamps  lit  before  the  shrines  of  its 
holy  founders.  Many  accidents  might  lead  to  the  lamp  itself 
being  extinguished,  but  the  sacred  fire,  night  and  day,  under 
the  sedulous  care  of  St.  Brigid's  daughters,  might  be  cherished 
'through  long  ages  of  darkness  and  storm,'  if  not  extinguished 
by  the  Danes  or  reformers  like  Henry  de  Loundres. 

Gerald  Barry  also  tells  us  another  fact  which  shows  to 
what  a  degree  of  perfection  the  art  of  illumination  was 
carried  in  the  monastic  schools  of  Kildare.  Nothing,  he  says, 
that  he  saw  at  Kildare  appeared  to  him  more  admirable  than 
the  wondrous  book,  which  as  report  goes,  was  written  from 
the  dictation  of  an  angel  in  the  time  of  the  holy  virgin  her- 
self. It  was  a  manuscript  of  the  Four  Evangelists,  according 
to  St.  Jerome's  version,  but  every  page  was  illuminated  with 
various  figures,  delineated  with  the  utmost  distinctness  in 
every  variety  of  colouring.  The  symbolical  figures  of  the 
F.vangelists  themselves  were  wrought  with  extraordinary 
j=ubtilty  and  grace,  and  all  the  other  drawings  and  figures 
likewise  were  so  delicate,  and  subtile,  so  close  and  so  narrovv^ 
so  knotted  and  interwined  together,  yet  every  most  intricate 
line  and  point  and  knot  so  vivid,  as  if  with  quite  recent 
colours,  that  one  would  think  it  all  was  the  work  of  angelic, 

^Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities — 'Lamps.' 


140  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

and  not  of  mere  human  skill.  The  more  carefully  he  looked 
\it  it,  the  more  he  was  astonished,  ond  the  more  things  lie  saw 
worthy  of  admiration. 

Gerald  Barry's  description  of  this  fiunous  Evangelis- 
tarium,  which  unfortunately  appears  to  have  perished,  will 
not  appear  exaggerated  to  any  person  who  has  ever  seen  the 
Book  of  Kells.  They  were  both  written  about  the  same 
period,  and  illuniinuted  by  equally  skilled  hands ;  still  it  is 
greatly  to  be  regretted  that  this  wondrous  Book  of  Kildare^^ 
which  won  such  a  eulogy  from  the  fastidious  Welshman,  is 
no  longer  amono^st  the  extant  literary  treasures  of  Ireland. 

It  is  not  unlikely  thiit  the  great  manuscript  known  as  the 
Book  of  Leinster,  was  originall}'  compiled  and  preserved  in 
Kildare  ;  or  perhaps,  more  accurately  speaking,  it  was  copied 
from  originals  that  were  compiled  and  preserved  at  Kildare. 
The  work  of  copying  in  great  part  was  certainly  executed  by* 
Finn  Mac  Gorman,  who  was  Bishcp  of  Kildare  from 
A.D.  1148  to  1160,  when  his  death  is  recorded.  He  was 
evidently  a  man  of  much  learning,  nnd  an  entry  in  his  own 
hand  testifies  that  he  wrote  the  work  for  Hugh  Mac  Crini- 
thann,  tutor  of  Diarmaid  Mac  Muirogh,  King  of  Leinster. 
The  work  was  no  doubt  written  bv  O'Gorman  before 
A.D.  1148,  when  he  became  Bishop  of  Kildare  The  manu- 
script at  present  consists  of  177  loose  leaves  of  vellum,  which 
are  preserved  in  Trinity  College,  and  seven  additional  leaves 
of  the  same  original,  which  belong  to  the  Franciscans  of  the 
Irish  Province.  No  doubt  the  entire  work  belonged  to  them 
originally,  but  was  taken  from  them  by  force  or  fraud,  and 
thus  found  its  way  to  Trinity  College.  Its  contents  are  of  an 
exceedingly  various  and  interesting  character — heroic  tales 
nnd  poems,  genealogies,  calendars  of  saints,  and  various  tracts 
used  in  the  Irish  monastic  schools,  dealing  with  both  sacred 
and  profane  learning. 


1  Dr.  Todd  was  of  opinion  that  the  manuscript  described  by  Gerald 
Barry  must  have  been  the  Book  of  Kdls,  which  might  have  been  removed 
at  that  time  to  Kildare  for  safe  custody.  But  there  is  no  historical 
foundation  for  this  conjecture. 


CHAPTER     YII. 

MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH 

CENTURY. 


*'  The  chapel  where  no  organ's  peal 
Invests  the  stern  and  naked  prayer  ! — 
"With  penitential  cries  they  kneel 
And  wrestle ;  rising  then  with  bare 
And  white  uplifted  faces  stand, 
Passing  the  Host  from  hand  to  hand." 


-Arnold. 


I. — The  School  of  Noendrum. 


There  were  a  few  other  early  monastic  schools  founded  during 
the  lifetime  of  St.  Patrick  to  which  reference  must  be  made  her*^, 
before  we  pass  to  the  more  celebrated  schools  of  the  sixth 
century.  Although  St.  Patrick  could  not  attend  in  person 
to  the  government  and  organization  of  these  seminaries ,  he 
gave  every  encouragement  to  his  disciples  in  carrying  on  that 
necessary  and  excellent  work.  It  was  specially  for  this  pur- 
pose, as  we  have  already  seen,  that  he  placed  St.  Benignus 
over  his  own  school  at  Armagh.  With  the  same  purpose  in 
view,  he  chose  the  youthful  Mochae,  or  Mochay,  of  Noen- 
drum first  to  be  his  own  disciple,  and  afterwards  to  be  the 
guide  and  teacher  of  others  in  their  preparation  for  the  sacred 
ministry. 

Mochae  was  one  of  St.  Patrick's  earliest  converts  in  Ire- 
land. Like  St.  Benignus,  he  seems  to  have  been  a  mere  boy, 
when  he  first  believed  and  was  baptized,  before  St.  Patrick 
had  yet  met  King  Laeghaire  on  the  royal  Hill  of  Tara. 

It  is  thus  narrated  in  the  Tripartite : — *'  Now  whilst 
Patrick  was  going  on  his  journey  from  Sdul^(near  Down- 
patrick)  he  saw  a  tender  youth  herding  swine.  Mochae  was  his 
name.  Patrick  preached  to  him  and  baptized  him  and  ton- 
sured him,  and  gave  him  a  Gospel  and  Mass-chalice.  And  he 
gave  him  also  later  on  a  crozier,  that  had  been  bestowed  on 
them  by  God,  to  wit,  it  fell  from  heaven  with  its  head  in 
Patrick's  bosom,  and  its  foot  in  Mochae's  bosom,  and  this  is 
the  Etech  of  Mochae  of  Noendrum.  And  Mochae  promised 
a  shaven  pig  every  year  to  Patrick  (that  is,  to  his  Church), 
and  this  is  still  offered."  ^ 


^  TTipartite,  p.   40. 


142       MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURA. 

This  is  a  very  interesting  passage,  and  points  to  Patrick's 
mode  of  procedure,  when  he  foimd  a  youth  suitable  for  the 
ecclesiastical  state.  This  boy  was,  we  are  told/  the  son  of 
Bronach,  daughter  of  Milchu,  with  whom  Patrick  himself 
aad  spent  the  years  of  his  own  captivity  at  tlie  same  occupa- 
tion— herding  swine.  Patrick  had  been  probably  acquainted 
with  tlie  mother  of  this  youth  ;  he  remembered  his  own  boy- 
hood, which  he  spent  in  the  midst  of  many  sorrows  and  much 
hi  boar  on  the  barren  slopes  of  Slemish  ;  so  his  heart  was 
touched,  and  lie  preached  the  new  Gospel  of  peace  and  love 
to  this  grandson  of  the  master  who  had  held  him  so  long  in 
bondage.  The  boy's  heart,  too,  was  touched  by  grace — he 
believed,  was  baptized,  and  tonsured.  The  tonsuring,  if  it 
took  place  then,  could  only  mean  that  Patrick  destined  the 
youth  for  the  sacred  ministry.  We  are  also  told  that  he 
gave  him  a  copy  of  the  Gospels,  doubtless  when  he  had 
learned  to  read  a  little  Latin,  and  a  menister,  which  Stokes 
strangely  translates  *  credence- table,'  but  which  is  manifestly 
a  loan-word  from  the  Latin  ininisterium^  and  signifies  the 
chalice  and  paten  necessary  for  offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of 
the  Mass.  Later  on  this  youth  became  a  bishop,  he  was  con- 
secrated by  Patrick  himself,  and  Patrick  gave  him  this  crozier 
— a  heavenly  gift — w^hich  came  to  be  known  from  that  cir- 
cumstance as  the  EtecJi,  or  flying  crozier  of  Mochae  of 
Noendrum. 

This  name  is  simply  Oendrum  with  the  article  prefixed, 
and  the  island  in  which  Mochae  founded  his  monastery  and 
school  was  so  called  because  it  was  formed  as  it  were  of  a 
sino:le  hill  or  risin^:  ground — oen-druhn — the  one-rid fjed 
island.  It  is  now  corrupted  into  Mahee  Island  from  the  name 
of  its  holy  founder,  which  still  survives  in  the  mouth  ot*  the 
*  stranger '  though  its  origin  is  quite  forgotten.  The  island 
contains  about  170  acres  of  land,  and  is  situated  not  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  western  shore  of  Strang- 
ford  Lough,  anciently  known  as  Lough  Caan.  The  saint 
built  his  monastery  and  church  on  the  very  summit  of  the 
ridge,  which  rises  to  about  the  height  of  sixty  feet,  and  com- 
mands a  fine  view  of  the  far-reaching  inland  sea,  whose 
western  marge  especiall}^  is  studded  with  pleasant  islets  and 
bordered  by  many  a  grassy  down  and  fertile  field,  rich,  when 
we  saw  them,  with  the  promise  of  abundant  harvests.     The 

*  O'Clery's  Mariyrohxjy. 

*  Du  Cange.  See  J)r.  M'Carthy'a  able  Paper  in  the  Proceedings  of  th$ 
R.I.  A.,  May,  1889.  In  the  Tripartite  (Stokes,  p.  2t)l),  mennter  i^eeiiia  to 
mean  the  paten,  and  mias  ((juasi  mensa)  the  altar-table. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  NOENDPTTM.  143 

original  edifice  was,  as  we  gather  from  a  story  in  tlie  saint's 
life,  constructed  of  wood,  which  he  helped  to  hew  down  him- 
self and  carry  on  his  own  shoulders.  The  later  buildings, 
however,  were  of  stone,  and  the  church — for  many  centuries 
a  cathedral  church — was  58  feet  long  by  22  wide.  Only  its 
foundations  can  now  be  traced  ;  but  the  castle  on  the  summit 
of  the  hill,  and  the  outer  concentric  earthworks  that  were 
thrown  up  to  protect  it,  can  still  be  seen.  During  the 
Danish  incursions  it  suffered  much,  and  a  small  round  tower 
was  built  as  usual  near  the  church's  western  door  to  afford  an 
asylum  to  the  monks.     A  small  portion  of  it  still  remains. 

Mochae  was  about  the  same  age  as  Benignus,  and  it  is 
not  improbable  that  he  founded  his  island  monastery  quite  as 
early  as  St.  Patrick  founded  the  See  of  Armagh.  Patronised 
as  it  doubtless  was  by  St.  Patrick,  and  presided  over  by  one 
of  his  earliest  disciples,  Noendrum  soon  became  a  celebrated 
centre  of  sanctity  and  learning.  Two  very  remarkable  men 
received  their  education  there — St.  Colman  of  Dromore  and 
St.  Finnian  of  Moville.  Of  the  latter  we  shall  speak  later  on 
when  we  come  to  give  an  account  of  his  own  celebrated  school 
at  the  head  of  Lough  Cuan.  The  life  of  Colman,  however, 
furnishes  us  with  some  interesting  particulars  concerning 
Noendrum  and  its  monastic  school. 

Colman,  like  Mochae,  was  a  native  of  the  territory  of 
Dalaradia,  and  in  his  youth  was  sent,  we  are  told,  by  his 
parents  to  the  blessed  Caylan,  otherwise  called  Mochae,  the 
Abbot  of  Noendrum,  that  he  might  be  trained  in  learning 
and  virtue.  The  young  man  made  great  progress  in  his 
studies,  and  still  more  in  the  practice  of  all  virtue,  so  that 
once  when  he  had  got  his  lesson  by  heart,  and  asked  theholv 
abbot  what  he  was  to  do  next,  the  abbot  replied  :  "  Break  up 
that  rock  which  is  in  the  way  of  the  brethren  when  going  to 
matins."  Matins  were  recited  before  day  dawned,  and  no 
doubt  the  rock,  was  an  obstacle  in  the  darkness  to  the  bre- 
thren when  going  from  their  cells  to  the  church.  Obedience 
is  the  first  virtue  of  a  monk,  so  Colman  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross  over  the  rock,  and  forthwith  it  split  up  m  pieces. 
"  Now,  cast  them  into  the  sea,"  said  the  abbot,  and  Colman 
did  so  with  the  help  of  God's  angels  ;  and  lo  !  the  fragments 
were  again  united  together  into  the  great  stone  on  the  sea- 
shore before  the  monastery,  which  is  still  called  Colman's 
Rock. 

From  Noendrum  Colman  went  to  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly,  to 
study  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  St.  Ailbe,  as  we  shall  see 
presently,  had   even  at  this  early  period  founded  a  great 


144        MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURT. 

8».;hool  at  Emly,  and  having  himself  been  trained  abroad, 
when  he  came  home,  he  gave  his  newly  converted  country- 
men the  benefit  of  his  learning.  Colman,  after  his  return 
from  the  South,  again  paid  a  visit  to  his  old  preceptor,  St. 
Caylan,  or  Mochae  of  Noendrum,  which  shows  that  the  latter 
must  have  been  alive  at  the  close  of  the  fifth  century. 

Very  friendly  relations  existed  between  Noendrum  and 
Candida  Casa  in  Galloway,  which  was  founded  by  St.  Ninian 
about  the  year  a.d.  398.  Ninian  himself  is  said  to  have 
visited  St.  Caylan  at  Noendrum;  and  as  it  is  highly  probable 
that  Ninian  lived  until  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century ,Hhis 
is  by  no  means  impossible.  Other  writers  have  sought  to 
identify  St.  Ninian  of  Candida  Casa  with  Nennio,  or  Mo- 
nennio,  who  is  said  to  have  founded  a  church  at  Cluain- 
Conaire  in  Hy  Faclain — now  Cloncurry,  in  the  co.  Kildare. 
There  are,  however,  grrave  chronological  difficulties  against 
this  hypothesis,  to  which  we  shall  refer  hereafter. 

St.  Mochae  was,  like  his  successors  down  to  the  close  of 
the  tenth  century,  both  bishop  and  abbot.  They  appear  to  have 
exercised  episcopal  jurisdiction  in  their  own  neighbourhood. 
The  saint  is  said  to  have  died  a.d.  496 — that  is  only  three 
years  after  the  death  of  St.  Patrick  himself.  There  was 
another  saint  who  died  a.d.  644,  and  was  called  Mocua,  a 
similarity  which  probably  gave  rise  to  the  strange  story  told 
both  by  ^ugus  and  O'Clery,  that  Mochae  of  Noendrum 
was  enchanted  for  150  years  by  the  song  of  a  black-bird,  so 
that  he  felt  not  the  flight  of  time  nor  the  withering  influence 
of  the  passing  years. 

He  went  with  seven  score  young  men  to  cut  wattles  to 
build  his  church.  He  himself  was  engaged  cutting  timber 
like  the  rest.  He  had  got  his  load  ready  before  the  others, 
and  sat  down  beside  it.  Just  then  he  heard  a  beautiful  bird 
singing  on  the  boughs  of  a  blackthorn  bush  close  at  hand. 
It  was  the  most  beautiful  bird  he  had  ever  seen,  and  speaking 
with  a  human  voice  the  Bird  said  : — ''  This  is  diligent  work 
of  thine,  0  cleric.'*  "  It  is  required,"  replied  Mochae,  **  for 
building  a  church  in  honour  of  God  ;  "  and  then  he  added, 
"Who,  may  I  ask,  is  addressing  me?'*  *' A  man  of  the 
people  of  my  Lord  is  here,"  replied  the  Bird,  '*  that  is,  an 
Angel  of  God  from  heaven."  "All  hail  to  thee,"  said  Mochae, 
"and  why  hast  thou  come  hither?"  "To  speak  to  thee 
from  thy  Lord,  and  amuse  thee  for  a  while."  "  I  like  it," 
said  Mochae.  Then  Mochae  remained  for  three  hundred 
years  listening  to  that  Bird,  having  his  load  of  wood  by  his 
side,  and  the  wood   was  not  withered,  and  his  flesh  decayed 

'  It  hnn  bi^on  Hiiid  that  Niniau  died  a.d.  432;  but  an  Skoue  obMrvM^ 
without  any  authority.     iSee  Cuitie  Scotland,  vol.  ii.,  p.  4. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  I  OUTH ST.  MOCHTA. 


145 


not,  and  the  time  did  not  seem  lons^er  than  one  single  hour 
of  the  day.  At  length  God's  Angel  bade  him  farewell,  and 
Mochae  returned  home  with  his  load,  and  he  found  his  cliurcli 
built,  and  he  saw  only  strange  faces,  for  all  his  friends  and 
acquaintances  had  long  been  dead.  But  when  he  told  them 
his  strange  story,  they  believed  it,  and  knelt  before  him  to 
do  him  honour,  and  built  a  shrine  on  the  spot  where  he  had 
seen  Q-od*s  Angel,  and  heard  the  heavenly  song.  -3Engus 
says  the  Bird  sang  three  songs  only,  but  each  lasted  fifty 
years,  so  that  the  three  hundred  given  in  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal  was  probably  by  a  mistake  in  the  figures  put  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  If  one  Angel's  song  can  be  so  sweet  and 
so  beguiling,  what  a  joy  to  listen  to  the  chorus  of  all  the 
heavenly  choirs ! 

We  have  seen  that  St.  Colman  of  Dromore  went  from  the 
School  of  Noendrum  to  be  instructed  by  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly 
in  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  It  is  stated  also  in  the  Life  of  St 
Ibar  of  Beg  Erin,  that  his  first  instructor  in  the  Sacred 
Sciences  was  Saint  Motta,  who  if  he  be  not  St.  Mochta  of 
Louth,  must  have  been  St.  Mochae  of  Noendrum.  This  is 
all  the  more  likely,  as  we  know  that  St.  Ibar  was  himself  a 
native  of  Dalaradia,  and  doubtless  received  his  early  training 
from  the  oldest  Christian  teachers  of  his  native  territor}^ 
This  brings  us  to  give  a  sketch  of  the  history  and  of  the 
schools  of  these  three  distinguished  saints — Mochta  of  Louth, 
Ailbe  of  Emly,  and  Ibar  of  Beg  Erin — all  of  whom  cer- 
tainly founded  their  monastic  schools  during  the  second 
half  of  the  fifth  century.  We  shall  begin  with  Mochta, 
or  Mochteus,  whose  history  is  in  some  respects  very  in- 
teresting. 

11. — The  School  of  Louth — St.  Mochta. 

St.  Mochta,  or  Mochteus,  the  founder  of  the  School  of 
Louth,  was  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick  and  a  Briton  by  birth. 
Adamnan  describes  him  as  a  British  immigrant,  a  disciple  of 
St.  Patrick,  and  a  very  holy  man.^  He  was  accompanied  to 
Ireland  by  twelve  disciples,  and  preached  the  Gospel  chiefly 
in  the  county  Louth.  The  Annals  of  Ulster,  a.d.  534,  give 
the  beginning  of  one  of  his  letters  in  which  he  describes 
himself  in  his  humility  as  "Mochta  the  sinful  priest,  a 
disciple  of  St.  Patrick."  His  Life  is  given  in  the  recently 
published  Salamanca  J^IS.,  from  which  Colgan  extracted  it  to 
publish  under  date  of  the  24th  of  March. 

'  " Prosel;p-tus  Brito,  homo  «^^}'*^"s,  S.  Patricii  discipulus. " 

Seeunda  Fraefatio,  p.  6^ 


140        TlUSFl   MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

From  this  Life  we  learn  that  Mochta  was  boru  in  Britain, 
and  that  whilst  still  a  child  he  was  brought  with  his  parents 
to  Ireland  by  a  certain  magus,  or  Druid,  called  Hoam.  The 
Druid  took  up  his  abode  in  the  territory  of  Hy  Conail,  that 
is  in  the  County  Louth,  and  there  the  yo^ng  Mochta  was 
brought  up  in  the  Druid's  house  as  a  member  of  his  family. 
One  day  an  Angel  brought  waxen  tablets  to  the  boy,  from 
which  he  learned  his  letters  ,  and  then  commanded  him  to 
go  to  Rome  to  study  Sacred  Scripture.  The  boy  obeyed, 
and  went  his  way  to  Peter's  City,  where  he  made  so  much 
progress  m  learning  and  holiness  that  he  was  consecrated  a 
bishop  by  the  Pope,  and  man}'  disciples  placed  thomsclves 
under  his  guidance. 

By  command  of  tlie  Pope  he  then  returned  home  accom- 
panied by  twelve  disciples,  one  of  whom,  Edanus,  in  Irish 
Aedhan,  seems  to  have  been  his  favourite  disciple,  and 
succeeded  the  Saint  in  the  first  church  wliich  he  founded  in 
Ireland.  This  church  is  called  in  the  Latin  life  Cella  magna, 
or  Kill-mor,  and  is  said  to  have  been  built  in  iiemoribus 
Metheorum — in  the  woods  of  Hy  Meith.  This  was  the 
territory  called  in  Irish  Hy  Meith,  and  Hy  Meith  Macha, 
and  the  Church  itself  is  identified  by  Colgan  as  Cill-Mor- 
Aedhan  in  Hy  Meith  Macha.  It  is  referred  to  in  the 
MaHyrology  of  Donegal  as  the  Church  of  Aedhan,  son  of 
Aenghus,  who  was  doubtless  the  disciple  of  the  Saint. 

The  graveyard  of  Kilmore  is  still  made  use  of ;  it  is  about 
four  miles  south  of  the  town  of  Monaghan,  in  the  barony  of 
Monaghan,  which  corresponds  with  the  ancient  territory  of 
Hy  Meith  Macha. ^ 

It  seems  the  people  of  this  district  compelled  the  Saint  to 
depart  from  amongst  them;  and  so  leaving  his  monastery  of 
Kilmore  to  his  disciple,  he  betook  himself  to  Louth,  which 
was  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Druids,  or  magi,  according 
to  this  Latin  life.  Here  he  built  his  cell  and  his  oratory, 
which  was  surrounded  by  a  cemetery,  to  be  the  last  resting 
place  of  the  brethren  and  the  place  of  their  resurrection. 

We  are  told  in  the  Life  of  St.  Patrick  that  when  he 
contemplated  founding  his  own  great  Church  in  that  '*  sweet 
and  floAvery  sward  "  of  Louth — a  beauteous  meadow  land, 
blooming  with  all  the  fairest  promise  of  the  year — ^an  angel 
told  him  to  go  northward  to  Ard-^lacha  ;  that  Tjouth  was 
destined  by  God  for  a  pilgrim  from  tho^Britona,  who  should 
one  day  build  therein  a  monastery  which  would  afterwards 
pass  under  the  dominion  of  Patrick's  successors  ;  and  so  in 
truth  it  came  to  pass. 

'  b'our  AJunieis,    a  V,    1)22. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LOUTH ST.  MOCHTA.  147 

Here  then  in  the  flowery  m.'  ads  of  Louth  beside  a  limpid 
stream,  which  was  said  to  have  ioUowed  tlie  saint  from 
Kilmore,^  he  built  his  cell.  In  a  very  short  time  the  odour 
of  his  virtues  was  difi'used  over  all  the  land ;  and  monks 
gathered  round  in  swarms  like  bees  in  summer  to  place 
themselves  under  the  direction  of  one  so  eminent  for  his 
learning  and  virtues,  so  that  he  reckoned  amongst  his 
"lisciples  before  his  death  no  less  than  100  bishops  anav^ 
300  priests.  In  this  way  from  the  parent  hive  at  Louth 
new  swarms  went  forth  vearly  to  people  other  schools  and 
monasteries,  and  preach  the  Gospel  all  over  the  land. 

St.  Patrick  himself  in  his  old  age  came  and  spent  some 
time  with  his  beloved  disciple  Mochta  ;  for  it  seems  he  greatly 
loved  the  place,  and  loved  the  man  who,  like  himself,  was  of 
British  blood,  and  like  him  had  come  to  preach  and  dwell 
amongst  the  kindly  Scottic  race. 

Mochta  wished  to  leave  the  place  entirely  to  Patrick, 
because  h(  knew  Patrick  loved  it  much — even  more  than 
Macha's  Height  ;  but  Patrick  told  him  the  word  of  God 
sent  by  the  angel  could  not  be  changed.  But  both  promised 
that  whoever  pre-deceased  the  other,  when  dying  should 
commit  his  religious  family  to  the  charge  of  the  survivor. 
Patrick  died  first,  and  we  are  told  that  for  a  few  days  Mochta 
took  charge  of  Armagh,  but  then  committed  the  burden  to 
another,  that  is,  to  Benignus,  second  of  that  name. 

The  Druid  Hoam  had  a  virgin  daughter,  who  wished  to 
preserve  her  virginity  for  Christ.  Her  father,  however,  gave 
her  in  marriage  ;  but  on  the  same  day  she  was  called  away 
by  her  Heavenly  Spouse,  whilst  the  lily  of  her  chastity  was 
still  inviolate.  Her  parents  then  consented  to  resign  all  claim 
over  her  to  Mochta,  if  he  could  raise  her  again  to  life. 
Mochta  full  of  confidence  in  God  besought  the  Lord,  and  the 
virgin  was  restored  to  life  at  the  prayer  of  the  saint.  For 
thirty  years  afterwards  she  lived,  serving  God  in  perfect 
chastity  as  a  professed  nun,  and  her  time  was  wholly  given 
to  making  vestments  for  the  p-riests  and  altar-cloths  for  the 
altars  at  which  *  they  ofiered  the  sacrifice.'  It  is  said  that 
the  virgin,  like  St.  Brigid,  was  of  wondrous  beauty,  but  it 
was  heavenly  and  awe-inspiring  : — 

"  From  her  eyes 
A  light  went  forth  like  morning  o'er  the  sea. 
Sweeter  her  voice  than  wind  on  harp  ;  her  smile 
Could  stay  men's  breath." 

^Vv'e  believe  this  stream  is  a  tributary  of  the  Fane  river,  which  in  fact 
does  come  from  tho  Coimty  Monaghan  to  Louth. 


148       M(NOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

And  80  the  raaiden  lived  above  the  world  clothed  in  the 
light  of  holiness,  the  first  of  that  bright  choir  from  the  fair 
Ily-Conail  land,  that  gave  themselves  to  Christ  led  on  by 
love  divine. 

Now  this  same  Hoam,  the  Druid,  was  betrothed  to 
another  Christian  raaiden  named  Brigid.  But  he  fell  sick, 
and  the  maiden  ministered  to  him  ;  and  we  are  told  that  by 
her  prayers  and  the  bright  example  of  her  virtues,  the  Druid 
became  a  Christian,  and  a  fervent  penitent.  He  renounced 
all  claim  to  his  bride,  that  he  and  she  might  serve  God  in 
holiness,  and  sickening  shortly  afterwards,  he  died  a  holy 
death,  as  Mochta  had  foretold. 

It  is  highly  probable  tn  it  the  Brigid  here  referred  to  was 
the  great  St.  Brigid  of  Kildare.  We  know  that  she  was 
sought  in  marriage  b}'  many  suitors,  and  that  her  own  master 
was  a  Druid,  who  lived  near  Dundalk,  and  in  this  way  she 
might  easily  have  been  noticed  by  the  Druid  Hoam,  who 
lived  in  the  neighbourhood.  But  his  earthly  passion  was 
elevated  and  purified  by  its  object  into  a  diviner  flame,  that 
brought  him  from  paganism  to  Christianity,  and  from  sin  to 
life  eternal. 

Many  striking  miracles  are  recorded  of  St.  Mochta  of 
Louth,  which  we  cannot  now  recount.  The  extraordinaiy 
length  of  life  attributed  to  him  is  probably  due  to  an  error 
of  the  copyists,  who  wrote  trecenti  (three  hundred),  for 
iriginta  (thirty).  The  statement  in  the  Life  is  that  such  was 
the  self-denial  of  the  man  of  God,  that  for 'thirty' years  he 
never  tasted  flesh,  nor  spoke  an  idle  word  ;  but  the  copyist 
seems  to  have  made  it 'three  hundred*  years.  The  Annals  of 
Ulster  give  his  death  in  the  year  a.d.  534,  others  at  a.d.  536, 
when  he  was  doubtless  a  very  old  man.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  the  last  survivor  of  St.  Patrick's  disciples. 

We  may  infer  from  the  fragment  referred  to  in  the 
Annals  of  Ulster  that  the  saint  was  an  accomplished  scholar 
and  writer.  He  was  the  author  of  a  Rule  for  his  monks,  of 
which,  however,  no  trace  remains.  He  seems  to  have 
been  especially  skilled  in  Sacred  Scripture,  the  knowledge  of 
which  was  the  foundation  of  all  the  theology  known  at  that 
time. 

Besides  the  Rule  for  his  monks,  and  the  Letters  already 
referred  to,  it  seems  that  Mochta  was  also  the  original 
author  of  a  work  called  the  Book  of  the  MonkSy  or  the  Book 
of  Cuana.  It  is  cited  by  the  autlior  of  the  Annals  if  Ulster 
under  date  of  the  year  a.d.  471.  In  the  same  Annals  oj 
Ulster^  A.D.  527,  the  same  work   seems  to  be  referred  to ;  it 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  EMLY — ST.  AILBE.  149 

is  there  called  the  Book  of  Mochod.  It  was  probably  a 
series  of  annals  begun  in  the  monastery  of  Louth  by  St. 
Mochta,  or  Maucteus,  and  afterwards  continued  under  the 
direction  of  the  abbots,  his  successors.  0' Curry  thinks  that 
the  Book  of  Cuana,  quoted  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster ^  was 
written  at  Treoit  (now  Trevit),  in  Meath,  by  a  scribe  of  that 
place  called  Guana,  whose  death  is  recorded  in  the  same 
Annals,  a.d.  738,  after  which  the  book  is  quoted  no  more. 
We  are  rather  inclined  to  think  that  Guana,  or  Guanu,  from 
whom  this  book  gets  its  name,  was  the  person  whose  death 
is  noticed  by  the  Four  Masters  in  a.d.  823,  and  who  is 
described  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster ,  a.d.  824,  as  Guana  of 
Lughmadh,  or  Louth,  "  a  wise  man  and  a  bishop,*'  as  the 
Four  Masters  also  describe  him.  It  seems  highly  probable 
therefore,  that  this  work  was  begun  by  Maucteus  in  Louth, 
that  it  afterwards  was  called  the  Book  of  the  Monks ^  and 
finally  the  Book  of  Cuana,  the  wise  man  and  bishop,  who 
was  probably  its  compiler  in  the  shape  in  which  it  is  quoted 
in  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  first  under  the  year  a.d.  468,  and 
for  the  last  time  under  date  a.d.  610. 

The  death  of  this  distinguished  bisbop  and  scholar,  "who 
was  a  man  of  uncommon  erudition,  and  as  a  doctor  was 
universally  esteemed,*'  marks  the  period  at  which  the  School 
of  Louth  reached  the  zenith  of  its  fame.  It  were  bootless  to 
tell  how  it  was  again  and  again  burned  and  pillaged  by  the 
Danes,  who  during  the  tenth  century  seem  to  have  taken 
permanent  possession  of  the  monastery,  although  a  round 
tower  had  been  built  to  protect  it,  which  was  blown  down  in 
a.d.  981.  The  Celtic  princes  during  the  eleventh  centuiy 
frequently  imitated  the  bad  example  of  the  Danes,  for  we  are 
told  that  in  a.d.  1043  one  of  the  O'Horkes  organized  a 
plundering  expedition,  or  a  hosting,  as  they  loved  to  call  it, 
against  the  monasteries  of  Louth  and  Dromiskin. 

Yet  the  torch  of  learning  still  flickered  on  in  Louth 
during  the  disastrous  eleventh  century,  for  the  death  of 
Molassius,  lector  of  Louth,  is  recorded  in  a.d  1047.  It  was 
totally  destroyed  in  a.d.  1148,  and  although  subsequently 
rebuilt,  its  fame  as  a  school  was  eclipsed  by  other  institutions 
during  the  twelfth  century.  But  the  monastery  itself  lived 
on  down  to  the  genera]  suppression,  and  was  largely  endowed 
by  successive  generations  of  benefactors. 

III. — The  School  of  Emly — St.  Ailbe. 

When  St.  Colman  left  Noendrum,  he  went  to  study 
Scripture  under  St,  Ailbe  of  Emly,  and  after  his  return  he 


15l>       MtVOK   MONASTIC  SCHOOl.S  OF    IHK  FIFIH  CENTURT. 

paid  a  visit  to  St.  Caylan,  or  Moclitu,  who  was  tliereibre  still 
alive.  His  deith  is  given  as  occurring  in  the  last  years  of 
the  fifth  cenrury  ;  and  hence  the  School  of  St.  Ailbe  must 
have  been  ibunded  some  years  previously. 

This,  tiowever,  raises  another  very  interesting  question  as 
to  the  existence  of  pre-Patrician  bishops  in  Ir.  lanl,  that  i-^, 
prelates  who,  although  themselves  contemporaries  of  St. 
Patrick,  derived  their  orders  and  jurisdiction  fiom  another 
source.  We  cannot  enter  into  a  lengthened  discussion 
of  this  question ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  not  pass  it 
over  when  treating  of  the  monastic  schools  of  the  fifth 
century. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  there  were  many 
Christians  in  Ireland  when  St.  Patrick  first  landed  on  our 
shores.  He  was  neither  the  first  nor  the  only  Christian 
captive  carried  to  Erin  ;  and  as  we  have  already  seen,  frequent 
intercourse,  whether  friendly  or  hostile,  did  exist  before 
St.  Patrick's  time  between  the  Britons  and  the  Celts  of 
Ireland.  The  existence  of  Christians  in  Erin  is  in  any  case 
conclusively  proved  from  the  statement  in  St.  Prosper's 
Chronicle,  that  Palladius  was  sent  by  Pope  Celestine  to 
preach  to  the  Scots,  who  believed  in  Christ.^  To  explain  this 
definite  statement  as  if  it  merely  meant  that  he  was  sent  to 
convert  them  to  Christ,  is  to  do  violence  to  the  language. 
The  words  clearly  imply  that  the  primary  object  of  this 
mission  was  to  gather  into  regular  Christian  communities  the 
believers  scattered  throughout  the  island,  to  organize  the 
Irish  Church,  and  of  course  to  labour  also  for  the  conversion 
of  unbelievers.  His  mission  was  only  very  partially  success- 
ful. He  met  with  so  much  opposition  in  Leinster,  that 
although  he  founded  a  few  churches,  his  labours  did  not 
extend  beyond  that  province,  and  after  a  short  time  he 
abandoned  his  Irish  mission  in  despair. 

We  are  told,  too,  in  the  ancient  Tripartite  Life  of 
St.  Patrick,  that  after  crossing  the  Shannon  near  Battle 
Bridge,  at  a  place  then  called  Dumha  Graidh — now  Doogary 
— Patrick  ordained  his  disciple  St.  Adbe,  to  minister  for  the 
sons  of  Ailioll  in  ihat  district,  since  called  Shancoe,  in  the 
Barony  of  Tirerrill;  and  he  showed  mm  "a  cave  in  the 
mountain  nnd  within  it  a  wonderful  stone  altar,  and  on  it 
were  tour  chalices  of  glass."  Such  chalices  were  undoubtedly 
sometimes  used  in  the  early  Church.       Mention  is  also  niado 

^  Ad  iSc.utoH  ill  ChriHtum  orednutoa  ordiuiitus  a  Fapa  Ciieleiitiiioi*iidludiuM 
primui  episoopus  iiut>/''^«iir. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  EMLY— -^f.  AlLBE.  lol 

of  this  wonderful  stone  altar  in  the  Book  of  Armagh,  so  that 
the  story  is  beyond  doubt  authentic,  and  shows  that  before 
St,  Patrick's  advent  into  Connaught  there  were  Christians 
already  there,  and  in  a  remote  district,  too,  who  had  worshipped 
God  in  secret,  like  the  early  Christians  of  the  Catacombs. 
Indeed,  it  would  be  a  very  extraordinary  thing  if  there  were 
no  Christians  to  be  found  in  Ireland  before  St.  Patrick, 
seeing  the  frequent  intercourse,  sometimes  friendly  and 
sometimes  hostile,  that  existed  between  the  eastern  coasts  of 
Ireland  and  the  western  coasts  of  England. 

But  the  question  then  arises,  were  there  any  prelates  in 
Ireland  exercising  jurisdiction  before  the  arrival  of  St.  Patrick, 
who  were  not  his  disciples  in  the  ordinary  sense,  and  did  not 
receive  episcopal  consecration  at  his  hands  ?  Such  eminent 
authorities  as  Usher  and  Colgan,  relying  on  the  statements 
made  in  several  ancient  Lives  of  Saints,  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  there  were  at  least  four  bishops  in  Ireland  before  Patrick 
or  Palladius,  namely,  Ailbe  of  Emly,  Ciaran  of  Saigher, 
Declan  of  Ardmore,  and  Ibar  of  Beg-Eri.  On  the  other 
hand,  many  recent  authorities,  led  by  Dr.  Lanigan  and  Dr. 
Todd,  hold  that  there  is  no  foundation  in  our  earliest  docu- 
ments for  these  pre-Patrician  bishops ;  that  the  Lives 
containing  an  account  of  these  prelates  are  forgeries  of  the 
eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  invented  in  the  south  of  Ireland 
for  the  purpose  of  contesting  the  claim  of  Armagh  to  the 
primacy  of  all  Ireland,  and  of  establishing  the  new-fangled 
claims  of  the  Bishop  of  Cashel  to  a  primacy  over  the  Southern 
Province.  It  is  quite  impossible  with  the  evidence  attain- 
able at  present  to  settle  this  question  ;  so  we  shall  only  refer 
to  it  briefly. 

There  is  a  Life  of  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly  in  the  Salamanca 
MS.  recently  published.  It  certainly  abounds  in  marvellous 
anachronisms  as  well  as  in  marvellous  miracles  ;  and  by  itself 
cannot  be  deemed  worthy  of  credit.  From  this  Life  we 
learn  that  Ailbe  was  a  native  of  eastern  Ara  Cliach  (not 
Eliach  as  Dr.  Todd  has  it) ;  that  he  was  the  son  of  01  cu  (in 
the  MS.  Olcnais)  by  a  female  slave  named  Sant,  and  that 
King  Cronan  in  whose  household  he  was  born,  ordered  him 
to  be  exposed  under  a  steep  cliff,  where  he  was  afterwards 
found  alive^  by  a  man  named  Lochan,  who  gave  him  to  a 
family  of  the  Britons  to  be  nurtured.  It  is  a  striking  fact 
that  we  find  Britons  in  eastern  Ara  Cliach  at  this  period, 
and  it  is  conjectured  that  from  them  the  Barony  of  Bally- 

*  Hence  the  name  Ailbe  =  ail-beo^  "living  under  the  rock." 


1  52       MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

brit  takes  its  name.  This  fact  would  also  go  to  explain  how 
the  child  was  reared  a  Christian  at  this  early  period  by  those 
Christian  Britons.  There  Palladius,  when  he  came  to 
Munster,  found  the  boy  and  baptized  him.  But  when  it  is 
said  by  this  writer  not  only  that  Palladius  came  to  Ireland 
man}^  years  before  St.  Patrick,  but  conversed  with  King 
Conor  Mac  Nessa,  who  flourished  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  we  see  how  little  credence  can  be  given  to  his 
statements. 

Afterwards  Ailbe  went  to  Rome,  and  studied  sacred 
Scripture  there  under  the  Bishop  Hilary,  who  sent  him  to 
Pope  Clement,  in  whose  presence  he  was  consecrated  bishop 
by  the  *  ministry  of  angels.*  There  was  a  Pope  Hilary 
who  flourished  from  a.d.  461-467,  but  there  is  no  record 
of  any  Pope  Clement  during  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  in 
Rome. 

We  are  told  that  many  of  his  countrymen  followed  Ailbe 
to  Rome — twelve  Colmans,  twelve  Kevins,  and  twelve 
Fintans — and  lived  with  him  in  community  in  the  holy 
city.  Then  Ailbe  went  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  cities 
of  the  Gentiles,  where  he  wrought  many  miracles,  and  finally 
returned  to  his  native  country,  landing  first  in  the  north  of 
Ireland,  in  which  he  founded  the  Church  of  Cell  Roid  in 
Dalaradia.  Then  we  find  him  in  Magh  Lifie  with  St. 
Brigid,  and  afterwards,  according  to  the  narrative,  he  met 
St.  Patrick  at  the  court  of  ^ngus  Mac  N^adfraich  at  Cashel. 
We  find  him  in  the  plain  of  Magh  Femhin  going  to  salute 
St.  Patrick  in  company  with  Ibar;  and  an  angel  declared, 
when  Ailbe  was  giving  precedence  to  Ibar  as  the  elder,  that 
Ailbe,  and  not  Ibar,  should  go  first.  This  certainly  looks 
like  a  suspicious  attempt  to  procure  a  recognition  of  the 
primacy  for  Ailbe's  See,  which  during  the  twelfth  century 
was  united  to  that  of  Cashel. 

Ailbe  also  preached  the  Gospel  in  Connaught,  and 
wrought  numerous  miracles  there ;  but  he  must  be  dis- 
tinguished from  another  Ailbe,  the  disciple  of  St.  Patrick, 
who  was  ordained  by  that  saint  in  Tirerrill,  and  '*  who  is  in 
Shancoe,"  as  the  Tripartite  informs  us.  Afterwards  an 
angel  brought  Ailbe  to  the  place  of  his  resurrection  in 
Imleach  Jubhair,  or  Emly  of  the  Yew  Tree.  So  this  Life 
of  Ailbe  represents  that  saint  as  consecrated  at  Rome, 
getting  an  independent  mission  from  the  Pope  to  preach  to 
the  Gentiles,  and  while  deferring  to  St.  Patrick's  higher 
authority,  still  duly  constituted  with  the  sanction  of  that 
saint  as  Metropolitan  of  Munster. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  EMLY ST.  AILBE.  153 

The  Life  of  St.  Declan  contains  some  further  particulars 
to  the  same  effect  not  explicitly  stated  in  the  Life  of  Ailbe. 

Declan  was  of  the  Nandesi  race,  who  then  dwelt  in  the 
Barony  of  Decies  in  Waterford — his  father  Ere  being  a 
chieftain  of  that  tribe.  The  boy  was  baptized  by  a  certain 
Colman  and  educated  by  Dimma,  who  was  a  learned  and 
holy  man  that  came  to  Waterford  from  foreign  parts.  By 
his  advice  it  seems  Declan  also  went  to  Bome,  where  he  met 
St.  Ailbe  and  became  a  member  of  his  community.  In 
Italy  he  also  met  St.  Patrick,  and  Usher  says  this  meeting 
took  place  so  early  as  a.d.  402 — thirty  years  before  St. 
Patrick  came  to  Ireland.  Having  been  consecrated  bishop 
in  Bome,  Declan  returned  to  his  native  country  to  preach 
the  Gospel  amongst  his  own  kindred,  and  there  founded  the 
see  of  Ardmore  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  sea.  He 
also  tried  to  convert  ^ngus  of  Cash  el,  but  failing  in  this 
attempt,  he  paid  a  visit  to  St.  David  in  Wales.  Here  is  a 
singular  statement,  which  makes  David  Bishop  of  Menevia 
before  -^ngus  was  converted  by  St.  Patrick — an  event  which 
took  place  nearly  a  hundred  years  before  St.  David's  epis- 
copacy. This  Life  of  Declan  then  describes  how  the  four 
prelates  ordained  abroad  met  St.  Patrick,  and  how  they 
entered  into  a  friendly  arrangement  with  him,  not  however 
without  some  difficulty.  First  of  all  Ciaran,  the  first-born 
of  the  saints  of  Erin,  "  yielded  all  subjection,  and  concord, 
and  supremacy  to  Patrick  both  when  present  and  absent.'* 
Ailbe  also  came  to  Cashel  and  accepted  Patrick  as  his  master 
and  superior^in  presence  of  ^ngus  the  king.  And  this  was 
all  the  more  admirable,  because  the  three  Bishops,  Declan, 
Ciaran  and  Ibar,  had  previously  constituted  Ailbe  as  their 
master  and  metropolitan  ;  and  hence  he  came  to  make  his 
own  submission  to  Patrick  lest  any  of  them  might  resist  him. 
Ibar  was  the  most  reluctant  to  accept  this  arrangement,  for 
being  a  decided  home  ruler  *'  he  was  unwilling  to  receive  a 
patron  of  Ireland  from  any  foreign  nation,"  and  Patrick, 
though  nurtured  in  Ireland,  was  by  birth  a  Briton.  At  first, 
says  the  Life,  there  were  conflicts  between  them — that 
is  Patrick  and  Ibar — but  afterwards  at  the  persuasion  of 
an  angel,  they  made  peace,  and  concord,  and  fraternity 
together. 

If  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  had  their  «wn  little  disputes,  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  that  Celtic  saints  should  sometimes 
differ  amongst  themselves.  In  the  same  spirit  Declan,  who 
at  first  was  unwilling  to  submit  to  Patrick,  as  he  himself 
also  had  the  apostolic  dignity,  yet  when  admonished  by  an 


154       MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

angel,  crossed  Slieve  Gua,  aud  came  to  Patrick  to  profess  his 
obedience  and  submission. 

'*  Thereupon  Patrick  and  King  ^ngus,  with  all  the  people, 
ordained  that  the  Archbishopric  of  Munster  should  be  in  the 
city  and  see  of  Saint  Ailbe,  who  was  then  by  them  ordain Cil 
archbishop  for  ever  ;"  and  Declan  was  formally  authorized  to 
take  spiritual  charge  of  the  Desii,  and  became  also  their 
patron  for  ever.  It  is  singular  that  no  mention  is  made  of 
Ciaran  and  Ibar  as  assenting  to  this  arrangement,  although 
it  was  previously  stated  that  they  also  ''  came  to  an  arrange- 
ment with  Patrick." 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  entire  narrative,  which  is 
mainly  taken  from  the  Life  of  St.  Declan,  is  exceedingly 
suspicious,  and  hence  it  is  worth  while  to  point  out  the  argu- 
ments in  favour  of  the  possibility  of  its  truth,  and  also  the 
great  difficulties  against  it. 

There  is  one  very  significant  reference  to  Ibar  and  Ailbe 
in  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick^  which,  notwithstanding 
the  arguments  of  Dr.  W.  Stokes,  we  believe  to  have  been  written 
originally  by  St.  Evin  in  the  seventh  century.  It  is  this : 
when  Patrick  came  to  Cullen  in  the  present  barony  of  Coo- 
nagh,  Co.  Limerick,  the  Tripartite  tells  us  that  he  ordered  a 
Culdee  of  his  household  to  resuscitate  a  child  that  hadbeenhalf- 
devoured  by  a  pig.  *'  His  faith  failed  him,  however,  and  he 
said  he  would  not  tempt  the  Lord.  Then  Patrick  ordered 
Bishops  Ibar  and  Ailbe  to  bring  the  boy  to  life,  and  he  be- 
sought the  Lord  along  with  them,  and  the  boy  was  brought  to 
life  through  Patrick's  prayer." 

"  The  Apostle  turned 
To  Ibar,  and  to  Ailbe,  bishops  twain, 
And  bade  them  raise  the  child.     They  heard  and  knelt ; 
And  Patrick  knelt  between  them  :  and  these  three 
Upheaved  a  mighty  strength  of  prayer  ;  and  lo  ! 
All  pale,  yet  shining,  rose  the  child,  and  sat, 
Lifting  small  hands,  and  to  the  people  preached. 
And  straightway  they  believed,  and  were  baptized." 

This  passage  represents  St.  Patrick  as  meeting  these  two 
Bishops  in  Munster,  of  whom  there  was  previously  heard 
nothing,  and  so  far  seems  to  confirm  the  statement  in  the 
Lives  of  these  Saints  that  they  were  consecrated  abroad,  and 
not  by  St.  Patrick.  «• 

Again,  why  should  there  not  be  bishops  in  Ireland  before 
St.  Patrick  as  well  as  priests  and  laymen  i^  In  his  Con- 
fession, which  has  been  always  regartUid  as  au  authentic 
document,  St.  Patrick  himself  says  : — '*  For  your  sake  I  faced 


8T.  IBAU.  155 

many  dangers,  going  even  to  the  limits  of  the  land  wliere  no 
one  was  before  me,  and  whither  no  one  had  yet  come  to  bap- 
tize, or  ordain  clerics,  or  confirm  the  faithful.'^  This  certainly 
seems  to  imply  that  in  the  less  remote  parts  of  the  country 
there  may  have  been  priests,  or  even  bishops,  who  did  per- 
form these  functions  before  him. 

The  chief  difficvdty  against  the  authenticity  of  the  Lives 
of  St,  Ciaran,  St.  Declan,  and  St.  Ailbe,  is  a  chronological  one. 
If  they  were  bishops  before  St.  Patrick,  how  could  they  have 
lived  down  to  the  first  quarter  or  even  to  the  middle  of  the 
sixth  centur}^  as  some  of  them  are  said  to  have  done?  St. 
Ibar  died,  it  seems,  the  earliest,  about  a.d.  500;  but  Ailbe's 
death  is  given  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster  under  date  of  a.d.  526, 
and  again  at  a.d.  533  and  541,  which  shows  that  at  least  he 
must  have  lived  through  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixth  century. 
Ciaran  of  Saigher  was  at  the  School  of  Clonard,  and  is  spoken 
of  as  the  friend  of  his  namesake  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  of  the 
two  Brendans,  who  were  students  in  the  same  great  semi- 
nary; and  according  to  many  authorities,  Declan  lived  late 
into  this  same  century,  if  not  into  the  next.  The  authors  of 
the  Lives  were  not  unconscious  of  this  difficulty,  and  boldly 
meet  it  by  giving  to  these  saints  lives  of  extraordinary 
duia'ioTi,  extending  from  200  to  300,  and  even  to  400  years. 
Stai(  m^nts  of  this  kind  cannot  of  course  be  accepted,  and  of 
them>eives  throw  suspicion  on  the  authenticity  of  those  Lives. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  it  is  not  at  all  necessary 
to  assume  that  those  saints  lived  so  long  in  order  to  be 
contemporaries  of  St.  Patrick,  and  even  consecrated  before 
him.  St  Patrick,  according  to  the  common  chronology,  was 
about  sixty  years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Ireland,  so  that 
Ibar  or  Ailbe  might  have  been  consecrated  before  him  and 
still  have  outlived  him  some  twenty  or  thirty  years,  if  we 
only  assume  that  they  reached  the  same  great  age  as  St. 
]*atrick  himself.  Our  own  opinion  is  that  Ibar  and  Ailbe, 
if  not  also  Ciaran  and  Declan,  were  not  consecrated  in  Erin 
but  abroad ;  that  probably  they  had  returned  to  their  native 
country  before  St.  Patrick,  and  were  engaged  in  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  their  countrj^men  when  he  arrived  in  Ireland ; 
but  the  great  fame  and  success  of  St.  Patrick  eclipsed  their 
labours;  and  then  they  also  consented  to  become  his  disciples 
and  recognise  his  superior  authority  and  greater  success. 

IV.— St.  Ibah. 

There  is,   however,  in  the  Scholia  on  ^ngus  a  curious 
story  which  would  seem  to  imply  that  Ibar,  at  least,  was  at 


156       MIKOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTUKY, 

first  somewhat  reluctant  to  yield  to  St.  Patrick's  authority. 
It  is  said  that  he  had  a  great  conflict  with  Patrick,  and 
that  **he  left  the  roads  full  and  the  kitchens  empty  in 
Armagh."  Patrick  was  thereupon  angry  with  him,  and 
this  is  what  he  said :  **Thou  shalt  not  be  in  Ireland,"  quoth 
Patrick.  ** Ireland  (Eri)  shall  be  the  name  of  the  place  wherein 
I  am,"  quoth  Bishop  Ibar.  Whence,  Beg-Eri  (or  Little 
Ireland)  was  so  called,  that  is,  the  island  which  is  in  *'  Ui-Cenn- 
selaig  and  out  on  the  sea  it  is."^  It  is  stated  in  the  same 
place  that  Bishop  Ibar  was  353  years  when  he  died. 

It  seems  to  us  highly  probable  that  Ibar  was  a  pre-Patri- 
cian  bishop;  although  he  afterwards  yielded  to  St.  Patrick, 
and  in  a  certain  sense  became  his  disciple.  He  was  of  the 
race  of  the  Hy-Eathacli  of  Ulster,  who  have  given  their  name 
to  the  barony  of  Iveagh  in  the  Co.  Down,  not  in  Armagh  as 
Todd  seems  to  assert.  Of  his  life  only  few  notices  are  pre- 
served besides  those  already  referred  to.  Mella,  his  sister, 
was  mother  of  St.  Abban,  and  it  is  in  the  Life  of  this  nephew 
of  Ibar  that  we  find  the  most  important  notices  with  reference 
to  Ibar  himself.  We  cannot  say  with  certainty  where  Ibar 
received  his  early  training;  an  abbot,  St.  Motta,  is  mentioned 
as  his  first  instructor  in  sacred  learning,  but,  if  he  be  not  St. 
Mochtae  of  Louth,  nothing  further  is  known  concerning  him. 
In  Tirechan's  Collections  in  the  Book  of  Armagh  ^  an  ancient 
and  venerable  authority,  we  find  the  name  of  Iborus  in  the 
list  of  bishops  consecrated  by  St.  Patrick,  and  the  name  seems 
identical  with  Ibar.^  At  one  time  it  is  said  the  saint  was 
placed  by  St.  Patrick  in  charge  of  St.  Brigid*s  community  at 
Kildare,  in  which  office  he  was  succeeded  by  St.  Conlaeth. 
He  afterwards  preached  the  Gospel  in  Leix  and  Hy-Kinse- 
lagh,  converting  many  to  the  faith.  At  length  he  came  to 
Wexford  and  resolved  to  retire  from  the  active  missionary 
life,  and  devote  the  remainder  of  his  years  to  prayer  iind 
sacred  study.  For  this  purpose  he  took  possession  of  the 
small  island  of  Beg-Eri,  or  Begery,  in  the  north-west  of 
Wexford  Harbour.  Here  he  built  his  oratory  and  cell  about 
the  year  a.d.  485,  some  fifteen  years  before  his  death.  Like 
many  other  of  our  Irish  Saints,  he  loved  to  rest  within  the 
hearing  of  the  great  Sea,  and  we  are  told  that  he  had  previ- 
ously spent  some  time  in  one  of  the  islands  off  the  wild  west 
coast  of  Ireland — perhaps  in  Aran. 

A  man  so  famed  for  sanctity  and  learning  could  not  thus 

^  See  Stokes'  Calendar  of  JEngua, — April  23rd. 

^  111  the  Tripartite  be  is  represented  as  founding  Pallas  Green  in  th« 
Barou;r  »f  Coonagh,  co.  Limerick. 


ST.  IBAR.  157 

escape  from  his  disciples.  They  soon  discovered  his  retreat, 
and  crowded  round  him  in  his  island  home.  It  was  easy 
enough  to  build  their  cells  of  stone  or  wattles ;  fish  abounded  in 
the  channels  around  the  island,  and  countless  flocks  of  wild  fowl 
covered  the  pools,  so  that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  find  food 
for  the  scholars,  even  in  this  small  island  of  twenty -one  acres. 
Amongst  the  rest  was  his  own  nephew,  St.  Abban  the  Elder, 
who  became  one  of  his  most  distinguished  scholars,  and  was 
the  spiritual  father  and  first  teacher  of  the  great  St.  Finnian 
of  Clonard. 

We  are  told  in  the  Life  of  St.  Abban  that  "  at  this  time 
innumerable  holy  monks  and  nuns  in  various  parts  of  Ireland 
lived  under  the  direction  of  Ibar,  so  that  in  the  Litany  of 
^ngus  are  invoked  three  thousand  father  confessors,  who 
gathered  together  under  Bishop  Ibar  to  consider  certain 
questions.  He  lived,  however,  chiefly  in  his  celebrated 
monastery  of  Beg-Eri,  because  he  loved  that  place  more 
than  any  other.  It  is  situated  in  a  small  island  ofi"  the 
southern  part  of  Hy-Kinselagh,  ramparted  by  the  sea ;  and 
in  that  same  island  the  remains  of  the  holy  prelate  rest,  and 
the  place  itself  is  greatly  honoured  by  all  the  Irish  on  account 
of  their  veneration  for  St.  Ibar,  and  the  wondrous  miracles 
performed  there  through  his  intercession.'' 

We  are  also  told  that  Abban  was  only  twelve  years  old 
when  he  came  to  the  School  of  Beg-Eri,  and  that  he  made 
great  progress  there  under  the  direction  of  Ibar  in  the  study 
of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  and  of  all  the  liberal  arts,  so  that 
his  companions  wondered  much  at  his  great  learning  and 
eloquence.  Ibar  wishing  to  go  to  Rome  on  a  pilgrimage, 
resolved  to  leave  the  charge  of  his  monastic  school  to  Abban 
during  his  absence.  Abban,  however,  ardently  desiring  to 
see  the  Holy  City  of  the  Apostles,  earnestly  besought  his 
uncle  to  allow  him  to  go  in  the  same  ship ;  but  all  in  vain, 
until  with  the  aid  of  an  angel  he  was  borne  over  the  waves, 
and  thus  reaching  the  vessel,  he  was  allowed  to  come  on 
board.  Thus  both  the  pilgrims  visited  Rome,  passing 
through  Britain  on  their  way,  and  after  many  wonderful 
incidents  returned  in  safety  to  Lough  Garman.  Then  Abban 
himself  went  through  Erin  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  found- 
ing monasteries  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  So  it  came 
to  pass  that  the  learning  and  discipline  of  the  School  of  Beg- 
Eri  were  carried  to  other  parts  of  Ireland,  and  that  seed 
was  scattered,  which  in  the  next  century  produced  such 
marvellous  fruit  throughout  all  the  land.  St.  Ibar  died  on 
the  23rd  of  April,  a.d.  500,  in  his  beloved  island  retreat;  and 


l.').S        MINOR   MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

there  he  was  buried,  where  the  prayers  of  his  children  and 
the  voices  of  the  sea  would  murmur  round  his  grave  for  ages. 

Not  for  ever — for  13eg-Eri  was  one  of  the  first  of  our 
religious  schools  to  feel  tho  destroying  presence  of  the  Danes 
around  our  coasts.  So  early  as  a.d.  819  it  was  plundered  by 
the  Danes.  In  a.d.  884  is  recorded  the  death  of  its  abbot, 
Diarmaid,  and  of  Cruinmeal  in  a.d.  964.  The  citizens  ol 
Wexford  kept  it  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  security  for  their 
Norman  prisoners,  when  the  town  was  besieged  by  Stroi^g 
bow  in  A.D.  1172.  The  veracious  Grerald  Barry  tells  us  that 
St.  Ibar  had  expelled  the  rats  from  his  island,  so  that  not  one 
of  them  could  live  there,  or  even  be  born  in  it  afterwards. 

For  ages,  however,  it  continued  to  be  regarded  as  a  very 
holy  shrine,  and  the  men  of  Wexford  made  frequent  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  grave  of  its  holy  founder. 

Colonel  Solomon  Richards,  a  Cromwellian  adventurer, 
who  settled  in  Wexford,  published,  in  a.d.  1682,  an  interest- 
ing, but  bigoted  account  of  the  Barony  of  Forth. ^  He  tells 
us  that  in  "the  little  chapel  (of  Beg-Eri)  there  was  a 
wooden  image  of  the  Saint  (whom  he  calls  Iberian),  and 
people  go  there  to  worship  him,  and  settle  any  cases  of  con- 
trovers}^  that  may  arise  amongst  them  by  oath  before  the 
image  of  the  Saint.  Moreover,  if  any  false  charge  were  made 
against  a  man,  the  parties  take  boat  to  the  island,  the 
suspected  man  swears  that  the  charge  is  false,  and  this  oath 
before  the  Saint  is  at  once  readily  accepted  as  satisfactory 
proof  of  innocence.  Once  or  twice,  *  idle  fellows  who  love 
not  wooden  gods,'  stole  away  St.  Iberian,  and  burned  him, 
but  the  image  was  miraculously  restored,  as  the  silly  people 
believe,  once  more  to  its  place/'  It  is  well  known  that 
similar  wooden  images  of  the  patron  saints  have  been  pro- 
served  in  the  islands  of  Iimismurray  and  Inisgloria  down 
to  our  own  time. 

Bejx-Eri  is  no  lono:er  an  island.  The  slob-lands  of  the 
harbour  have  been  reclaimed,  and  this  most  mteresting  spot 
has  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  main-land.  It  was  dis- 
covered during  the  process  of  the  reclamation  works  that 
Beg-Eri  was  in  ancient  times  connected  by  a  causeway  or 
togher  with  the  adjoining  '  Great  Island.'  The  remains  of 
the  togher,  coni?istIng  of  two  rows  of  oak  piles,  were  still  found 
ifi  situ ;  an  ancient  wharf  also  stood  at  the  northern  extreinity 
of  the  island,  close  to  the  Bunatroe  Channel,  which  ran 
between  tho  island  and  the  sho*c,  but  it  has  now  disuppeared. 

'  See  K'dh.  Arch.  Soc.,\o\.  iv.,  Nuvv  Series,  pjig-o  90. 


EARLY  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND.  159 

The  old  cLurcli  of  Ard  Colum  and  a  holy  well  are  on  the 
main-land  due  west  of  Beg-Eri ;  to  the  south  was  another 
old  church  and  well  dedicated  to  St.  Coemhan,  brother  of 
the  saint  of  Glendalough,  and  popularly  called  Ard-Cavan. 
The  ancient  oratory  of  Ibar  on  Beg-Eri  has  entirely  dis- 
appeared, but  the  remains  of  a  much  more  modern  church 
are  still  to  be  seen  surrounded  by  a  grave-yard,  with  numerous 
ancient  head-stones.  Two  of  these  flags — one  red  and  the 
other  green — are  inscribed  with  ancient  crosses,  but  no  names 
are  to  be  found.  Taking  into  account  its  antiquity  and 
history,  we  must  regard  Beg-Eri  as  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing spots  in  Ireland,  and  we  cannot  but  regret  that  its 
insular  character  has  been  effaced  by  modern  improvements. 

V. — Early  Schools  in  the  "West  of  Ireland. 

Neither  was  the  West  of  Ireland  without  its  own  schools 
even  so  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century.  The 
first  school  in  the  West  seems  to  have  been  established  by 
St.  Benignus  at  his  own  monastery  of  Kilbannon,  about 
three  miles  to  the  north  of  Tuam.  His  sister  Mathona  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  one  of  the  first  nuns  veiled  in  Erin,  and 
settled  down  at  Tawnagh,  in  the  county  Sligo,  where  she 
founded  a  church  and  convent  under  the  guidance  of  Bishop 
Cairell,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick. 

Benignus  belonged  to  the  race  of  Cian  of  Cashel,  son  of 
Oilioll  Olum.^  Two  offshoots  of  this  family  established 
themselves,  one  in  the  barony  of  Keenaght,  in  the  County 
Derry,  to  which  they  gave  their  name,  and  the  other  in 
Bregia,  to  which  the  family  of  St.  Benignus  belonged.  It 
is  stated  indeed  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,  and  in  the  Book  of 
Rights,  that  he  belonged  to  the  Cianachta  of  Gleann 
Geimhin  (Glengiven),  but  that  is  clearly  a  mistake,  except 
the  name  be  taken  to  include  both  the  families  of  Meath  and 
of  Derry,  which  is  not  unlikely. 

A  third  branch  of  the  same  family  had  settled  down  in 
the  barony  of  Leyney  (Luighne),  county  Sligo  ;  and  that 
Luigh,  from  whom  they  took  their  name,  was  according  to 
the  genealogies,  a  first  cousin  of  the  father  of  Benignus. 
This  would,  no  doubt,  help  to  explain  why  the  virgin 
Mathona  founded  her  convent  at  Tawnagh,  near  her  cousins, 
in  the    county  Sligo,  and  would  also  help   to  explain  the 

1  His  father  was  son  of  Laei,  son  of  Tadhg-,  son  of  Cian,  son  of 
Oilioll  Olum.     See  Book  of  Rights,  pag-e  50,  and  page  103. 


160       MINOR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CKNTURT. 

special   preference    which  Benignus  himself  manifested  in 
favour  of  the  western  province. 

He  had  been  commissioned,  it  is  said,  by  St.  Patrick  to 
preach  especially  in  those  districts,  which  he  himself  had  not 
visited.  Accordingly  we  are  told  that  Benen  preached  in 
Kerry,  in  Clare,  and  in  South  Conn  aught,  the  very  localities 
which  St.  Patrick  did  not  find  time  to  visit.  He  blessed 
Connaught,  too,  with  a  special  blessing  from  Bundrowes, 
near  Bundoran,  to  Limerick,  and  the  grateful  natives  paid 
to  him  and  his  successors  a  yearly  tribute  of  milk  and 
butter,  calves  and  lambs,  as  well  as  first  fruits  of  the  rest  of 
iheir  produce. 

Now  Kilbannon,^  in  South  Connaught,  was  Benen' s 
principal  church,  and  continued  to  be  for  many  centuries  a 
very  important  religious  foundation,  as  its  ruined  round 
tower  still  proves.  But  Benen  was  above  all  things  a 
scholar  and  a  psalm-singer,  so  he  founded  a  school  for  young 
ecclesiastics  in  his  monastery,  of  the  history  of  which  un- 
fortunately we  know  little  or  nothing. 

He  had  at  least  one  illustrious  disciple,  and  that  was 
St.  Jarlath,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Tuam.  It  has  been  said 
that  Jarlath  could  not  have  been  a  disciple  of  Benignus 
before  a.d.  455,  when  the  latter  was  transferred  to  Armagh. 
We  anpwer  that  Jarlath  was  an  old  man  in  a.d.  512,  when 
St.  Brendan  of  Clonfert  became  his  disciple  at  Cluainfois, 
near  Tuam,  and  hence  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  Jarlath 
being  a  disciple  of  Benignus,  if  he  were  about  the  same  age 
that  Benignus  himself  was,  when  he  became  a  disciple  of 
St.  Patrick. 

St.  Jarlath  founded  his  own  college  at  Cluanfois  towards 
the  end  of  the  fifth  century.  Colgan  fixes  the  date  at 
A.D.  510  ;  but  there  are  passages  in  the  Life  of  St.  Brendan, 
which  go  to  show  that  it  must  have  been  founded  at  an 
earlier  date,  probably  about  the  year  a.d.  500.  Of  this 
college  at  Cluainfois,  and  of  St.  Jarlath's  School  at  Tuam, 
we  shall  have  something  more  to  say  hereafter. 

Lanigan,  quoting  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick, 
says  that  there  was  an  episcopal  seminary  at  Elphin,  in  the 
County  Roscommon,  governed  by  St.  Asicus,  even  at  this 
early  period.  In  truth  all  that  we  know  of  St.  Asicus  is 
derived  from  the  Tripartite.  The  beautiful  site  on  which 
the  monastery  was  built  got  its  name,  Azlfindy  from  the 
white  stone  that  was  raised  out  of  the  well,  which  was  made  by 

^  Others  think  Kilhanoii  was  the  cliuich  of  '  Immum),  brother  of  Cethoch,* 
<vho  is  (listinguiahod  in  tho  Tiijjartite  from  '  Urnen,  successor  of  ralrick.' 
This  is  highly  prohublo. 


EARLY  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  WEST  OF  IRELAND.  16] 

Patrick  in  the  green,  and  "  that  stone  stands  on  the  brink  of 
the  well,"  says  the  author  of  the  Tripartite,  "  and  it  is  called 
from  the  water '' — that  is,  Elphin  means  the  stone  of  the 
clear  stream.  That  clear  and  bountiful  spring  still  flows 
through  the  street  of  Elphin  before  the  site  of  the  monastery 
of  Asicus,  literally  in  the  green,  and  it  is  only  a  short  time 
since  the  stone  itself  was  carried  off  b}'"  some  profane  hands. 
It  is  now,  we  believe,  somewhere  at  or  near  the  Protestant 
Church  in  the  town  of  Elphin. 

Patrick  blessed  Ono  the  converted  Druid,  who  gave  him 
that  beautiful  site  overlooking  to  the  south,  the  fertile  and 
far-reaching  plain  of  Magh  Aei,  and  added,  moreover  : — 
"  Thy  seed  shall  be  blessed,  and  there  shall  be  victory  of 
laymen  and  clerics  from  thee  for  ever,  and  they  shall  have 
the  inheritance  of  this  place." 

Then  Patrick  placed  over  the  infant  Church  of  Elphin 
Asicus,  and  Bite  or  Biteus,  the  son  of  Asicus,  and  Cipia, 
mother  of  Bite  the  Bishop.  The  family  was,  doubt 
less,  of  the  race  of  Ono  the  Druid,  and  it  seems  they  were 
held  in  high  repute  in  the  neighbourhood.  Asicus  himself 
must  have  been  advanced  in  years,  but  he  was  an  expert 
artificer  in  metal- work  ;  and  we  are  told  that  he  made  altars, 
patens  or  altar-stones  {miassd)^^TA  square  book-covers  for 
Patrick,  and  these  patens  were  so  highly  prized  that  one  was 
taken  to  Armagh,  another  was  kept  in  Elphin,  and  a  third  was 
taken  far  westward  to  the  Church  of  Dotnnach  Mor  Maio-e 
Seolai,  and  placed  on  the  altar  of  Bishop  Felart.  It^ia 
very  probable  that  these  square  miassa  were  stone  or 
metal  altar-flags,  and  were  used  to  place  over  the  rude  altars 
of  the  churches  during  the  celebration  of  the  Holv 
Mysteries,  a  practice  still  common  in  the  country  where  duly 
consecrated  altars  are  not  to  be  had. 

No^  doubt  St.  Asicus  attended  to  these  duties,  whilst  his 
son.  Bishop  Biteus,  took  care  of  his  infant  monastery  and 
school.  It  was  the  very  infancy  of  the  Church  in  Ireland 
for  Elphin  was  one  of  St.  Patrick's  earliest  foundations^ 
dating  from  the  year  a.d.  434  or  435.  It  has  always  con- 
tinued to  hold  a  distinguished  position  amongst  the  episcopal 
sees  of  the  West :  and  although  the  Bishop  dwells  there  no 
longer,  it  still  gives  title  to  the  most  ancient  of  the  Western 
Sees. 

Asicus  himself — in  shame  because  of  a  lie  told  either  by 
him,  or  as  others  say  of  him — fled  into  Donegal,  and  for 
seven  years  abode  in  the  island  of  Eathlin  O'Birne.  Then 
hie  monks  sought  him  out,  and  after  much  labour  foimd  him 


162       MINOR  MOiNASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY. 

in  tlie  mouutain  glens,  and  tried  to  bring  him  home  to  his 
own  monastery  at  Elphin.  But  he  fell  sick  by  the  way,  and 
died  with  them  in  the  wilderness.  So  they  buried  the 
venerable  old  man  in  the  churchyard  of  E-ath  Cunga~now 
Racoon,  in  the  barony  of  Tirhugh,  County  Donegal.  The 
old  churchyard  is  there  still,  though  now  disused,  on  the 
summit  of  a  round  hillock  close  to  the  left  of  the  road  from 
Ballyshannon  to  Donee:al,  about  a  mile  to  the  south  of  the 
village  of  Ballintra.  We  sought  in  vain  for  any  trace  of  an 
inscribed  stone  in  the  old  churchyard.  He  fled  from  men 
during  life,  and,  like  Moses,  his  grave  is  hidden  from  them 
in  death. 

The  artistic  spirit,  however,  remained  in  Elphin ;  and,  as 
we  shall  see  hereafter,  some  of  the  most  beautiful  works  of 
the  twelfth  centur\"  were  designed  and  executed  by  the 
spiritual  sons  of  St.  Asicus. 


CHAPTER     yill. 

IRISH  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SIXTH  CENTURY. 

THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

*'  You'll  see  the  homes  of  holy  men 

Far  west  upon  the  shoreless  main — 
In  sheltered  vale,  on  cloudy  Ben, 

Where  saints  still  pray,  and  scribes  still  pen 
The  sacred  page,  despising  gain." 

— M'Gree :  lona  to  Irela7id. 

I. — Life  of  St.  En  da  of  Aran. 

If  we  accept  the  authority  of  the  Catalogue  of  tlie  Three 
Orders  of  Irish  Saints,  those  of  the  fifth  century  were  mainly 
missionaries  ;  those  of  the  sixth  century  were  cenobites  ;  and 
the  Third  Order  were  for  the  most  part  anchorites,  or  Cul- 
dees  as  they  afterwards  came  to  be  called.  To  a  certain 
extent  this  is  true.  The  Church  of  the  sixth  century  partook 
very  much  of  the  monastic  character;  as  Skene  says,  "  There 
was  episcopacy  in  the  Church,  but  it  was  not  diocesan  epis- 
copacy.'*^ We  should  be  inclined  to  accept  this  statement, 
if  the  learned  writer  had  inserted  one  word,  and  said  that  it 
was  not  always  diocesan  episcopacy.  In  lona,  and  doubtless 
in  other  great  monasteries  also,  there  was  generally  a  resi- 
dent prelate,  subject  in  jurisdiction  to  the  presbyter-abbot ; 
but  Venerable  Bede  says  expressly^  that  it  was  an  unusual 
arrangement — inusitato  ordine — and  his  authority  settles  the 
question ;  it  was  unusual  even  in  the  Celtic  Churches. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  monastic  influence  predominated 
in  the  Irish  Church  of  the  sixth  century,  and  that  the  head 
of  the  monastery  was  not  always,  though  he  certainly  was 
very  frequently,  a  bishop.  This  arose  partly  from  the  ardour 
of  the  Celtic  character  in  its  efforts  to  reach  perfection,  partly 
from  the  unsettled  state  of  the  country,  and  to  some  extent 
from  the  influence  and  example  of  the  great  Columba  himself. 
It  was  by  accident  he  was  not  consecrated  a  bishop,  and  his 
successors  would  not  pretend  to  be  greater  than  their  holy 
founder.  But  the  system  at  least  produced  one  excellent 
effect — it  was  under  God  the  means  of  establishing  tho&e 
wonderful  monastic  schools  so  famed  in  every  Christian  land. 

^  Celtic  Scotland^  Book  II.,  p.  44.        *  Hutor.  Hecks.,  Liber  III.,  o.  4. 


10)4  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

It  is  certain,  as  we  have  seen,  that  there  were  in  Ireland 
from  the  very  first  conversion  of  the  people  both  monks  and 
nuns,  and  therefore  monasteries  also.  Hut  the  founders  of 
these  religious  houses  could  give  very  little  time  to  regulate 
their  constitution  and  government,  much  less  to  undertake 
the  management  of  such  institutions  themselves.  St.  Patrick 
and  his  fellow  labourers  were  'the  founders  of  churches' 
rather  than  of  monasteries — their  work  was  to  preach,  to 
ordain,  to  baptize.  It  was  the  next  generation  of  monks  that 
undertook  to  found  monasteries  properly  so  called ;  men  who 
themselves  were  trained  in  religious  houses  elsewhere,  and 
thus  becoming  acquainted  with  religious  life  and  discipline 
were  fitted  to  found  similar  institutions  at  home.  The  earliest 
of  these  monasteries  properly  so  called  date  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixth  century ;  and  perhaps  the  two  most  cele- 
brated fathers  of  Irish  monastic  life,  in  this  sense  of  the 
word,  were  St.  En  da  of  Aran,  and  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard. 
We  shall  first  speak  of  St.  Enda. 

Aran,  under  St.  Enda,  may  be  called  the  novitiate  of  the 
Irish  saints  of  the  Second  Order,  as  Clonard  may  be  con- 
sidered their  college ;  and  hence  we  shall  trace  as  carefully 
as  we  can  the  history  of  these  two  famous  foundations  of 
sanctity  and  learning,  to  which  the  ancient  Church  of  Ireland 
owed  so  much. 

St.  Enda,  or  Endeus,  was  of  royal  blood — one  of  "  the  sons 
of  the  Kings  of  the  Scots,''  who  embraced  the  monastic  state 
even  during  the  lifetime  of  St.  Patrick  himself.  His  father, 
Conall  Derg,  was  king  of  Oriel — a  wide  territory  extending 
from  Lough  Erne  to  the  sea  at  Dundalk,  and  nearly  conter- 
minous with  the  modern  diocese  of  Clogher.  His  mother  was 
Evin  (Aebhfhinn)  grand- daughter  ot  Ronan,  king  of  the 
Ards  of  Down.  He  had  a  sister  called  Fanchea,  a  devout 
maiden,  who  is  said  by  some  to  have  received  the  veil  from 
the  hands  of  St.  Patrick,  and  to  whom  her  brother  owed  his 
conversion  to  the  religious  life.  The  young  prince  succeeded 
his  father  as  chieftain  of  the  men  of  Oriel,  and  although 
high-minded  and  pure-hearted,  he  took  a  chieftain's  share  in 
the  wild  work  of  mutual  pillage  and  slaughter  to  which  these 
Irish  chieftains  were  always  too  much  prone.  His  pious 
sister  had  founded  a  convent  of  nuns  at  a  place  called  Boss 
Oirthir,  which  is  in  all  probability  identical  with  the  old 
church  and  cemetery  of  Rossory,  in  the  parish  of  the  same 
name  by  the  shores  of  the  River  Ern(\  on  its  loft  bank  near 
Enniskillen,  and  not  far  I'rom  the  famous  Franciscan  Abbi>y 
of  Lisgoole.     The  old  church  has  disappeared  with  the  pro- 


LIFE  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN.  165 

gress  of  modern  '  improvements  ;^  but  the  home  of  the  dead 
is  still  untouched.  Here  St.  Fanchea  had  her  oratory  and 
nunnery,  when  it  happened  that  her  brother  led  the  clans- 
men past  the  convent  to  attack  their  enemies.  Shortly  after 
a  wild  song  of  joy  told  the  terrified  maidens  that  they  were 
returning  home  triumphant,  having  conquered  their  foes  and 
slain  the  leader. 

The  young  prince  stopped  to  see  his  sister  at  the  convent 
gate,  but  she  forbade  him  to  approach,  stained  as  he  was, 
with  the  blood  of  his  fellow  creatures.  Enda  said  it  was  his 
duty  to  defend  his  people  and  conquer  their  enemies — "  T 
have  not  killed  any  man,"  he  said,  ^'nor  yet  have  I  ever 
sinned  with  women" — and  then  it  seems  he  asked  his  sister 
to  allow  him  to  take  to  be  his  wife  one  of  the  young  ladies 
under  her  care  who  was  remarkable  for  her  beauty.  Fanchea 
knew  she  was  powerless  to  resist,  if  her  warrior  brother  per- 
sisted in  his  purpose.  So  she  bade  him  stay  where  he  was, 
and  going  into  the  convent  called  the  maiden  before  her,  and 
said,  "  My  sister,  a  choice  is  given  you  to-day — wouldst  thou 
love  the  Spouse  whom  I  love,  or  rather  a  carnal  spouse?'' 
"I  will  always  love  thy  Spouse,"  said  the  maiden.  Then 
Fanchea  brought  her  to  an  inner  chamber,  and  bade  her  lie 
down  on  the  bed.  She  did  so,  and  soon  after  fell  quietly  asleep 
in  the  Lord.  Then  Fanchea  put  a  veil  on  the  face  of  the  dead, 
and  bringing  in  her  brother,  she  said,  taking  the  veil  sud- 
denly off,  "  Come  and  see  her  whom  thou  lovest."  He  started 
at  the  sight,  but  not  thinking  her  dead,  he  only  said — "  She 
is  awfully  pale  and  ghastly."  "  It  is  the  paleness  of  death," 
said  his  sister  ;  "  and  so  shall  you  soon  be  if  you  repent  not 
your  sins."  The  young  man  retired  conscience-stricken,  and 
Fanchea  so  used  the  auspicious  moment  to  remind  him  of  the 
torments  of  hell  and  the  joys  of  heaven,  that  he  at  once 
resolved  to  renounce  his  principality  and  become  a  monk. 

Enda  now  gave  striking  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
conversion.  The  convent  and  oratory  of  his  sister  Fanchea 
were  still  unprotected  by  a  rampart  of  any  kind ;  and  what 
had  just  taken  place  clearly  showed  the  want  of  some  enclo- 
sure in  those  turbulent  days.  Enda  resolved  to  accomplish 
the  work  with  his  own  hands,  and  doubtless  with  the  aid  of 
some  of  his  tribesmen.  He  dug  a  deep  fosse  and  raised 
a  large  *  mur'  or  rampart  of  earth  all  round  the  sacred  enclo- 
sure, so  that  in  future  one  or  two  faithful  attendants  could 
defend  the  narrow  entrance  of  the  fort  against  sudden  attack. 
It  is  interesting  to  know  that  a  portion  of  this  earthen  ram- 
part raised  by  Enda  himself  is  still  to  be  seen  on  the  western 


166  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

side  of  the  rath  levelled  low  by  time,  but  still  some  thirteen 
yards  in  thickness  and  several  feet  in  height. 

From  Rossory  Enda  went  to  Killany,  in  the  co.  Louth, 
and  there  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  principality  he  set 
about  the  construction  of  a  monastery  for  himself  and  such 
religious  men  as  might  join  him  in  the  service  of  God.  Here 
also  he  directed  the  workmen  in  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ings, and  it  seems  that  his  sister,  too,  had  a  second  religious 
house  not  far  distant,  where  she  appears  to  have  spent  a  por- 
tion of  her  time.  A  party  of  freebooters  once  passed  by  laden 
with  booty  where  Enda  and  his  men  were  working.  The 
tribesmen  siezed  their  weapons  to  attack  the  marauders,  and 
Enda  himself  caught  up  one  of  the  poles  sunk  in  the  soil  for 
a  rampart  to  join  in  tHe  fray.  Just  then  his  sister,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  present,  told  him  to  put  his  hand  to  his  head  and 
remember  whose  soldier  he  was.  Enda  did  so,  and  feeling 
the  tonsure  that  he  wore,  he  remembered  that  he  was  the 
soldier  of  Christ,  and  cast  aside  at  once  both  his  weapon  and 
the  spirit  of  strife  that  was  excited  within  him.  So  his 
sister  Fanchea  was,  as  it  were,  his  good  angel,  and  he  was 
always  obedient  to  her  instructions. 

Enda,  however,  was  still  only  a  novice  in  the  religious 
life,  and,  therefore,  not  well  qualified  to  be  a  guide  for 
others.  So  his  sister  said  to  him,  '*  Go  thou  to  Britain,  to 
the  monastery  of  Kosnat,  and  there  become  the  humble 
disciple  of  Mancenus,  the  head  of  that  monastery."^  This 
monastery  of  Eosnat  is  by  some  writers  placed  in  the  valley 
of  E-osina,  in  Wales,  where  a  certain  St  Manchen  is  said  to 
have  founded  a  religious  house.  We  are  inclined  to  agree 
with  Skene  that  it  was  rather  the  celebrated  monastery 
known  as  Candida  Casa,  or  Whithern,  founded  by  St.  Ninian 
at  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Galloway.  This 
religious  house  was  also  known  as  the  Magnum  Monasterium, 
and  sometimes  as  the  monastery  of  Rosnat.  It  was  dedicated 
to  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and  hence  it  is  sometimes  called  the 
House  of  Martin.  We  are  here  on  firm  ground,  for  we  have 
the  express  testimony  of  Bede  that  Ninian,  or  Ninias,  "  had 
been  regularlv  instructed  in  Rome  in  the  faith  and  the 
mysteries  of  the  truth,"  that  his  episcopal  see  was  named 
after  8t.  Martin,  'hat  it  was  in  the  piovince  of  l^ernicia,  and 
that  tht  re  Ninian  had  built  a  stately  church,  generally 
called  Candida  Casa,  or  the  White  Plouse,  because  it  was 

^"Vade    ad    Brittaniara   ad   Roatiatum   monHstenuiu.  et  esto  hiuuili!) 
diHcipiilus  Manconi,  Magistri  illius  mouastciii."      Vita  S.  Kndei. 


LIFE  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN.  167 

built  of  stone,  whicli  was  not  usual  amongst  the  Britons.^ 
This  is  a  most  important  statement  of  Bede,  for,  as  we  shall 
see,  very  many  of  the  founders  of  the  earliest  and  the  greatest 
of  our  Irish  monasteries  were  trained  at  Whithern,  and  the 
founder  of  Whithern  himself  was  trained  at  Rome  in  the 
faith  and  mysteries  of  religion,  thus  directly  connecting  the 
fathers  of  Irish  monasticism  with  the  discipline  and  dogma 
of  Rome. 

It  is  said  that  St.  Ninian,  on  his  return  from  Rome,  called 
to  see  the  great  St.  Martin,  and  that  he  received  from  the 
latter  masons  to  build  him  a  church,  as  the  Britons  were  not 
then  skilled  in  stone- work.  Ninian  was  actually  building 
Candida  Casa  in  a.d.  397,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
St.  Martin  ;  and,  accordingly,  when  the  building  was  finished 
he  dedicated  it  to  his  deceased  friend  and  patron,  the 
great  founder  of  monasticism  in  Gaul.  This  fixes  the  date 
of  its  foundation  with  sufiicient  accuracy.  Candida  Casa 
became,  under  St.  Ninian  and  his  successors,  during  the  fifth 
century,  a  great  seminary  of  sanctity  and  learning,  and 
undoubtedly  was  one  of  the  chief  sources  from  which  Irish 
monasticism  was  derived. 

Usher  quotes  an  ancient  Irish  life  of  St.  Ninian,^  in  which 
it  is  stated  that  in  his  old  age,  Ninian,  who  is  there  said  to  hy  ve 
been  an  Irishman,  deserted  Candida  Casa  at  the  earnest  request 
of  his  mother  and  of  other  relations  also,  and  founded  a  monas- 
tery in  a  beautiful  spot  called  Cluain  Conor,  where  he  died 
several  years  afterwards.  Bede,  however,  distinctly  says  that 
his  remains  are  in  Candida  Casa.  St.  Cairnech,  to  whom  we 
have  already  referred  as  one  of  the  co-operators  of  St.  Patrick 
in  the  reform  of  the  Brehon  Laws,  appears  to  have  been  a 
successor  of  Ninian  at  Candida  Casa,  for,  in  his  Life,  it  is 
described  as  the  monastery  of  Cairnech.  Afterwards,  it  is 
said,  he  came  to  Erin,  and  singularly  enough,  is  described  as 
**  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Clan  Niall,  the  first  martyr,  and 
the  first  monk  of  Erin,  and  the  first  Brehon  (that  is 
Christian  Brehon),  of  the  men  of  Erin  also."  ^  Cairnech  was 
thus,  even  during  the  life  of  St.  Patrick,  a  connecting  link 
between  Candida  Casa  and  the  North  of  Ireland  ;  and  hence 
we  find  that  in  subsequent  years  several  of  our  earliest  saints 
repaired  to  that  great  seminary  to  be  trained  in  learning  and 
the  discipline  of  the  monastic  life.  Amongst  these  may  be 
mentioned  Tighernac  of  Clones  and  Eugenius  of  Ardgtraw. 
The  former  in  his  Life  is  said  to  have  been  trained  in  the 


^  tdb.III.  c.  i.     ^  Primordia,  page  1058.      '  Chron.  Picts  and  Scots.,  page  5J. 


168  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

monastery  of  Rosnat,  whicli  by  another  name  is  called 
Alba  (the  White),  under  the  guidance  and  discipline  of 
Monennius ;  and  in  the  Life  of  the  latter,  the  same  "  wise 
and  holy  man,  Nennio,  who  is  also  named  Mancennus,  of  the 
Monastery  of  Rosnat,"  is  stated  to  have  been  the  master  both 
of  Tighernach  and  Eugenius  ;  and  it  is  added  that  with  his 
blessing  and  advice,  after  some  years  spent  there,  they  set 
sail  for  Ireland. 

Here  we  have  the  same  Nennio,  or  Mo-nennius,  called 

also   Mancennus,   to   whom    Enda  is  directed  to  go  by  his 

sister,  and  become  his  humble  disciple.     Kosnat  was  then  and 

long  after  the  great  seminary  of  the  early  Northern  Saints, 

before  regular  monasteries  were  founded  at  home  ;  and  hence 

Enda,  a  JSTorthern  Prince  of  Oriel,  whose  mother  came  from 

the  Ards  of  Down,  would  naturallj'  cross  the  narrow  sea  to 

the  same  great  school   which    his    countrymen   frequented. 

In  the  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  Manchan  the  Master  is 

said  to  have  accompanied  the  apostle  to  Tyrawley,  when  the 

chiefs  and  people  of  that  district  were  converted  about  the 

year  a.d.  449.    Colgan  says,^  "  that  this  Manchan  the  Master 

was  the  same  person  who  elsewhere  is  called  Mancennus  of 

the  Monastery  of  Rosnat,  and  that  he  received  the  name  of 

Master  from  his  great  learning,   especially  in  Theology  and 

Sacred  Scripture.*'     The   only  point   at   issue  seems   to   be 

whether  Rosnat,  the  **  Great  Monastery,"  was  in  Galloway  or 

Glen  Rosyn  ^  in  Wales. 

It  is  difficult  to  fix  the  period  when  Enda  went  to  study 
under  the  Master  at  Rosnat.    It  was  probably  about  the  year 
A.D.  475,  for  he  was  still  a  young  man,  and  as  he  died  very 
old,  about  A.D.  540,  we  may  assume  that  he  was  born  about 
A.D.  450,  and  would  thus  go  to  Britain  between  a.d.  470  and  480. 
From  Rosnat,  Enda,  like  Ninian  and  several  other  saints 
at  the  time,  is  said  to  have  gone  to  Rome,  and  even  to  have 
founded  somewhere  in  Italy  a  monastery  called  Laetinum  or 
Latinum.     But  his  sister,  Fanchea,  who  loved  him  dearly, 
courageously  followed  him  thither,  and  induced  him   to  make 
her  a  promise  that  he  would  return  home  within  a  year  ;  and 
this  promise  he  fulfilled.    He  landed  at  Drogheda,  which  was 
probably  at  the-  time  a  portion  of  his  father's  kingdom  of 
Oriel,  and  there  he  founded  some  churches  after  his  return. 

But  Oriel  was  not  to  be  the  place  of  his  resurrection. 
He  longed  for  solitude — to  be  away  from  the  world,  and  to  be 

^  Trias  Tham.f  pat?o  iii.  note  67. 

*  The  word  RoHnat  Hiinply  means  a  8oa-j;irt  promontory,  and  would  b« 
equally  applicable  to  VVhithorn  and  St.  David's  lioad. 


THE  ISLES  OE  ARAN.  169 

alone  with  God — and  he  found  it.  One  of  his  sisters,  called 
Darenia,  was  married  to  ^ngus  (son  of  Nadfraich)  the  King- 
of  Munster,  whom  St.  Patrick  had  baptized ;  and  Enda, 
hearing  that  certain  wild  and  lonely  islands  in  the  western 
sea  belonged  to  the  territory  of  the  King  of  Munster, 
resolved  to  ask  his  brother-in-law  to  give  him  a  grant 
of  these  islands  that  he  might  there  establish  his 
monastery,  and  live  in  solitude  and  security — for  the  times 
were  lawless,  and  even  God's  servants  were  not  always 
respected,  -^ngus  tried  to  dissuade  Enda  from  his  project, 
telling  him  that  the  islands  were  inhabited  by  a  race  of 
infidels  from  Corcomroe,  who  hated  God  and  His  saints,  and 
that  his  life  would  not  be  safe  amongst  them.  Moreover, 
he  offered  him  a  fertile  tract  in  the  Golden  Vale  in  which  to 
found  a  monastery,  if  Enda  so  willed  it.  But  he  still  per- 
sisted in  his  project,  and  ^ngus  then  made  a  grant  of  the 
Aran  Islands  to  him,  and  to  any  religious  brethren  who 
might  accompany  him  thither.  This  must  have  taken  place 
before  the  year  a.d.  484,  which  is  the  date  commonly 
assigned  for  the  death  of  ^ngus  Mac  Nadfraich. 

Aran  Mor,  the  largest  and  most  westerly  of  the  three 
Islands  of  Aran,  is  called  in  Irish  Aran-na-naomh — -Aran  of 
the  Saints,  for  it  is  the  holiest  spot  on  Irish  soil.  In  days 
past  it  was  the  chosen  home  of  the  Saints  of  God  where  they 
loved  to  live,  and  where  they  longed  to  die.  One  hundred 
and  twenty  seven  saints  sleep  in  the  little  grave-yard  around 
Killeany  Church  ;  and  we  are  told  elsewhere  that  it  will 
never  be  known  until  the  Day  of  Judgment,  the  countless 
host  of  saints,  whose  relics  are  mingled  with  the  sacred  soil 
of  Aran.  We  propose,  therefore,  to  give  a  fuller  account  of 
the  Aran  Islands,  both  in  the  present  and  the  past,  than 
might,  perhaps,  be  expected  from  the  scope  of  this  work. 
The  islands  are  filled  with  both  Pagan  and  Christian 
antiquities  ;  the  inhabitants  are  a  singularly  amiable  and 
interesting  people ;  and  the  physical  features  of  the  islands 
are  very  bold  and  striking.  We  shall  say  something  of 
them  all. 

II. — The  Isles  of  Aran. 

These  Isles  of  Aran,  with  which  the  name  of  Enda  is  so 
intimately  associated,  stretch  across  the  entrance  to  Galway 
Bay,  forming  a  natural  breakwater  against  the  wild  Atlantic 
billows.  They  are  three  in  number — Aran  Mor,  Inismaan  or 
Middle  Island,  and  Inishere,  or  the  Eastern  Island,  but 
frequently  also  called  the  Southern  Island.     A  glance  at  the 


170  THK  MONASTIC  SCHOOI,  OF  ST  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

map  will  show  that  the  islands  trend  to  the  north-west, 
opposing  a  straight  wall  of  lofty  cliffs  to  the  waves  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  Geologically  the  islands  are  a  continuation 
of  the  limestone  formation  of  the  Burren  mountains — "  a  gray 
and  bluish-gray  splintery  limestone,"  containing  in  some 
places  quarries  of  marble,  which  even  in  the  time  of  Roderick 
O'Flaherty,  some  two  hundred  years  ago,  were  worked  for 
tomb-stones,  chimney-pieces,  and  high  crosses.  The  same 
author  says  the  soil  was  paved  with  stone ;  in  some  places 
nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  naked  rock,  cropping  up  every- 
where with  wide  openings  between  the  joints,  "  where  cattle 
frequently  break  their  legs." 

The  surface  falls  to  the  nortb-east,  and  this  lower  shore 
line  of  Aran  Mor  is  broken  into  two  bays,  which  afford  shelter 
from  the  prevailing  winds.  But  on  the  south-west,  or  seaward 
line,  the  islands  offer  an  almost  unbroken  wall  of  rock  to  the 
long  swell  of  the  ocean,  rising  in  some  places  sheer  from  the 
sea  to  a  height  of  nearly  three  hundred  feet,  and  hidden 
beneath  the  waters  to  a  depth  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms. 
Here  and  there  the  harder  rock  stands  out  in  bold  precipitous 
headlands^  or  completely  isolated  cliffs  ;  while  at  other  points 
the  sea  eats  its  way  through  caverns,  where  the  waves  roll  in 
with  hollow,  thundering  sound  into  the  bowels  of  the  rocks ; 
and  the  compressed  air  within  forcing  its  way  upward  forms 
'  puffing  holes,'  through  which  the  spray  is  shot  high  in 
luminous  columns  into  the  air. 

Aran  Mor  is  about  nine  miles  long  and  two  at  its  greatest 
breadth ;  it  is  separated  by  Gregory  Sound^  from  the  Middle 
Island,  which  is  rudely  elliptijal,  and  about  eight  miles  in 
circumference.  This  latter  island  is  separated  from  Inishere 
by  a  narrower  passage,  about  one  mile  wide,  called  the 
''Foul  Sound,"^  which  deserves  the  name,  for  it  is  a  rathei* 
dangerous  passage,  containing  a  hidden  shoal  with  only  six 
feet  of  water  over  it.  Gregory  Sound  is  wider  and  deeper, 
being  quite  navigable  from  shore  to  shore.  The  tides  blocked 
by  the  island  barriers  rush  with  great  force  throui^h  these 
narrow  channels,  rendering  the  navigation  very  difficult  and 
dangerous.  The  passage  between  the  north-western  extremity 
of  Aran  Mor  and  Golam  Head  in  Connemara  is  called  the 
North  Sound — in  Irish  Bealach  Locha  Liirgain.  It  is  about 
eight  miles  across.  The  passage  between  Inishere  and  the 
CO.  Clare — the  more  usual  one  for  sea-going  ships — is  called 


^Called  also  Jieahffh-na-hnitey  from  the  overhangiiij;:  olitiii. 
'  In  Irish  Bealagh-na-fearbach. 


THE  ISLES  OF  ARAN. 


171 


the  South  Sound,  and  is  about  five  miles  broad  at  its  narrowest 
point.  There  is  a  lighthouse  near  a  place  called  Finnis  Eock^ 
at  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  Inishere,  which  marks  the 
limit  of  a  very  dangerous  shoal,  that  stretches  out  from  the 
island  into  the  Sound.  This  rock,  says  O'Flaherty,  was 
remarkable  for  *  ship- wracks/ 

Aran  Mor  contains  7,635  acres,  with  a  population  of 
nearly  2,000,  the  greater  part  of  whom,  in  1901,  could  neither 
read  nor  write.  It  has  three  considerable  villages — Killeany 
on  the  east ;  Kilmurry  in  the  middle  ;  and  Oonagh  towards 
the  north-western  extremity  of  the  island. 

On  the  northern  slopes  of  the  island  there  is  a  sweet, 
juicy  herbage,  on  which  sheep  and  cattle  thrive  very  well. 
The  grasses  are  intermingled  with  various  medicinal  herbs, 
such  as  the  wild  garlic,  which  is  said  to  give  a  delicate  flavour 
to  butter,  and  the  rineen^  or  iairy  flax,  which  is  believed  to 
have  wonderful  curative  properties.  E,.  O'Flaherty  declares 
that  in  his  own  time  "  beef,  veal,  and  mutton  are  better  and 
earlier  in  season  here  than  anywhere  else."  He  could  hardly 
say  so  now  with  truth ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  veal 
and  mutton  are  well  flavoured.  On  the  shore,  in  his  time, 
^'  were  samphire  in  plenty,  ring  root,  and  sea-holly,  or  sea 
cabbage."  The  samphire  is  there  still — the  crithmum  mari- 
timit-fHy  or  cranagh.  It  is  said  to  have  been  used  for  preserves, 
and  when  boiled  is  frequently  eaten  by  the  poorer  classes. 

The  crops  consist  of  patches  of  oats,  rye,  and  potatoes — 
the  latter  is  an  uncertain  crop,  whose  failure  causes  great 
hardships  to  the  islanders.  Kelp- making  and  fishing  are  the 
two  staple  industries  of  the  place.  The  kelp,  or  burned  sea- 
weed, is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  iodine,  and  pays  very 
fairly  in  dry  seasons. 

All  kinds  of  fish  abound  near  the  islands — cod,  ling, 
haddock,  turbot,  gurnet,  mackerel,  glassin,  bream,  and  her- 
ring; besides  there  are  lobsters,  crabs,  and  cockles;  but  the 
appliances  for  fishing  are  of  a  very  primitive  description,  and 
the  boats  are  unabie  to  stand  severe  weather.  Many  coarse 
seals  are  shot  on  the  rocks,  and  sun-fish  used  to  be  speared  in 
April  and  May  from  which  a  considerable  quantity  of  oil  was 
extracted. 

All  manner  of  sea-birds  frequent  the  clifis  : — plovers, 
gannets,  pigeons,  ducks,  and  anciently  hawks  in  considerable 
numbers.  Some  of  these  birds,  says  O'Flaherty,  '*  never  fly 
but  over  the  sea,  and  are  therefore  used  to  be  eaten  on  fasting 
days,  to  catch  which  people  go  down  with  ropes  tied  about 
them  into  the  caves  of  the  clifts  by  night,  and  with  a  candle- 

*  The  lighthouse   throws  a  red   sector  over  the  rock  and  shoal,  which 
are  also  marked  by  a  red  buoy. 


172  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

light  kill  abundance  of  tKera."      "  Here,  too,"  he  adds,  "  aie 
Cornish  choughs  with  red  legs  and  bills.'* 

There  are  several  small  wells,  many  of  them  holy  wells, 
but  in  very  dry  weather  the  supply  of  water  is  exhausted, 
and  the  cattle  must  be  removed,  or  water  carried  from  the 
mainland.  Fuel  is  very  scarce,  and  now,  as  well  as  two 
hundred  years  ago,  they  have  to  burn  cow- dung  dried  in  the 
sun,  when  they  cannot  get  turf  from  Connemara. 

Inismaan  contains  2,252  acres — less  than  one-third  the 
area  of  the  Great  Island — of  an  equally  churlish  soil  and 
rugged  surface,  yet  sustaining  a  population  of  about  430 
persons.  Inis-Airther  or  Eastern  Island,  though  much  the 
smallest  in  area,  had,  in  1901,  about  490  inhabitants. 
The  entire  population  of  the  three  islands  then  amounted  to 
3,050,  of  whom  56  belonged  to  the  Protestant  Church.  Of 
the  entire  population  504  could  read  and  write,  while  143 
could  read  only.  The  Irish  language  is  almost  universally 
spoken  by  the  islanders,  who  are  very  conservative  of  their 
traditions,  and  are  especially  remarkable  for  their  attachment 
to  their  native  island — they  are  happy  nowhere  else.  In 
person  they  are  a  tall  and  handsome  race,  frank  and  courteous 
in  their  demeanour,  with  a  free  and  graceful  carriage,  for 
their  limbs  are  very  lithe  and  active.  They  wear  shoes  of 
untanned  leather,  which  contribute  to  this  free  and  easy 
movement,  enabling  them  to  spring  from  rock  to  rock  with 
the  agility  of  goats.  They  are  moreover  full  of  faith  and 
piety,  considerate  and  obliging  to  strangers,  strictly  honest, 
truth- telling,  and  certainly  not  greedy  of  gain,  as  we  can 
affirm  from  personal  experience.  They  are  remarkably 
industrious — bold  fishermen  in  those  wild  seas,  and  on  shore 
are  ready  to  carry  on  their  backs  the  soil  necessary  to  cover 
the  arid  rock,  and  enable  them  to  cultivate  their  patches  of 
potatoes.  In  a  wet  season  they  have  an  excellent  crop  on 
these  limestone  platforms,  so  lightly  covered  with  clay  ;  but 
in  seasons  of  drought  the  parched  roots  can  find  no  nourish- 
ment, and  the  potato  crop  is  a  failure.  The  consequences 
are  sometimes  deplorable;  the  poor  people  are  half  starved — 
sea  fish,  when  they  can  catch  any,  and  sea- weed  when  they 
cannot,  being  then  their  principal  nourishment.  Such  were 
the  islands  of  Aran  when  Enda  first  landed  on  those  stormy 
shores,  and  such  they  are  to  this  day. 

III. — Pagan  Remains  in  the  Islks  of  Aran. 

These  islands  contain,  perhaps,  the  earliest  existing 
remains  of  pagan  architecture  in  Western  Europe.    In  every 


PAGAN  REMAINS  IN  THE  ISLES  OF  ARAN.  173 

part  of  the  three  islands  one  meets  with  some  monumxint  of 
a  great  pre-historic  people,  whose  works  even  in  their  ruins 
will  outlive  the  monuments  of  later  and  more  civilized 
peoples.  We  can  only  refer  to  them  very  briefly,  but  they 
are  too  interesting  to  be  passed  over  altogether  in  silence. 
Those  who  wish  for  fuller  information  would  do  well  to 
consult  Lord  Dunraven's  admirable  Notes  on  Irish 
Architecture,  i 

In  each  of  the  three  islands  are  found  ancient  forts  or 
duns,  which  are  traditionally  attributed  to  the  Firbolg  or 
Belgic  race.  After  their  overthrow  by  the  Tuatha  de 
Danaans  in  the  great  battles  of  North  and  South  Moytury, 
it  is  said  that  the  survivors  fled  for  refuge  to  the  remotest 
shores  and  islands  of  the  western  coast,  and  there  built  on 
almost  inaccessible  sites  those  wondrous  forts,  whose  ruins 
are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  islands  and  sea-washed  promon- 
tories from  Tory  Island  to  Yalentia. 

It  is  said  that  many  of  this  subjugated  and  exiled  race 
returned  from  their  wanderings  about  the  first  century  before 
the  Christian  era  ;  that  they  were  kindly  received  by  Meave 
and  Ailin,  then  rulers  of  the  western  province ;  and  that 
they  received  from  them  a  grant  of  Connemara,  the  Isles  of 
Aran,  and  other  uncultivated  districts,  in  which  they  strongly 
entrenched  themselves  against  any  possibility  of  future  attack. 

Not  without  cause  did  they  take  these  precautionary 
measures,  for  it  is  recorded  that  Conall  Cearnach,  and  other 
heroes  of  Ulster,  sought  to  dislodge  them  from  their  desolate 
homes  on  those  remotest  shores.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
it  was  at  this  period  the  Firbolgic  tribes  sought  to  protect 
themselves  bj^  raising  those  wondrous  stone  forts  that  still 
excite  the  admiration  of  every  traveller.  Such  is  the  Bardic 
narrative,  and  it  furnishes  a  more  satisfactory  explanation  of 
those  incient  stone  fortresses  along  the  western  coast  than 
ai>y  other  that  has  yet  been  devised. 

According  to  another  tradition  it  was  not  the  heroes  of 
the  North,  but  the  Dalcais  of  Thomond,  who  sought  to  expel 
the  wanderers  from  their  island  homes ;  and  then  the  Clann 
Umoir  built  in  self-defence  those  marvellous  fortresses  whose 
remains  still  excite  our  admiration,  as  a  further  protection 
against  their  foes. 

There  are  remains  of  seven  forts  in  the  three  islands — 
the  first  is  Dun  ^ngusa,  the  Fort  of  ^ngus. 

This  fort  gets  its  name  from  jEngus,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Hua  Mor,  a  famous  chieftain  in  our  pre-Christian  history. 
It  is  situated  at  the  very  edge  of  the  highest  portion  of  the 

^  Admirably  edited  by  Miss  Stokes>  to  whom  Irish  scholars  owe  so  much. 


1  74     THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

sea-wall  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Great  Isle  of  Aran. 
Nothing  finer  can  be  imagined  either  for  strength  or 
grandeur  than  the  site  of  this  fort.  At  this  point  the  cliff 
rises  from  the  waves  300  feet  in  perpendicular  height.  To 
the  north  and  west  stretches  out  the  ultimate  ocean  ;  on  the 
south  the  bold  promontories  of  Clare  go  out  to  meet  the 
advancing  waves ;  and  further  on  can  be  Hi^cern' d  in  the 
dim  distance  CuchuUin's  Leap  (now  called  Loop  Head),  and 
Brandon  Mountain  in  Kerry,  faintly  traceable  against  the 
sky.  All  around  there  is  the  naked  limestone  rock,  and 
scarcely  discernible  from  the  rock  are  the  giant  walls  that 
once  formed  the  last  refuge  of  the  ancient  Belgic  race  in 
Ireland. 

The  plan  of  Dun  ^ngus  can  be  much  better  understood 
since  the  recent  restoration  effected  by  the  Board  of  Works. 
This  wonderful  fort  occupies  an  angle  of  the  cliff,  and  in  out- 
line is  semi- elliptical,  with  the  diameter  resting  on  the  edge 
of  the  cliff,  which  itself  formed  a  natural  and  impregnable 
wall  on  the  sea  side.  The  fort  consists  of  a  triple  line  of 
defence,  and  thus  included  a  triple  area  rudely  concentric. 
The  wall  of  the  inmost  area  is  eighteen  feet  high,  and  about 
eight  feet  thick.  It  was  built  without  cement  of  any  kind  ; 
but  really  consists  of  two  separate  walls  built  close  together 
of  stones  moderate  in  size,  but  carefully  laid  in  horizontal 
positions.  This  inner  wall  surrounds  a  bare  rocky  floor,  now 
covered  with  green  turf,  142  feet  along  the  cliff's  edge,  and 
jibout  150  feet  in  depth  from  the  cliff  to  the  furthest 
extremity. 

This  inner  wall  had  an  entrance  some  3  feet  4  ins.  wide, 
and  quite  perfect  when  visited  by  John  O'Donovan  in  1839  ; 
but  its  lintel  has  since  been  thrown  down,  and  the  margins 
broken.  It  has,  however,  been  lately  restored  by  the  Board 
of  Works.  The  middle  wall  is  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  inner  enclosure,  in  some  places  more  than  200  feet, 
but  on  the  north-western  corner,  where  it  approaches  close  to 
the  cliff,  it  is  not  more  than  22  feet  from  the  inner  wall. 
Outside  of  this  second  wall  there  is  a  very  extraordinary 
cheveatix  de-frize,  consisting  of  large  sharp  stones  set  upright^ 
so  sharp  and  so  closely  set  that  even  to  this  day  it  is  im- 
possible for  man  or  beast  to  make  their  way  through  them, 
even  with  the  gnaiest  caution,  without  cut  shins,  if  nothing 
worse  should  happen.  We  have  ourselves  tried  the  experi- 
ment, and  we  did  not  escape  scathless.  Nothing  more 
efficacious  to  break  the  ranks  of  an  advancing  foo,  whether 
horse  or  foot,  could  possibly  have  been  devised. 


PAGAN  REMAINS  IN  THE  ISLES  OF  ARAN.  175 

Beyond  this  cheveaux-de-frize  there  are  the  remains  of  a 
third  wall,  which  enclosed  a  very  considerable  space,  and 
terminates,  like  the  other  two,  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
stupendous  clifts. 

This  fort  of  Dun  -^ngus,  with  its  triple  walls,  and  its 
chevauX'de-frize,diQiQndim^  it  all  round  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff, 
was  a  fortress  so  formidable  that  even  still  a  hundred  reso- 
lute men  could  hold  it  against  an  army,  at  least  so  long  as 
artillery  was  not  employed  to  dislodge  them. 

Dun  Conchobhair,  or  Conor's  Fort,  on  the  Middle  Island 
is  a  still  more  astonishing  structure,  if  we  have  regard  to  the 
time  when  it  was  built.  Tradition  ascribes  the  building  of 
this  noble  fort  to  Conor,  another  son  of  Hua  Mor,  and  brother 
of  ^ngus.  It  is  larger,  and  better  built  than  the  Fort  of 
^ngus,  and  is  finely  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  island  at 
its  highest  point  about  250  feet  above  the  sea.  The  inner- 
most enclosure  measures  227  feet  in  length  by  115  feet  in 
breadth,  and  is  oval  in  form.  The  wall  had  two  faces  and  a 
central  core ;  it  has  besides  a  considerable  batter,  and  varies 
in  diflPerent  parts  to  from  five  to  eight  feet  in  width.  On  the 
east  side  there  was  a  triple  wall  nearly  eighteen  feet  in 
breadth,  and  twenty  feet  high.  Its  summit  seems  to  have 
been  approached  by  a  flight  of  lateral  steps  in  the  wall,  of 
which  the  traces  still  remain. 

In  this,  as  well  as  in  some  of  the  other  forts,  are  the 
remains  of  cloghatins,  or  small  cells,  of  beehive  shape,  built 
of  stone,  which  were  evidently  the  habitations  of  the 
defenders  of  the  fortress.  This  fact  is  highly  important, 
because  it  goes  to  show,  that  the  beehive  cell  of  the  early 
saints  within  the  caiseal  or  sacred  enclosure  was  not  a 
new  idea,  but  simply  the  practice,  which  the  saints  had 
themselves  seen  in  those  pagan  forts,  where  stone  abounded. 

There  is  another  fort  called  Mothar  Dun,  on  the  Middle 
Island,  which  is  both  in  size  and  outline  merely  a  reproduc- 
tion of  Dun  Oonacht,  to  which  we  shall  presently  refer.  Its 
largest  diameter  is  103  feet,  and  its  smallest  93  feet.  It  was 
so  situated  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  that  the  summit  of  the 
rocky  cliff  overlooks  the  area  of  the  fort. 

Dubh  Cathair,  the  Black  Fort,  is  in  the  townland  of 
Killeany,  on  Aran  Mor.  It  was  situated  on  an  isolated  pro- 
montory rising  high  above  the  sea,  and  separated  from  the 
mainland  by  a  wall  and  fosse  about  220  feet  in  length.  The 
fort  takes  its  name  from  the  black  colour  of  the  stones  with 
which  it  was  built. 

Dun  Oonacht  is   also   on   Aran   Mor,    at   its   northern 


176  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

extremity,  and  commands  a  magnificent  view  of  the  coast  line 
and  mountains  of  Connemara.  In  shape  it  is  nearly  circular, 
with  a  diameter  of  94  feet,  and  is  built  of  large  stones,  laid 
horizontally,  but  not  in  courses.  The  fort  wail  was  very 
much  broken ;  it  has,  we  believe,  been  repaired  since  our 
visit,  but  it  is  still  quite  15  feet  high  on  the  southern  side. 
There  are  no  traces  of  a  chevaux-de-frize,  as  at  Dun  ^ngus, 
and  at  the  Black  Fort.  Dun  Oghil  is  also  in  Aran  Mor, 
and  crowns  the  summit  of  the  highest  hill  on  the  island.  It 
has  two  concentric  enclosures,  the  inner  of  which  is  an  oval 
75  by  91  feet.     The  name  meant  the  Fort  of  the  Yew  Wood. 

There  was  another  large  fort  on  the  Southern  Island,  but 
even  tradition  has  forgotten  its  name.  There  are  also  other 
remains  of  a  similar  character  in  these  islands,  especially  on 
Aran  Mor,  but  even  their  names  have  vanished  from  the 
tenacious  memory  of  the  islanders.  At  least  one  of  these 
ancient  forts,  the  Dun  of  Muirbheach  Mil,  was  utilized  in 
Christian  times  as  a  monastic  enclosure,  within  which  the 
oratory  and  the  cells  of  the  monks  were  constructed.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  all  the  stone  caiseals  on  the  shores  and 
islands  of  the  West,  were  similarly  of  pagan  origin,  but  were 
utilized  by  the  monks  to  protect  their  own  religious  buildings. 

It  is  quite  evident  to  any  one,  who  surveys  these  ruins  on 
Aran  Mor,  that  the  islands  were  in  ancient  times  the  strong- 
hold of  a  warrior  race,  who  preferred  the  freedom  of  these 
barren  crags  to  serfdom  in  the  more  fertile  lands  of  the 
interior.  They  were  men  of  might,  who  loved  their  freedom 
dearly  and  resolved  to  defend  it  to  the  last  extremity.  They 
could  not  have  subsisted  on  the  naked  rocks  around  them, 
and  were  most  likely  toilers  on  the  sea,  if  not  freebooters  as 
well,  who  seized  with  strong  hand  whatever  they  could  grasp 
by  land  or  water  ;  and  then  fled  for  shelter  to  their  insular 
fortresses,  where  they  might  laugh  to  scorn  any  force  sent  to 
punish  them.  Yet  they  must  have  been  men  of  bold  hearts, 
burning  with  an  unconquerable  love  of  liberty,  to  build  their 
eyries  on  the  topmost  cliffs  of  those  storm  swept  islands.  So 
we  thought,  as  we  sat,  on  the  lofty  cliff'  of  Dun  ^ngus, 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  boiling  sea,  surrounded  by  the 
grand  old  walls,  which  their  hands  had  reared  at  least  •J,(H)0 
years  ago.  And  if  the  spirits  of  the  dead  can  ever  revisit  the 
haunts  they  loved  during  life,  we  can  well  fancy  how  the 
ghosts  of  the  vanished  sea-kings  would  still  revel  on  those 
lone  heights,  when  the  storm  swept  in  from  the  west,  and 
the  scream  of  the  sea  birds  was  mingled  on  some  wild  night 
with  the  roar  of  the  white-breasted  billows. 


CHRISTIAN  ARAN  OF  ST.  ENDA.  177 

It  IS  strange  tLat  history  furnislies  us  with  no  account  of 
the  final  extinction  of  these  bold  warriors.  Were  they  swept 
into  the  sea  by  the  advancing  hosts  of  the  Milesian  tribes  ? 
or  were  they  the  "  infidels  from  Corcomroe,"  who  dwelt  in 
the  islands  when  Enda  first  dared  to  set  his  foot  on  their  god- 
less shores?  We  cannot  tell;  we  only  know  that  Enda 
changed  these  pagan  isles  into  islands  of  the  blest,  that  side 
by  side  with  the  pagan  ruins  of  sea-kings  are  the  churches 
and  cells  of  himself  and  his  followers,  which  taken  together, 
make  the  Isles  of  Aran  the  most  holy  and  most  interesting 
spot  within  the  wide  bounds  of  Britain's  insular  empire. 

IV. — Christian  Aran  of  St.  Enda. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  Enda  came  first  across  the  North 
Sound  from  Garomna  Island  on  the  coast  of  Connemara,  and 
landed  in  the  little  bay  under  the  village  of  Killeany,  to  which 
he  has  given  his  name.  He  came  over  too  in  a  stone  boat,  which 
floated  lightly  on  the  tide.  It  is  there  still;  we  saw  it  our- 
selves on  the  sea  shore.  "Where  is  it,"  I  said  to  my  guide. 
"  Yonder  on  the  shore  near  the  boat,"  he  replied,  and  keeping 
my  eyes  fixed  on  the  boat,  which  was  before  us,  and  towards 
which  we  directed  our  steps  in  the  gloom  as  to  a  land-mark» 
I  did  not  perceive  until  quite  close  that  the  *  boat '  was  in 
reality  a  large  rock,  so  like  a  boat  in  shape  that  a  stranger 
could  not  tell  the  difference  at  any  distance  in  the  fading 
light !  This  spot,  in  Enda's  Life,  is  called  Leamhchoill,  but 
according  to  O'Flaherty  it  is  more  properly  called  Ocuill,  and 
it  is  nigh,  he  says,  to  the  great  Curragh  Stone,  in  which 
Enda  sailed  over  the  sea  to  the  island. 

Corban,  the  chief  of  the  *  Gentiles,*  who  dwelt  on  the 
islands,  was  at  first  hostile  to  Enda,  and  plotted  against  his 
life.  But  frightened  by  the  prodigies  which  he  witnessed, 
and  convinced  that  Enda  was  indeed  a  man  of  God,  he  appears 
to  have  quietly  given  up  the  Great  Island  to  the  saint  and 
withdrawn  with  his  people,  who  consented  to  become 
Christians,  either  to  the  neighbouring  islands  or  to  the  main- 
land. 

Enda  founded  his  first  monastery  at  Killeany,  close  to  the 
present  village  of  the  same  name,  and  the  fame  of  his  austere 
sanctity  soon  spread  throughout  all  Erin,  and  attracted 
religious  men  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Amongst  the 
first  who  came  to  visit  Enda's  island  sanctuary  was  the 
celebrated  St.  Brendan,  the  Navigator  as  he  is  called,  who 
was  then  revolving  in  his  mind  his  great  projects  of  discover- 

M 


178  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

m^  the  Promised  Land  beyond  the  western  main.  He  came 
to  consult  End  a  and  seek  his  blessing  for  the  prosperous 
execution  of  his  daring  purpose. 

**  Hearing;  how  blessed  Enda  lived  apart, 

Amid  the  sacred  caves  of  Aran-Mor, 
And  how  beneath  his  eye  spread  like  a  chart, 

Lay  all  the  isles  of  that  remotest  shore  ; 
And  how  he  had  collected  in  his  mind 

All  that  was  known  to  man  of  the  Old  Sea, 
I  left  the  Hill  of  Miracles  behind. 

And  sailed  from  out  the  shallow  sandy  Lea. 

"  When  I  proclaimed  the  project  that  I  nursed, 
How  'twas  for  this  that  I  his  blessing  sought, 
An  irrepressible  C  \y  of  joy  outburst 

From  his  pure  lips,  that  blessed  me  for  the  thought. 
He  said  that  he  too  had  in  visions  strayed 

Over  the  untracked  ocean's  billowy  foam  ; 
Bid  me  have  hope,  that  God  would  give  me  aid, 
And  bring  me  safe  back  to  my  native  home." 

—I).  F.  McCarthy. 

Thither  too  came  Finnian  of  Clonard,  himself  the  "  Tutoi" 
of  the  Saints  of  Erin,''  to  drink  in  heavenly  wisdom  from  the 
lips  of  the  blessed  Enda ;  for  Enda  seems  to  have  been  the 
senior  of  all  these  saints  of  the  Second  Order,  and  he  was 
loved  and  reverenced  by  them  all  as  a  father.  Clonard  was 
a  great  College  ;  but  Aran  of  St.  Enda  was  the  greatest 
sanctuary  and  nursery  of  holiness  throughout  all  the  land  of 
Erin.  Thither  came,  even  from  the  farthest  North,  another 
venerable  sage,  Finnian  of  Moville,  one  of  the  teachers  of  the 
great  Columcille.  And  thither  too  came  Coluracille  himself,  a 
scion  of  the  royal  race  of  Niall  the  Great,  the  ardent  high-souled 
prince  of  Tirconnell,  who  had  not  yet  quite  schooled  his  fiery 
spirit  to  the  patient  endurance  of  injustice  or  insult.  And 
therefore  he  came  in  his  currach  with  the  scholar's  belt  and 
book-satchel  to  learn  divine  wisdom  in  this  remote  school  of 
the  sea.  Here  he  took  his  turn  at  grinding  the  corn,  and 
herding  the  sheep ;  he  studied  the  Scriptures  and  learned 
from  Enda's  lips  the  virtues  of  a  true  monk,  as  practised  by 
the  saints  and  fathers  of  the  desert,  and  as  daily  exhibited  in 
the  godly  life  and  conversation  of  the  blessed  Enda  himsell', 
and  of  the  holy  companions  who  shared  his  studies  and  his 
labours. 

Most  reluctantly  he  left  the  sacred  isle,  and  we  know 
from  a  poem  which  he  has  left  how  dearly  he  loved  Aran, 
and  how  bitterly  he   sorrowed   in  his  soul  when  "  the  Sou  oi 


CHRISTIAN  ARAN  OF  ST  ENDA.  179 

Q-od "  called  him  away  from  ihat  beloved  island  to  otiier 
scenes  and  other  labours 

**  Farewell  to  Aran  Isle  ;  farewell  I 
I  steer  for  Hy — my  heart  is  sore ; 
The  breakers  burst,  the  billows  swell, 
Twixt  Aran  Isle  and  Alba's  shore."^ 

He  calls  it  Aran,  "  Sun  of  all  the  West,"  another  Pilgrims' 
Rome,  under  whose  pure  earth  he  would  as  soon  be  buried, 
as  nigh  to  the  graves  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

With  Columcille  at  Aran  was  also  the  mild-eyed  Oiaran, 
'the  Carpenter's  son,'  and  the  best  beloved  of  all  the  disciples 
of  Enda.  And  when  Ciaran,  too,  was  called  away  by  Grod  to 
found  his  own  great  monastery  in  the  green  meadows  by  the 
Shannon's  side,  we  are  told  that  Enda  and  his  monks  came 
with  him  down  to  the  sea  shore,  whilst  their  eyes  were  moist 
and  their  hearts  were  sorrow-laden.  Then  the  young  and 
gentle  Ciaran,  whose  own  career  was  destined  to  be  so  bright 
;md  so  brief,  knelt  down  on  the  white  sand  and  begged  his 
holy  father's  blessing,  while  the  tears  streamed  down  his 
cheeks.  It  was  too  much  for  the  holy  old  man  to  bear  ;  in 
the  pathetic  language  of  the  Scripture  he  lifted  up  his  voice 
and  wept  aloud — "  Oh  !  my  brethren,"  he  said,  "  why  should 
I  not  weep  ?  this  day  our  island  has  lost  its  choicest  flower 
and  the  strength  of  religious  observance."  So  Ciaran  got 
his  Abbot's  blessing,  and  entering  his  currach,  sailed  away 
for  the  mainland ;  but  he  often  turned  his  streaming  eyes  to 
look  back  on  Aran,  the  home  of  his  heart,  and  on  the  little 
cells  where  his  brethren  dwelt,  and  the  oratory  of  his  beloved 
father,  Enda,  and  the  billowy  cliffs  of  the  hoty  island  now 
fast  fading  from  his  view. 

There  is  hardly  a  single  one  of  the  great  saints  of  the 
Second  Order  who  did.  not  spend  some  time  in  Aran.  It  was, 
as  we  have  said,  the  novitiate  of  their  religious  life.  St. 
Jarlath  of  Tuam,  nearly  as  old  as  Enda  himself, St.  Carthach 
the  Elder  of  Lismore,  the  two  St.  Kevins  of  Glendalough — 
two  brothers,  St.  Mac  Creiche  of  Corcomroe,  St.  Lonan  Kerr, 
St.  Nechan,  St.  Guigneus,  St.  Papeus.  St.  Libeus.  brother  of 
St.  Enda  himself,  all  were  there. 

There  is  no  other  part  of  Ireland  so  mterestina'  as  tliese 
Aran  Islands,  not  only  from  their  past  history,  but  from  the 
great  number  of  Christian  remains  that  are  still  to  be  found 
on  their  shores.  No  where  else  do  we  hnd  so  many  ana  so 
various  specimens  of  early  Christian  architecture — churches. 


^Aubrey  de  Vere's  Translation — Irish  Odes  and  other  Jr'oema. 


180  TIIF.  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  A1?AN. 

cloghauns,  duirteachs,  crosses,  and  cash  els.  To  these  monu- 
ments, however  interesting  in  themselves,  we  can  make  but 
very  brief  reference. 

Enda  divided  Aran  Mor  into  two  parts;  one-half  he  as- 
signed to  his  own  monastry  of  Killeany  ;  the  other  or  western 
half  he  assigned  to  such  of  his  disciples  as  chose  to  erect  per- 
manent religious  houses  in  the  island.  This,  however,  seems 
to  have  been  a  later  arrangement,  for  at  first  it  is  said  that 
he  had  150  disciples  under  his  own  care;  but  when  the  estab' 
lishment  grew  to  be  thus  large  in  numbers,  he  divided  the 
whole  island  into  ten  parts — each  having  its  own  religious 
house,  and  its  own  superior,  while  he  himself  retained  a 
general  superintendence  over  them  all.  The  existing  remains 
prove  conclusively  that  there  must  have  been  several  distinct 
establishments  on  the  island,  for  we  find  separate  groups 
of  ruins  at  Killeany,  at  Killronan,  at  Kilraurvey,  and  further 
west  at  "The  Seven  Churches."  The  islanders  still  retain 
many  vivid  and  interesting  traditions  of  the  saints  and  their 
churches.  Fortunately,  too,  we  have  other  aids  also  to  con- 
firm these  traditions,  and  identify  the  founders  or  patrons  of 
the  existing  ruins. 

The  life  of  Enda  and  his  monks  was  simple  and  austere. 
The  day  was  divided  into  periods  for  prayer,  labour,  and  sacred 
study.  Each  community  had  its  own  church  and  its  village 
of  stone  cells  in  which  they  slept  either  on  the  bare  ground 
or  on  a  bundle  of  straw  covered  with  a  rug,  but  always  in  the 
clothes  woi^  by  day.  They  assembled  for  their  devotions  in 
the  church  or  oratory  of  the  saint,  under  whose  immediate 
care  they  were  placed  ;  they  took  their  frugal  meals  in  a 
common  refectory,  and  cooked  their  food  in  a  common  kitchen 
— for  they  had  no  fires  in  the  stone  cells  however  cold — if 
cold  could  be  felt  by  these  hearts  so  glowing  with  the  love 
of  God.  They  invariably  carried  out  the  monastic  rule  of 
procuring  their  own  food  by  labour.  Some  fished  around  the 
islands ;  others  cultivated  patches  of  oats  or  barley  in  sheltered 
spots  between  the  rocks.  Others  ground  it  with  tlie  quern, 
like  Ciaran,  or  kneaded  the  meal  into  bread,  and  baked  it  for 
the  use  of  the  brethren.  They  could  have  no  fruit  on  these 
islands,  nor  wine  or  mead,  nor  flesh  meat,  except  perhaps  ^ 
little  for  the  sick.  Sometimes  on  the  groat  festivals,  or  wlu^n 
guests  of  distinction  came  to  the  island,  one  of  their  tiny 
sheep  was  killed,  and  then  the  brethren  were  allowed  to  share, 
if  they  chose,  in  the  good  cheer  provided  for  the  visitors. 
Enda  himself  never  tasted  flesh  meat,  and  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  many  of  his  monks  followed  the  saint's  example. 


ANCIENT  CHURCHES  IN  ARAN.  181 

Yet  their  lives  were  full  of  sunny  hope  and  true  happiness. 
That  desert  island  was  a  paradise  for  those  children  of  Grod  ; 
its  arid  rocks  were  to  them  as  a  garden  of  delights ;  the  sun- 
light on  its  summer  seas  was  a  bright  picture  of  heavenly 
joys ;  and  the  roar  of  its  wintry  billows  reminded  them  of 
the  power  and  of  the  wrath  of  God.  So  they  passed  their 
blameless  lives  living  only  for  God,  and  waiting  not  in  fear,  but 
in  hope,  for  the  happy  hour  when  their  Heavenly  Father  would 
call  them  home.  Their  bodies  were  laid  to  rest  beside  the 
walls  of  the  little  churches — their  graves  may  still  be  seen 
stretched  side  by  side,  and  who  can  doubt  that  their  sinless 
souls  went  up  to  God  in  heaven  ? 

V. — Ancient  Churches  in  Aran. 

Colgan  has  fortunately  preserved  for  us  a  description  of 
the  old  churches  of  Aran,  written  about  the  5^ear  a.d.  1645,  by 
the  learned  and  accomplished  Malachy  O'Queely,  Archbishop 
of  Tuam.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  O'Queely's  list,  even  in  his 
own  time,  was  quite  accurate ;  with  its  help,  however,  and 
such  information  as  we  were  able  to  collect  from  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  people,  as  well  as  from  other  sources,  we  shall 
give  as  full  a  list  of  the  existing  remains  as  we  can  at  present 
obtain. 

In  the  townland  of  Killeany,  O'Queely  enumerates  the 
following  churches: — (1)  Killeany  itself,  that  is,  KillEnda, 
pronounced  Killeany — for  Enda  is  pronounced  Enna  by  the 
islanders.  It  was  the  parish  church,  he  tells  us,  and  gave  its 
name  to  the  village,  which  is  close  at  hand.  (2)  There  is  the 
oratory  of  St.  Enda,  a  much  smaller  building,  close  to  the  sea 
shore,  in  which  the  saint  himself  was  buried.  It  is  called 
Teglach-Enda,  which  probably  means  the  tumulus,  or  grave- 
mound  of  Enda.  (3)  There  was  another  church  called  Tem- 
pull  Mic  Longa,  doubtless  founded  by  the  saint,  whose  name 
it  bears,  but  of  whom  nothing  further  is  known.  O'Queely 
says  it  was  near  the  parish  church,  but  the  place  cannot  at 
present  be  ^  identified  with  certainty.  (4)  TempuU  Mic 
Canonn,  of  which,  says  O'Queely,  nothing  more  is  known. 
(5)  Another  church  called  Tempull  Benain,  which  gives  rise 
to  a  very  interesting  question  as  to  whether  it  was  dedicated 
to  St.  Benignus  or  founded  by  that  saint.  St  Benignus,  the 
elder,  was  dead  before  St.  Enda  first  arrived  in  Aran; 
so  it  is  more  likely  this  church  was  founded  by  *  Benen, 
brother  of  Cethech,'  who  was  also  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick. 
This  Tempull  Benain  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  ruins  in 
the  island,  and  is  a  very  beautiful  example  of  our  primitive 


18:^  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAIS. 

'stone  oratories.  (6)  Another  cliiircli  was  dedicated  to  tne 
Blessed  Virgin,  as  was  indeed  usually  the  case  in  our  great 
nioniistic  enclosures.  (7)  Then  there  was  another  church 
called  Mainister  Connachtach — the  Connaughtman's  monat.- 
tery — which  O'Queely  holds  to  have  been,  distinct  from  (8) 
Kill-na-inanach,  the  latter  being  founded  by,  or  dedicated  to, 
St.  Caradoc — a  British  *  monk,'  who  is  probably  the  same 
?s  the  celebrated  St.  Cadoc,  the  founder  of  Llancarvan  in 
Wales. 

Thus  we  have  in  the  single  townland  of  Killeany  no  less 
than  seven  or  eight  churches  and  oratories,  s^rouped  together 
around  the  oratories  of  St.  Enda  and  of  St.  Benignus.  It  is 
remarkable  that  these  two  alone  now  survive — perhaps 
because  the  islanders  would  not  allow  the  vandals,  who 
carried  off  the  stones  of  the  other  churches,  and  of  the  round 
tower,  to  build  *  CromwelFs  Port,'  to  touch  these  two  more 
ancient  ana  more  holy  oratories.  There  was  also  a  Franciscan 
monasierv  on  tne  sea  shore,  and  it  may  be  some  of  the  stones 
were  carried  otf  for  its  construction  also.  , 

The  oratory  of  St.  Enda,  called  Telagh-Enda,  is  of 
course  the  most  interesting  of  all  these* ruins.  It  is  still 
wonderfully  well  preserved,  and,  although  some  repairs  took 
place  at  dili'erent  times,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  greater 
nart  of  the  ori urinal  building  still  remains.  The  grave-yard 
in  which  127  saints  are  buried  surrounds  the  church.  The 
grave  of  the  founder  himself,  according  to  O'Flaherty,  was  a 
lew  paces  to  the  north-west  from  the  door  of  the  church. 
The  Iioly  spot  is  sometimes  quite  covered  with  the  drifting 
sand ;  at  other  times  Enda's  grave,  and  the  leac  or  flag 
covermff  it,  can  be  pointed  out  by  any  of  the  islanders. 
There  were  other  primitive  churches  founded  by  Enda 
which  still  bear  his  name  both  in  Clare  and  Galway ;  and 
we  find  that  even  in  Meath,  Limerick,  and  Queen's  County, 
there  are  Darisnes,  as  there  were  once,  no  doubt,  old  churches, 
dedicated  to  Jhis  name.  Killeany  of  Arran,  however,  was  the 
most  celebrated  of  them  all — there  he  lived  for  more  than 
sixty  years,  *  in  his  prison  of  hard  narrow  stone,'  and  there 
he  sleeps  beside  the  sea,  surrounded  by  the  loved  ones  whom 
he  taught  and  sanctified. 

Of  the  group  now  called  by  the  natives  the  *  Seven 
Churches,'  O'Queely  mentions  only  two — the  parish  church 
known  as  Tempull  Brecain,  and  another  church  close  at 
hand  which,  he  says,  is  commonly  called  Tempull  a  PhuilL 
It  is  highly  probable  that  there  were  other  churches  also 
■around  Tempull  Brecain.  althoui^h  it  is  now  quite  impossible 


ANCIENT  CHURCHES  IN  ARAN.  183 

to  ascertain  either  the  patrons  or  founders.  Dr.  Petrie, 
however,  whose  opinion  is  entitled  to  the  greatest  weight, 
thinks  that  the  other  buildings,  whose  remains  are  still  to  be 
seen  at  the  '*  Seven  Churches ''  in  Aran  Mor,  were  monastic 
buildings  annexed  to  the  churches.  TempuU  Brecain  was 
certainly  the  central  buildiug  of  this  group,  and  was  of 
considerable  size,  the  nave  measuring  32  feet  by  18,  and  the 
chancel  20  feet  by  18J  in  breadth.  The  latter  in  its  present 
state  seems  to  be  the  work  of  a  later  period,  although  portions 
of  the  original  wall  still  remain.  The  masonry  in  the  earlier 
parts  is  more  coarse  and  irregular,  and  is  apparently  coeval 
with  that  of  Kill-Enda.  There  is  in  the  north  wall  a  very 
peculiar  angular- headed  window,  which  seems  to  have 
belonged  to  the  primitive  structure,  and  is  characteristic  of 
our  most  ancient  churches.  The  western  door  has  dis- 
appeared ;  but  a  chancel-arch  of  exquisite  workmanship  has 
been  inserted  in  the  eastern  gable.  It  is  so  beautifully  built, 
and  so  Roman  in  its  style,  that  Dr.  Petrie  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  must  have  been  executed  by  foreign  work- 
men. In  the  interior  of  the  west  wall  of  the  nave  is  an 
inscribed  stone  having  in  uncial  letters  the  words 
OE,  AE  II  CANOIN— "A  prayer  for  the  two  canons''— 
but  who  they  were  is  quite  unknown.  It  will  be  recollected 
that  there  was  at  Killeany,  according  to  O'Queely's  list,  a 
church  called  "  TempuU  Mic  Canonn,'*  perhaps  the  son  of 
one  of  those  here  commemorated. 

The  tomb  of  the  founder,  St.  Brecan,  was  discovered 
about  forty  years  ago,  says  Petrie,  when  a  grave  was  being 
opened  to  receive  the  remains  of  a  priest  who,  at  his  death, 
expressed  a  wish  to  be  buried  in  that  grave.  On  the  flag- 
stone was  a  cross  within  a  circle  with  the  words  (s)ci 
BRECANi,  which  Petrie  translates  "  for  the  Head  (Capiti)  of 
Brecan."  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  first  word  is  an 
abbreviation  for  '  Sancti,'  and  that  the  meaning  is — *'  (the 
stone)  of  holy  Brecan,"  which  was  doubtless  placed  over  the 
saint  by  his  beloved  disciples.  On  the  same  occasion  another 
stone  was  discovered  within  the  grave  with  the  simple  legend 
in  the  rudest  Irish  characters  *^  or  ar  bran  n'alither — 
a  prayer  for  Bran  the  pilgrim.  This  seems  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  Brecan,  and  points  to  the  identity  of  the  pilgrim 
of  Aran  with  the  founder  of  Ardbraccan  in  Meath.  He  was 
of  the  Dalcassian  race  in  Munster,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  great- grand-son  of  Eochaidh  Balldearg,  Prince  of 
Thomond,  who  was  baptized  by  St.  Patrick.  He  came  to 
Aran,  which  had  belonged  to  his  relatives,  during  the  life- 


184  THE  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN 

time  of  Enda,  who  divided  the  island,  as  it  seems,  between 
their  respective  followers.  An  amusing  story  is  told  by  the 
islanders  of  this  division.  It  was  agreed  that  the  two  saints 
should  commence  Mass  at  the  same  hour,  and  then,  after 
Mass,  set  out  with  their  followers  to  meet  each  other.  The 
point  of  meeting  was  to  be  the  bouudar}^  Now  Brecan  took 
advantage  of  Enda,  and  began  Mass  before  him,  so  that  he 
was  able  to  gain  the  start  first.  When  Enda  reached  the 
high  ground  he  saw  that  the  other  saint  had  not  dealt 
fairly  with  him  ;  and,  praying  to  God,  "he  fastened  him  and 
his  monks,  your  reverence,  near  the  sea  at  Kilmurvey,  so 
that  he  could  not  stir  an  inch  until  the  blessed  Enda  came 
leisurely  up  to  him,  and  fixed  the  line  of  division  at  that 
spot." 

In  the  church-yard  of  St.  Brecan's  Church  are  ^ve  graves 
covered  with  flags  lying  side  by  side,  but  only  recently 
exposed  to  view.  On  one  of  the  headstones  is  the  following 
curious  inscription  engraved  by  Petrie  (who  did  not  see  the 

graves),  and   still    distinctly    visible    and    legible, 

^  -^  ^  ma||ni 

around  the  arms  of  the  cross.  The  Septem  Homani,  or 
Seven  Homans,  here  commemorated,  doubtless,  sleep  together 
in  these  five  graves^  for  two  of  the  graves  are  much  larger 
than  the  others,  and  are  supposed  to  contain  two  bodies  each. 

At  first  sight  it  might  appear  strange  to  have  *  seven 
Romans  '  buried  together  in  this  far  off  island  ;  but  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that  Gauls,  or  Britons,  who  enjoyed  the 
Imperial  citizenship  in  the  fifth  century  would  be  called 
*  Romans,'  and  we  know  from  the  Lives  of  our  early  Saints, 
and  from  the  Calendar  of  TRngns,  that  many  Britons, 
Franks  and  ^  Romans  '  of  the  provinces  came  to  Ireland  in 
the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  as  well  as  in  the  following  century, 
when  the  Anglo-Saxons  drove  them  out  of  England,  as  the 
Franks  had  driven  these  *  Romans'  out  of  Gaul.  It  is  a 
touching  sight  to  see  their  graves  side  by  side  in  this  remote 
Isle  of  the  West — those  citizens  of  Imperial  Rome  forced  to 
seek  an  asylum  in  this  quiet  home  of  sanctity  and  learning, 
which  was  beyond  the  limits  even  of  their  world-wide 
empire.  Their  simple  headstone  has  outlived  the  Forum 
and  the  Colosseum ;  it  is  still  standing  on  the  spot  whore  it 
was  placed  by  pious  hands  thirteen  hundred  years  ago. 
Even  now  the  islanders  point  to  it  with  veneration  as  the 
resting-place  of  pilgrim  saints,  bui  who  they  were,  or  whence 
they  came,  they  have  no  notion  whatsoever. 

There  are   miujy  other   interesting   n^onuments   at   the 


ANCIENT  CHURCHES  IN  ARAN.  185 

"  Seven  Churclies,"  which  we  cannot  now  describe  in  detail, 
such  as  sculptured  stones  and  crosses  with  the  characteristic 
Celtic  ornamentation  of  the  most  elaborate  style,  including 
on  one  stone  a  rude  figure  of  the  Crucifixion.  There  are  also 
the  ruins  of  a  curious  building  called  the  "  Church  of  the 
Hollow,"  of  mediaeval  date,  which  was  probably  the  oratory 
and  cell  of  one  of  the  enclosed  saints,  who  flourished  in 
Ireland  during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries.  There  was 
also  an  ancient  baptistry  supplied  by  a  perennial  fountain 
from  the  living  rock — one  of  the  few  in  Aran — which 
points  to  the  early  custom  of  baptism  by  immersion,  as  then 
practised  in  Ireland. 

The  group  of  ruins  at  Kilmurvey  was  situated  within  one 
of  those  ancient  caiseals  probably  of  pagan  origin,  but 
utilized  by  the  monks  for  the  protection  of  their  own 
ecclesiastical  buildings.  The  ancient  dun  of  Muirbheacb 
Mil — a  stout  Firbolgic  warrior  of  Aran — was  thus  utilized 
by  Colman  Mac  Duagh,  and  then  the  place  changed  its 
name,  and  came  to  be  called  Kilmurvey,  as  if  the  savage  old 
pagan  had  changed  his  nature,  and  having  become  a  monk 
had  founded  the  church  within  his  stronghold.  It  was, 
however,  founded,  not  by  him,  but  by  St.  Colman  Mac  Duagh, 
from  whom  the  Diocese  of  Kilmacduagh  takes  its  name. 
There  is  another  church  close  at  hand  known  as  Tempull 
Beg-na-]N'aomh — the  Little  Church  of  the  Saints.  It  was 
a  small  oratory  without  nave  or  chancel,  15 J  feet  long  by 
9 J  feet  in  breadth. 

The  Grreat  Church,  however,  founded  by  St.  Colman,  was 
a  very  beautiful  building,  and  was  regarded  by  Lord 
Dunraven  as  the  most  interesting  in  Aran  Mor.  The  nave 
was  18  feet  8  inches  long,  by  14^  feet  broad ;  the  chancel 
was  15  feet  4  inches  in  length  by  11  feet  2  inches  in  breadth. 
The  lintel  of  the  western  door  is  a  single  granite  block, 
borne  by  a  glacier  from  the  mountains  of  Connemara,  5  feet 
in  length  by  2J  feet  in  depth. 

Around  the  churches  were  discovered  the  remains  of 
several  cloghauns,  or  beehive  cells,  and  a  great  number  of 
ornamental  brass  pins,  used  to  fasten  the  mantles  of  the 
ancient  warriors.  As  these  were  found  within  the  cells  it 
would  go  to  prove  that  they  were  originally  built  and 
tenanted  by  the  warriors  of  Muirbheach  Mil,  that  the 
monks  of  St.  Colman  simply  took  possession  of  the  deserted 
stronghold  with  its  cells,  and  then  built  their  churches  within 
its  walls.  The  pins  were  of  various  forms  and  sizes,  and  of 
tasteful   workmanship.     Ko    coins  were  discovered,  which 


186  THK  MONASTIC  SCHOOL  OP  ST.  ENDA  OF  ARAN. 

would  go  to  show  that  these  pins  did  not  belong  to  Danish 
warriors,  and  the  monks  certainly  never  used  such  articles. 
Inscribed  stones  were  also  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
these  churches,  but  they  have  all  unfortunately  disap- 
peared. This  ancient  church  is  near  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Johnstone,  and  some  of  the  stones  were  probably  used  in 
building  the  house  or  garden  walls.  As  St.  Colman  flourished 
about  the  year  A.u.  620,  this  group  of  buildings  must  be 
regarded  as  of  nearly  100  years  later  date  than  the  oratories 
of  St.  Benen  and  St.  Enda. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  of  the  old 
churches  in  Aran  Mor  is  that  which  is  called  in  Irish, 
Tempull-na-Cheathair-Aluinn,  the  Church  of  the  Four 
Beauties  ;  that  is,  according  to  O'Queely,  of  St.  Fursey, 
St.  Brendan  of  Birr,  St.  Conall,  and  St.  Berchan.  It  is, 
says  Petrie,  a  small  but  beautiful  edifice  of  cut  stone,  and 
was  lighted  by  three  small  round -headed  windows,  so  placed 
as  to  illuminate  the  altar,  two  being  in  the  side  wall,  and  one 
in  the  east  gable  over  the  altar.  In  Petrie's  time  this  broken 
window  was  over-arched  with  ivy,  woodbine,  and  thorny 
brambles.  The  late  restorations  by  the  Board  of  Works 
have  removed  these  tangled  growths,  and  revealed  the  little 
church  in  something  of  its  primitive  beauty.  The  simple 
stone  altar  is  still  standing  at  which  the  four  beautiful 
saints  officiated,  and  a  small  chamber,  6  feet  long  by  3  feet 
10  inches  in  breadth,  can  still  be  seen  within  the  wall  on  the 
west  side.  It  may  have  been  used  as  a  sacristy,  or,  perhaps, 
as  the  dwelling-place  of  a  recluse.  There  are  cloghauns 
close  at  hand,  which  were,  doubtless,  the  cells  of  the  four 
saints.  Most  interesting  of  all  are  the  four  graves  lately 
revealed,  stretched  side  hj  side,  within  a  small  enclosure 
under  the  wall  of  the  church.  It  is  truly  a  touching  sight, 
which  few  can  see  unmoved,  when  they  think  of  the  simple 
and  holy  lives  of  these  four  beautiful  saints  ;  how  they  lived 
and  loved  together ;  how  calmly  and  how  sweetly  they  rest 
under  the  shadow  of  those  holy  walls,  where  they  worshipped 
God ;  and  how  tenderly  their  memory  is  still  cherished  by 
islanders  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  twelve  hundred  years. 
Close  at  hand  is  the  holy  well,  whose  crystal  waters  were  their 
only  drink ;  and  near  it  a  large  cloghaun  about  20  feet  in 
length,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  refectory,  where  they 
took  their  frugal  meals  together. 

O'Queely's  conjecture  as  to  their  identity  is  highly 
improbable,  for  the  four  saints  whom  he  names  could  not 
have  lived  together,  and  certaiuly  were  not  buried   togother 


ANCIENT   CHURCHES  IN  ARAN.  187 

in  Aran  Mor ;  whereas  everytliing  connected  with  the  Four 
Beauties  would  seem  to  show  that  they  lived  together  around 
this  little  church,  and  are  buried  without  doubt  in  the  four 
graves,  that  are  still  to  be  seen  side  by  side  within  their  own 
enclosure.  Such,  too,  is  the  continuous  living  tradition  of 
the  islanders.  There  was,  doubtless,  another  group  of 
churches  at  Kilronan,  but  all  traces  of  them  have  disappeared. 
About  a  mile  north-west  of  Kilronan  are  the  ruins  of 
Monasterkieran  ;  close  at  hand  is  St.  Kieran's  Well,' and  the 
little  harbour  itself  is  still  known  as  St.  Kieran's  Bay  ; 
which  show  that  the  gentle  saint  of  Clonmacnoise  founded  a 
monastery  in  the  holy  island  before  he  finally  left  its  rugged 
shores. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Aran  Mor  is  pre-eminently  a  holy 
island,  and  well  deserves  its  name,  Aran  of  the  Saints.  It 
had  four  distinct  groups  of  churches,  the  ruins  of  most  of 
which  are  still  visible,  and  from  every  point  of  view  it  is  well 
worthy  of  a  visit.  In  ancient  times  the  holy  island  was  a 
favourite  place  of  pilgrimage,  where  the  saints  loved  to  live 
and  die,  for  its  soil  was  deemed  to  be  holy  ground.  And  it 
should  still  be  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  every  Irishman,  who 
loves  the  ancient  glories  of  his  native  land.  He  will  during 
his  visit  see  many  things  to  instruct  and  edify  him,  and  teach 
him  to  love  the  ruins  ot  holy  Ireland  '  with  a  love  far  brought 
from  out  the  storied  past,'  but  elevated  and  purified  by  the 
contemplation  of  holiness  and  self-denial. 

There  are  numerous  and  interesting  ruins  of  a  similar 
character,  both  pagan  and  Christian  on  the  Middle  and  on 
the  Eastern  Island  also.  We  cannot,  however,  describe  them 
at  present ;  let  us  hope  that  we  have  said  enough  to  awaken 
a  more  general  interest  in  those  ancient  sanctuaries.  The 
history  of  the  Holy  Islands  of  the  West  is  yet  to  be  written, 
and  it  will  be  a  story  full  of  sacred  and  romantic  interest. 


CHAPTEE     IX. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

"  I  would  the  great  world  grew  like  thee, 
Who  grewest  not  alone  in  power 
And  knowledge,  but  by  year  and  hour 
In  reverence  and  in  charity." 

— Tennyson. 

I. — Preliminary  Sketch  of  Christian  Schools. 

We  have  said  that  as  Aran  was  the  novitiate,  so  Clonard 
was  the  great  college  of  the  Irish  Saints  of  the  Second 
Order.  Before,  however,  we  proceed  to  give  an  account  of 
this  great  seminary  and  its  founder,  it  will  be  useful  to  give 
a  short  sketch  of  the  Christian  Schools  up  to  that  period. 

Of  Christian  Schools,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word, 
there  were  none,  and  there  could  be  none,  during  the  firs 
three  centuries  of  the  Church's  history.  She  had  then  to 
struggle  for  a  bare  existence  against  the  most  powerful 
enemies;  neither  her  worship  nor  her  schools  would  be 
sanctioned,  or  even  tolerated  by  the  Roman  Empire.  Yet  it 
was  even  then  essential  to  train  the  clergy  in  sacred  learning, 
and  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  saving  truths  of  faith.  But, 
as  a  rule,  this  was  done  privately  and  unostentatiously  in  the 
catacombs  ;  in  the  houses  of  the  bishops  when  they  had  any 
fixed  residence  ;  and  very  frequently  in  the  private  grounds 
or  private  houses  of  wealthy  and  influential  Christians. 

The  first  Christian  School,  really  worthy  of  the  name,  so 
far  as  we  can  judge,  was  established  at  Alexandria  about  the 
year  a.d.  180.  It  became  famous  as  a  catechetical  school, 
or  school  of  dogma,  and  was  conducted  by  several  illustrious 
men — Pantaenus,  Origen,  Dionysius,  and  others — -whose 
learning  was  celebrated  throughout  the  whole  Church,  and 
whose  lectures  and  writings  exercised  a  very  wide  and 
enduring  influence  on  their  own,  as  well  as  on  later  genera- 
tions. But  this  was  rather  a  school  of  theology  than  of 
general  literature,  and  designed  more  for  adult  inquirers, 
both  male  and  female,  than  for  the  systematic  instruction  of 
the  young.  Similar  schools  were  afterwards  founded  at 
Antioch,  at  Caesarea,  at  Edessa,  and  subsequently  at  I^isibis 
in  Armenia. 


PRELIMINARY  SKETCH  OF  CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS.  189 

Even  during  the  centuries  when  those  schools  of  dogma 
were  most  flourishing,  young  Christians  found  it  necessary 
to  frequent  the  schools  of  the  pagans  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  professional  or  general  education.  The  masters 
were  pagan ;  the  books  were  the  ancient  classics  of  Greek 
and  Rome ;  and  the  majority  of  the  pupils  in  most  cases 
belonged  to  the  old  pagan  religion.  But  it  was  a  case  of 
absolute  necessity,  as  St.  Jerome  says  ;  and  they  should  either 
forfeit  the  culture,  or  face  the  danger.  The  most  celebrated 
of  those  schools  was  at  Athens,  and  there  we  find  together 
under  a  pagan  professor  of  Rhetoric,  St.  Basil,  St.  Grregorj'' 
of  Nazianzen  and  Julian,  afterwards  the  Apostate,  on  the  same 
benches  with  sons  of  pagan  senators  and  scoffing  rhetors. 

Christians  might  not  be  teachers  in  such  schools,  for 
they  would  have  to  explain  the  mythology,  and  observe  the 
festivals,  and  in  other  respects  honour  the  gods  of  Greece 
and  Rome.  But  Christians  were  sometimes  allowed  to  attend 
the  lectures  of  distinguished  teachers,  guarding  themselves 
against  the  dangers  that  might  arise  from  the  influence  of 
the  teachers,  of  their  companions,  and  of  the  pagan  authors. 
It  is  true,  indeed,  the  more  rigid  Christians  denounced  the 
whole  system  as  not  only  dangerous,  but  essentially  wrong 
and  immoral.  They  preferred  to  do  without  this  mental 
culture,  rather  than  obtain  it  at  so  much  peril  to  their  own  souls. 
They  censured  even  the  study  of  the  pagan  authors  under 
the  guidance  of  Christian  teachers.  The  false  maxims  of 
their  philosophers  would  make  some  impression,  they  alleged, 
on  the  retentive  and  plastic  minds  of  the  young ;  the  stories 
of  the  loves  of  their  gods  and  goddesses  would  sully  the  purity 
of  innocent  hearts  ;  and  the  coarseness  of  the  thoughts 
could  not  be  effectually  screened  by  eloquence  of  language, 
and  mere  beauty  of  literary  form.  The  study  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  ought  to  bo  enough  for  all  true  Christians,  whose 
sole  aim  should  be  to  purify  the  heart  and  elevate  their 
thoughts  to  God  and  heavenly  things. 

Fortunately  these  strict  principles  were  not  generallv 
followed  in  practice.  Most  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers 
not  only  studied  the  classics,  but  availed  themselves  of  the 
lectures  of  the  most  celebrated  professors  of  their  own  time, 
whether  Christian  or  pagan ;  and  so  they  were  enabled  to  meet 
their  opponents  on  equal  terms — to  refute  the  philosophers 
by  philosophy,  and  the  rhetoricians  by  rhetoric,  to  point 
out  the  turpitude  of  the  gods  of  Greece  and  Eome,  and  to 
contrast  in  glowing  language  of  the  most  fervid  and  lofty 
eloquence,  the  nobility  of  Christian  doctrine,  and  the  purity 


190  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

of  Christian  morals  with  the  false  ethics  and  unclean  practices 
of  the  pagan  religion. 

In  the  fifth  century,  however,  of  the  Christian  era  a 
change  gradually  took  place.  With  the  decline  of  paganism 
the  great  schools  in  the  various  cities  of  the  empire  began 
to  decay,  and  were  finally  closed  during  the  reign  of 
Justioian.  Meanwhile  episcopal  schools  for  the  education 
of  the  clergy  were  further  developed  and  enlarged.  St. 
Augustine  at  Hippo,  St,  Ambrose  at  Miiau.  St.  Eusebius  at 
Aries,  had  founded  establishments  of  this  kind,  and  the 
fame  of  those  great  and  learned  prelates  soon  attracted  large 
numbers  of  pupils  to  their  episcopal  seminaries.  The 
Churches  of  Africa  eagerly  sought  for  pupils  of  St.  Augustine's 
school  to  fill  the  vacancies  occurring  in  their  sees,  and  many 
other  pupils  from  the  more  celebrated  of  these  seminaries 
were  raised  to  the  highest  dio-nities  in  the  Church. 

But  with  the  spread  of  monasteries  in  the  West  during 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  a  new  and  vigorous  impulse 
was  given  not  only  to  all  branches  of  sacred  learning,  but 
indirectly  to  profane  literature  also.  Sacred  reading  and 
sacred  study  was  deemed  an  essential  portion  of  monastic 
work.  Legere,  orare,  Inborare — study,  prayer,  and  labour — 
was  the  daily  work  of  the  monk ;  and  if  it  was  not  always 
the  task  of  the  individual  it  certainly  was  of  the  community. 
Of  course  the  sacred  volume  was  the  primary  object  of  their 
study  ;  but  almost  all  branches  of  human  learning  are  aids 
to  the  study  and  right  understanding  of  Scripture,  and  were 
cultivated  for  that  purpose. 

Then  again,  monasticism  was,  as  we  have  seen,  intended 
to  be  self-sufficing.  It  was  a  world  of  its  own,  a  city  of  God, 
producing  for  itself  all  that  is  needed  in  the  physical  and 
moral  order.  So  the  monks  found  it  necessary  to  cultivate 
the  ornamental  as  well  as  the  useful  arts  of  life.  They 
delved  and  sowed  and  reaped  ;  but  they  also  built  their 
churches,  and  decorated  their  altars,  and  wrote  their  books, 
and  sang  in  choir,  and  computed  their  festivals,  and  healed 
the  sick.  There  must  be  amongst  them  physicians,  astrono- 
mers, geometers,  and  musicians,  as  w^ell  as  moralists, 
preachers,  scribes,  and  illuminators.  Every  branch  of 
human  knowledge  was  useful,  if  not  necessary,  for  a  great 
monaster}^  and  they  all  came  to  be  cultivated  in  the  great 
monastic  schools. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  most  celebrated  of  tlieso  schools 
in  the  West  was  that  founded  by  the  illustrious  John  Cassiun 
near  Marseilles,  between  the  years  a.d.  415-420.     No  man  was 


PRELIMINARY  SKETCH  OF  CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS.  191 

better  qualified  than  Cassian  to  introduce  tlie  monasticism  of 
Egypt  into  Europe.  He  spent  the  earlier  years  of  his  life  at  a 
monastery  in  Bethlehem,  then  he  retired  to  the  Thebaid  for 
seven  years,  conversing  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Desert,  whilst 
closely  observing  their  religious  exercises,  and  the  daily 
routine  of  their  lives.  Afterwards  he  visited  Constantinople, 
Rome,  and  even  the  far  distant  Churches  of  Mesopotamia.  At 
length  about  a.d.  415  he  settled  down  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Marseilles,  then  as  in  Cicero's  time  famous  for  intellectual 
pursuits,  and  there  founded  the  celebrated  monastery  of 
St.  Victor,  which  was  the  nursery  of  many  of  the  greatest 
prelates  of  the  fifth  century.  He  gave  himself  up  with  all 
zeal  to  the  propagation  of  monasticism  in  the  West;  and 
with  this  view  wrote  twelve  books  of  Monastic  Institutes,  in 
which  he  deals  at  great  length  with  the  nature  of  the 
monastic  life,  its  aids,  and  its  hindrances  In  the  twenty- 
four  books  of  his  *  Conferences ' — Collationes — he  deals  with 
the  eremitical  life  as  he  saw  it  in  Egypt,  and  purports 
to  give  the  discourses  of  the  Egyptian  Fathers,  whom  he 
had  himself  seen  and  heard.  These  works  have  been  always 
highly  prized  in  the  Church,  although  the  author  in  one  or 
two  of  his  *  Conferences '  is  supposed  to  have  touched  too 
closely  on  the  errors  of  Semi-Pelagianism. 

The  most  celebrated  disciple  of  John  Cassian  was  St. 
Honoratus  of  Aries,  the  founder  of  the  famous  monastery  of 
Lerins.  There  he  put  in  practice  the  divine  maxims  of 
Cassian,  and  changed  that  barren  island,  which  he  found 
covered  with  brushwood  and  filled  with  serpents,  into  a  garden 
of  Eden,  where  man  once  more  walked  in  innocence  with 
Grod ;  and  bounteous  nature  rewarded  the  incessant  labour  of 
the  monks  with  fruits  of  choicest  flavour  and  flowers  of  richest 
hues.  He  was  taken  away  much  against  his  will  from  his 
beloved  island  and  made  Bishop  of  Aries ;  but  he  survived 
only  two  years,  dying  in  the  year  a.u.  429,  just  at  the  time 
that  St.  Patrick,  his  disciple,  was  preparing  to  come  to  Ireland. 
A  similar  monastery  and  monastic  school  was  about  the  same 
time,  and  under  the  same  influence,  founded  by  St.  Grermanus 
at  Auxerre,  as  we  have  already  seen,  when  speaking  of  St. 
Patrick's  training  for  the  Irish  mission. 

It  is  in  these  cradles  of  western  monasticism  that  we  must 
try  to  find  the  true  character  of  the  monasticism,  as  well  as 
of  the  discipline  and  ritual,  which  St.  Patrick  introduced  into 
Ireland.  If,  as  the  Tripartite  asserts,  St.  Patrick  spent  some 
thirty  years  in  France  and  Italy,  and  the  islands  of  the 
Tyrrhene  Sea,  preparing  for  the  work  for  which  Providence 


1 92  THE'  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIXN  OF  CLONARD. 

destined  him  in  Ireland,  lie  had  ample  time  to  visit  all  their 
celebrated  monasteries,  and  doubtless  spent  some  of  these 
years  not  only  at  Marmoutier  of  St.  Martin,  and  with  St. 
German  at  Auxerre,  but  also  with  Cassian  at  St.  Victor's,  and 
with  Honoratus  in  Lerins,  and  probably  also  at  Aries.  The 
Tripartite  states  distinctly  that  first  of  all  he  resolved  to  go 
to  Rome,  the  citadel  and  mistress  of  Christian  faith  and  doc- 
trine, in  order  that  he  might  draw  from  these  fountains  of 
true  wisdom  and  orthodox  doctrine ;  that  he  went  to  France 
and  even  beyond  the  Alps  to  the  southern  region  of  Italy, 
where  he  found  Germanus,  then  a  most  famous  bishop,  with 
whom  he  read,  like  another  Paul  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  the 
ecclesiastical  canons,  serving  God  in  labour,  in  fasting,  in 
chastity,  in  compunction,  and  in  love  of  God  and  his  neigh- 
bour. The  same  writer  adds  that  he  went  to  St.  Martin's  of 
Tours  to  receive  tonsure,  and  that  he  studied  at  Aries — or 
what  he  calls  insula  Aralanensis — which  he  seems  to  con- 
found with  the  city  of  St  Germanus. 

We  are  also  told  that  when  he  was  in  the  Tyrrhene  Sea^ 
he  met  three  other  Patricks,  which  is  not  at  all  unlikely,  for 
Patrick  was  a  common  name,  and  the  great  monastery  of 
Lerins  had  attracted  strangers  from  every  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian world,  who  had  established  themselves  in  some  of  the 
neighbouring  islets.  These  three  Patricks  lived  together  in  a 
rocky  cave  between  the  cliff  and  the  sea,  and  our  Patrick  wished 
to  live  with  them  in  the  solitary  service  of  God.  But  it  was 
only  for  a  time,  for  God  had  destined  him  for  another  and 
loftier  purpose.  It  is  quite  evident,  however,  that  Patrick 
was  trained  under  the  greatest  masters  of  the  spiritual  life, 
and  in  the  greatest  monastic  schools  of  the  Western  Church. 
The*'*i  considerations  will  also  serve  to  explain  why  the  Irish 
Chuf^h  of  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  centuries  was  so 
monastic  in  its  character  and  tendencies,  why  the  religious 
houses  rather  than  the  cathedrals  were  the  centres  of  its 
spiritual  life,  and  also  why  its  greatest  schools  were  in  the 
halls  of  the  cloister,  and  its  greatest  scholars  wore  the  frontal 
tonsure  and  the  monk's  cowl. 

Yet  St.  Patrick  did  not  himself  establish  monasteries  or 
monastic  schools  in  Ireland.  His  work  was  to  preach,  to 
baptize,  to  ordain,  to  found  churches.  Monasteries  are  the 
outcome  of  an  existing  Church.  The  nation  must  become 
Christian  before  the  Church  could  in  anj^  wide  sense  become 
monastic.     It  was  always  so,  even  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles. 

*  "  In  the  Islands  of  the  Tyrrhene  Sea.*' — Fiacc's  Hymn, 


ST.  FTNNIAN  OF  CLONARD.  193 

They  did  not  found  monasteries  or  monastic  schools,  or  col- 
leges of  any  kind.  They  had  other  and  more  urgent  work 
on  hand.  It  was  only  after  Christianity  took  hold  of  men's 
minds  that  the  nobler  and  more  grateful  hearts  amongst 
them  sought  to  realize  the  Gospel  ideal  of  Christian  perfec- 
tion. 

Even  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  however,  there  were 
monks  and  nuns  in  Ireland,  as  we  have  already  seen.  He 
himself  expressly  declares  it.  "  The  sons  of  the  Scots,"  he 
says,  "  and  the  daughters  of  the  princes  became  monks  and 
virgins  of  Christ."  And  he  tells  a  touching  story  of  an  Irish 
maiden  of  noble  birth  and  of  great  beauty — pulcherrima — 
whom  he  himself  baptized :  "  A  few  days  afterwards  the 
maiden  came  to  me  and  told  me  that  she  got  an  intimation 
from  God  to  become  a  virgin  of  Christ,  and  thus  become  nigh 
to  God.  Thanks  be  to  Him — on  the  sixth  day  after,  she  per- 
fectly and  ardently  embraced  that  vocation  ;  and  so  do  all  the 
virgins  of  Christ,  even  against  the  will  of  their  parents,  from 
whom  they  patiently  endure  reproaches."  ^ 

With  such  ardour  did  the  noble  sons  and  daughters  of 
the  Scottic  race  advance  in  the  paths  of  perfection.  And 
therefore  Patrick  loved  them  so  dearly  that  he  would  not 
leave  them,  as  he  tells  us,  even  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  own 
country  and  his  own  friends.  He  sowed  the  seed,  and  after 
ages  reaped  the  crop.  The  great  monasteries  and  monastic 
schools  of  the  sixth  century,  though  not  founded  by  him, 
were  the  outcome  of  that  spirit  of  faith  and  love  which  he 
had  planted  so  deeply,  especially  in  the  hearts  of  the  young. 

II. — St.  Finnian  of  Clonard. 

St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  is  set  down  first  in  the  Catalogue 
of  the  Saints  of  the  Second  Order ;  and  his  School  of  Clonard 
was  certainly  the  most  celebrated,  if  not  the  earliest,  of  the 
great  schools  of  the  sixth  century.  It  was  the  nursery  of  so 
many  learned  and  holy  men  that  its  founder  came  to  be  known 
as  the  **  Tutor  of  the  Saints  of  Erin."  Twelve  of  his  most 
distinguished  disciples  were  called  the  "Twelve  Apostles  of 
Erin,"  because, after  St.  Patrick,  they  were  recognised  as  the 
Fathers  and  Founders  of  the  Irish  Church ;  and  the  monas- 
teries and  schools  which  they  established  became,  in  their 
turn,  the  greatest  centres  of  piety  and  learning  throughout 
the  entire  island. 

It  must  not,  howe\^>r,  be  supposed  that  all  these  holy  men 


*  Confetsion,  page  396,  Vol.  II.,  Rolls  Series. 

1^ 


194  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  PINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

were  themselves  younger  than  Finnian  of  Clonard,  or 
remained  for  a  very  long  period  at  his  monastic  school. 
It  sometimes  happened  that  the  disciple  was  quite  as  old, 
if  not  older  than  the  master  ;  for  it  was  by  no  means  unusunl 
at  this  period  for  holy  men  to  visit  the  monasteries  of  younger 
men  who  had  become  remarkable  for  sanctity  and  learning, 
and,  placing  themselves  under  their  spiritual  guidance,  take 
rank  in  their  humility  as  disciples  of  their  juniors. 
Lanigan,  keen  and  learned  as  he  was,  allows  himself  sometimes 
to  be  led  into  error  by  forgetting  this  custom,  which  is  more 
than  once  explicitly  referred  to  in  the  lives  of  those  saints 
themselves. 

Clonard — in  Irish  Cluain  Eraird,  and  sometimes  Cluaiq 
Iraird,  that  is,  Erard's  meadow  —  was  very  favourably 
situated  for  a  great  national  college.  Although  within  the 
territory  of  Meath,  it  was  situated  on  the  Boyne  close  to  the 
Esker  Riada,  which  formed  the  ancient  and  famous  boundary 
,  between  the  northern  and  southern  half  of  Ireland.  It  was 
thus  a  kind  of  neutral  territory,  open  to  the  North  and  South 
alike ;  and  both  North  and  South  availed  themselves  of  its 
advantages. 

Its  founder,  St.  Finnian,  was  by  birth  a  Leinster  man. 
His  father,  Finloch,  was  descended  from  Ailill  Telduib,  of 
the  Clanna  Rory,  hence  his  own  patronymic,  Ui  Telduib. 
His  mother's  name,  according  to  all  the  authorities,  was 
Talech,  and  she  belonged  to  the  family  of  a  Leinster  chieftain. 
He  was  born  at  Myshall,  in  the  Barony  of  Forth,  county 
Carlow.  The  date  of  his  birth  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but 
if  we  are  to  accept  the  statements  in  his  life,  it  cannot  have 
been  later  than  a.d.  470.  When  the  child  was  born,  his 
parents  sent  him  to  be  baptized  by  the  holy  Bishop  Fortchem, 
in  the  church  of  Roscur — Roscurensefn  ecdesiam.  This 
Bishop  Fortchem  was  son  of  Fedlimidh,  and  grandson  of 
King  Laeghaire.  He  was  converted  by  Loman  of  Trim.^ 
shortly  after  the  year  a.d.  432,  the  date  of  St.  Patrick's  arrival, 
and  being  a  skilful  artisan  in  metal  work,  he  made  chalices 
and  patens  for  the  use  of  the  new  churches  founded  by 
}  St.  Patrick.  At  the  earnest  entreaty  of  St.  Loman,  he  con- 
sented to  become  Bishop  of  Trim  atter  that  saint's  death,  but 
he  retained,  it  is  said,  that  onerous  office  onlv  for  three  davs, 
After  his  resignation,  he  retired  into  Leinster,  where  many 
churches  are  said  to  have  been  founded  by  him  in  a  district 


1  Loman  was  a  Briton,  and  Sootha,  mother  of   Fortohern,  was  also  a 
Briton,  porbaps  a  oonneotiou. 


ST.  riNNlAN  OF  CLOIf  A.RD.  195 

Up  to  that  time  only  partially  evangelized.  The  Church  of 
Killoughternan,  parish  of  SlygufP,  in  the  ancient  Ui  Drona, 
still  bears  his  name ;  it  is  a  corruption  of  Cill  Fortchern. 
The  town  of  Tullow,  in  the  county  Carlow,  was  anciently 
called  Tulla.^h  Fortchern/  and  it  is  said  that  the  saint  had  a 
school  there,  in  which  young  Finnian  studied  for  many  years. 

When  the  women  were  carrying  the  child  to  be  bantized 
by  Fortchern  at  E.oscur,  it  chanced  that  the  holy  priest 
Abban  met  them,  and  inquired  whither  they  were  going. 
They  replied  that  they  were  carrying  the  child  to  be  baptized 
by  Fortchern.  Thereupon  Abban,  moved  by  a  divine  mspi- 
ration,  took  the  child  and  baptized  him,  giving:  him  the 
name  of  Finluch,  or  Finloch,  because  he  was  bantized  at  the 
place  where  two  streams  meeting  formed  a  pool  of  clean 
water.  But  the  name  Finnian  was  afterwards  given  to  him 
as  a  more  appropriate  one — retaining  the  first,  but  omitting 
the  second  part  of  the  compound.  A  cross  afterwards  mariced 
the  spot  where  the  saint  was  baptized,  and  it  was  called  the 
Cross  of  Finnian. 

When  the  child  grew  up  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
St.  Fortchern,  most  probably  at  Tullow,  and  remained,  it  is 
said,  under  his  care  until  he  reached  the  afi:e  of  tiiirty  years. 
We  thus  see  that  St.  Finnian  was  brought  under  British 
influence  from  his  boyhood,  for  the  mother  of  Fortcnem  was 
of  British  birth,  and  it  was  probably  at  the  suggestion  ol  His 
holy  teacher  that  Finnian  resolved  to  visit  the  sainta  of. 
Wales,  and  perfect  his  education  in  the  schools  of  that 
country.  On  his  way,  however,  he  stopped  to  visit  a  holy 
elder  named  Coemhan,  who  dwelt  in  the  Island  of  Dairinis,  m 
Wexford  Harbour,  and  there  he  remained  some  time  in  the 
further  pursuit  of  knowledge.  Then  taking  voyage  with 
some  merchants,  who  were  going  to  Britain,  he  set  sail  from 
Wexford,  and  arrived  at  Kilmuine,  since  called  St.  David's, 
in  South  Wales.  - 

Here  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  three  celebrated 
saints,  who  seem  to  have  exercised  great  influence  over  the 
mind  of  Finnian,  and  through  him  over  the  destinies  of  the 
Irish  Church — St.  David,  St.  Gildas,  and  St.  Cathmael,  or 
Cadoc,  or  Docus.  As  Finnian  was  trained,  at  least  to  some 
extent,  by  these  holy  men,  and  as  they  are  all  more  or  less 
intimately  connected  in  many  other  respects  also  with  the 
early  monastic  Giiurch  of  Ireland,  it  is  well  to  know  some- 
thing about  their  history. 

^  Loca  Patriciana,  page  152. 

^  The  Life  in  the  Book  of  Lismore  say 8  that  he  was  then  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  that  he  had  previously  founded  three  churches  in  his  native 
territory — Ross  Cuire,  Drumfiaid,  and  Magh  Glass. 


196  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.   FINN  IAN  OF  CLONARI). 

Dubricius  (a-d.  421-522),  Bishop  of  Landaff,  who  was  a 
contemporary  of  St.  Patrick,  and  was  consecrated  by 
St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre,  perhaps  at  the  time  of  his  second 
visit  to  Wales,  a.d.  449,  or  some  years  later,  is  exhibited  in 
the  doubtful  chronicles  of  this  early  period  as  the  first 
Archbishop  of  South  Wales,  and  the  great  father  of 
monasticisni  in  Wales.  His  monastery  at  Llancarvan  was 
the  nursery  of  those  great  saints,  whose  names  are  still 
familiar  both  in  Ireland  and  in  Wales.  Dubricius  himself 
was,  it  is  said,  a  grandson  of  that  Brychan,  who  has  given 
his  name  to  Brecknockshire,  and  who  was  by  birth  an  Irish 
chieftain,  though  settled  in  Wales.  It  is  certain  that  the 
Irish  monks,  like  Finnian,  found  a  warm  welcome  in 
Llancarvan,  both  during  the  life  of  Dubricius,  as  well  as 
after  his  death  ;  and  in  that  celebrated  college  were  trained 
many  Irish  saints,  who  afterwards  carried  its  learning  and 
its  discipline  to  their  native  land. 

St.  David,  Archbishop  of  Menevia,  is  the  most  striking 
figure  amongst  the  Cambro-British  saints,  and  his  memory  is 
still  venerated  by  all  true  Welshmen  of  every  religious  sect. 
Ricemarch,  his  successor  in  the  See  of  St.  David's  towards  the 
close  of  the  tenth  century,  has  written  his  life,  which  was 
afterwards  dressed  up  in  more  elegant  language  by  the 
celebrated  Gerald  Barry.  St.  David  was  born  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifth  century,  and  lived,  it  seems,  tiU  the 
middle  of  the  sixth.  His  father  was  Sanctus  or  Xantus, 
Prince  of  Ceretica,  and  his  mother  was  Nonna,  a  religious, 
forcibly  carried  off  by  this  rude  prince,  who  was  captivated 
by  her  beauty.  The  child  was  born  at  Old  Menevia,  near 
the  place  where  he  afterwards  founded  his  cathedral  city  at 
the  extremity  of  that  bare  and  bold  promontory  which 
overlooks  St.  George's  Channel.  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly  just  then 
happened  to  arrive  by  divine  guidance  at  Menevia,  and  he 
baptized  the  child.  The  young  David  was  at  first  a  pupil  of 
St.  Iltutus,  and  afterwards  of  Paulinus,  who  were  both,  it 
seems,  disciples  of  St.  Germanus  of  Auxerre 

In  cour^^e  of  time  David  founded  a  great  college  of  his 
own  at  a  place  called  by  Gerald  Barry,  *  Vallis  Rosina,' 
which  may  mean  either  the  *  Marshy  Valley,'  or  the  '  Yalley 
of  Koses,'  for  rJios  is  a  swamp,  and  rhosyn  moans  a  ro8e.^ 
It  was,  we  are  told,  to  this  seminary  that  Finnian  came  on 
his  first  arrival  in  Wales.  St.  David  afterwards  became  so 
celebrated   that  he   succeeded    Dubricius  as   Archbi>hop   of 

*  Gerald  Tiiirry  Hcoms  to  think  tho  name  meant  tho  Vulloy  of  Ivowoh,  of 
which  ho  8ay8  there  were  none;  it  MhouM  ni^her  beoallod  the  Marble  Valley. 


ST.  FiNNIAN  OF  CLONAHb.  197 

Caerleon-upon-Usk ;  but  with  the  permission  of  King 
xlrihur,  who  was  his  near  relative,  he  changed  the  seat  of  hio 
Episcopal  Chair  from  the  City  of  the  Legions  to  Menevia, 
which  was  at  once  his  birthplace  and  monastic  home,  during 
what  he  doubtless  regarded  as  the  happiest  and  holiest  years 
of  his  life. 

It  is  said  that  Finnian  also  met  Cathmael,  as  well  as 
David  and  Gildas,  at  the  city  of  Killmuiue  in  Britain. 
Killmuine  of  the  Irish  Lives  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  the 
Latin  Ecclesia  Menevensis,  called  in  Welsh  Mynyw  or  Miniii. 
The  old  monastic  buildings  still  surround  the  cathedral,  but 
are  now  much  dilapidated.  Gerald  Barry,  himself  a  Welsh- 
man, describes  in  his  odd  incisive  way,  ''this  remote  ftngle 
overlooking  the  Irish  Sea,  as  a  stony,  barren,  and  unfruitful 
soil,  neither  clothed  with  woods,  nor  diversified  by  streams, 
nor  adorned  with  meadows,  but  exposed  to  perpetual  storms 
and  whirlwinds — the  storms  of  nature  and  the  storms 
of  war.'^^ 

Cathmael  is  commonly  identified  with  Cadoc  or  Docus, 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  fathers  of  the  Welsh  Church.  It 
is  said  there  were  two  saints  who  bore  that  niime;  if  so, 
Finnian's  tutor  must  have  been  Cadoc  the  Elder.  His  mother 
was  Gladys,  the  daughter  or  grand- daughter  of  the  Irish 
chieftain,  Brychan,  who  gave  his  name  to  Brecknock — so 
Cadoc  **  who  has  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Celtic  race." 
was  not  only  of  Irish  blood,  but  was  baptized,  and  trained  up 
from  his  youth  for  many  years,  by  an  Irish  anchorite  named 
Meuthi,  whose  cell  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  father's 
castle.  Afterwards  he  went  to  Givent  in  Monmouthshire, 
where  he  studied  under  another  Irish  master,  St.  Tathai. 
There  he  made  great  progress  in  learning  and  holiness — espe- 
cially in  the  knowledge  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  so  that  he 
was  called  Cadoc  or  Catt wy,  the  Wise.  He  was  under 
Dubricius  the  founder  and  chief  professor  of  the  celebrated 
College  of  Llancarvan,  near  Cowbridge  in  Glamorgan.  This 
became  the  most  famous  centre  both  of  secular  and  sacred 
learning  in  Wales.  A  great  number  of  young  Irishmen 
crowded  its  lecture  rooms,  who  afterwards  became  very 
famous  in  their  own  country,  so  that  if  Cadoc  received  much 
from  Irishmen  himself,  he  gave  them  even  more  in  return. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  he 
visited  Ireland  afterwards,  and  spent  some  time  with 
those  who  were  once  his  own  pupils  in  Wales. 

^See  Itinerarium  Cambriae,  page  102, 


198  TIIK  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

The  influence  exercised  over  the  Celtic  Church  in  Ireland 
by  David,  Gildas,  and  Cadoc  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact 
already  referred  to,  that  they  are  said  to  have  given  a  Mass 
to  the  Second  Order  of  the  Irish  Saints.  This  would  seem  to 
imply  that  these  saints,  most  of  whom  spent  some  time  in 
Wales,  adopted  the  liturgy  of  the  Welsh  Church,  which  may 
have  in  some  respects  differed  from  the  older  liturgy  estab- 
lished by  St.  Patrick.  Finnian  was  the  great  means  of 
diffusing  the  learning  and  practices  of  Llancarvan  in  Ireland. 
He  taught  at  Clonard,  what  he  had  himself  learned  or  seen 
at  St.  David's  and  at  Llancarvan  ;  and  thus  became  the  means 
of  diffusing  the  monasticism  of  the  Welsh  Church  through 
most  of  Erin,  especially  in  its  southern  parts. 

The  Life  of  Finnian  given  in  the  Salamanca  MS.  records 
many  miracles  which  he  performed  in  Wales.  By  his  prayers 
and  his  great  faith  in  God  he  dried  a  lake  to  get  a  site  for 
a  monastery  ;  he  caused  mountains  to  overwhelm  the  invading 
Saxons  ;  he  drove  away  the  serpents,  wasps,  and  birds  that 
afflicted  the  religious  men  in  the  island  called  Echin,  whom 
he  visited  in  order  to  derive  consolation  from  their  life  and 
doctrine.  It  is  evident,  however,  from  the  narrative  that  he 
spent  most  of  the  thirty  years  of  his  sojourn  in  Britain 
under  the  spiritual  guidance  of  Cathmael,  and  most  probably 
in  his  great  school  at  Llancarvan.  The  years  being  expressed 
in  the  manuscript  Lives  of  the  Saints  by  Roman  numerals, 
are  always  liable  to  error — the  addition  of  an  X  will  make 
thirty  out  of  twenty,  and  a  double  XX  added  by  the  fault  of 
the  copyist  would  make  thirty  out  of  ten.  It  is,  however, 
stated  expressly  that  Finnian  having  completed  the  XXXth 
year  of  his  pilgrimage  returned  to  his  native  country  with 
Biteus  and  Genocus  and  some  other  religious  men  of  the 
Britains,  who  followed  the  saint  on  account  of  the  great  holi- 
ness of  his  life  and  conservation.  By  God's  help  they  landed 
at  Magh  Itha  in  the  south  of  Wexford,^  at  a  port  called 
Dubglais,  whence  they  proceeded  to  visit  his  ancient  preceptor, 
the  holy  Coemhan,  who  still  dwelt  in  Dairinis.  There  was  a 
Dairinis  or  Oak  island  in  the  Blackwater,  which  was  known 
as  Dairinis  Molana ;  but  the  ishmd  here  referred  to  is 
"  Dairinis  of  Coemhan,''  as  it  is  called  in  the  Four  Masters ^ 
A.D.  820.  It  was  in  W^exford  Harbour;  and,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  Finnian  when  going  to  Wales  spent  some  time 
with  Coemhan  in  that  island,  so  it  is  only  natural  that  ho 
should  return  to  the  scenes  of  his  early  years.     From  Dairinis 


'  See  Tripartite,  vol.  ii.,  pajjre,  632. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONARD.  199 

Finnian  went  to  visit  Muiredach  Melbrugh,  King  of  Hy 
Kinselagh  at  that  time,  and  sought  permission  to  build  a 
church  in  his  territory.  The  king  received  Finnian  with  all 
honour  and  reverence,  and  sent  him  eiFective  aid  in  building 
a  church  at  a  place  called  Achadh  Abhail,  now  Aghold,  a 
parish  church  in  the  barony  of  Shillelagh,  county  of 
Wicklow. 

Leaving  some  of  his  monks  to  continue  his  work  at 
Aghold,  he  went  himself  into  the  neighbouring  district  of 
Hy  Bairrche,  and  spent  seven  years  teaching  and  preaching 
at  a  place  called  Maonaigh  in  the  saint's  Life.  It  takes  its 
name  from  the  Hy  Maonaigh,  an  influential  tribe  who 
possessed  that  territory,  some  of  whom  having  migrated  to  the 
North  settled  near  the  river  Erne  and  gave  their  name  to  the 
CO.  Monaghan.     The  are  now  known  as  Mooneys.^ 

As  we  are  told  that  Finnian,  during  his  residence  in  this 
neighbourhood,  sometimes  preached  before  St.  Brigid  and 
her  nuns,  his  sojourn  there  must  be  fixed  before  the  death 
of  that  saint,  a.d.  523  or  525.  In  his  great  love  lor  holy 
poverty  the  saint  refused  to  accept  even  from  St.  Brigid  a 
gold  ring  which  she  presented  to  him  as  a  token  of  her  esteem. 

Going  still  further  north  he  founded  another  church  at 
a  place  called  Esker  Brenain,  which  in  the  Irish  fashion  he 
fenced  in  with  a  circular  mound  and  trench,  dug  with  his 
own  hands.  One  day  he  found  beside  his  church  a  poor  boy, 
who  had  been  carried  off  as  a  captive  by  some  robbers,  and 
was  abandoned  by  them  near  the  church.  Finnian  took 
charge  of  the  poor  child,  and  finding  him  a  youth  of  good 
parts,  diligently  instructed  him  both  in  virtue  and  learningj 
gave  him  the  tonsure,  and  made  him  it  seems,  his  assistant, 
either  there  or  at  Clonard.  After  the  departure  of  Finnian  he 
became  his  master's  successor  in  Esker  Brenain. 

Then  an  angel  appeared  to  Finnian  and  told  him  that  he 
was  to  seek  elsewhere  the  place  of  his  resurrection.  Finnian 
promptly  obeyed,  and  rising  up,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
angel,  he  came  to  the  place  called  Cluain  Eraird. 


III. — The  School  of  Clonard. 

St.  Finnian  seems  to  have  founded  his  school  at  Clonard 
about  the  year  a.d.  520,  when  he  himself  was  in  all  proba- 
bility not  less  than  forty-five  years  of  age.     The  place  was 

^  See  Loca  Patriciana,  page  204. 


200  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

previously  a  wilderness  inhabited  by  wild  beasts,  which  seem 
to  have  made  their  lairs  in  the  dense  shrubberies  that  covered 
the  marshy  banks  of  the  Boyne  and  Kinnegad  rivers.  We 
are  told  expressly  in  Finnian's  Life,  that  a  huge  wild  boar, 
which  had  frequented  the  spot  whore  the  saint  resolved  to 
remain,  abandoned  the  place  for  ever.  The  saint  threw  him- 
self on  his  knees  in  prayer,  crying  out  in  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist — "  This  shall  be  my  resting-place  for  ever ;  here 
will  I  dwell  for  I  have  chosen  it.'*  So  he  built  his  hut  in 
Erard's  Meadow,  where  the  wild  boar  had  previously  kept 
his  lair. 

An  Irish  school  and  monastery  of  the  sixth  century  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  very  different  from  the  monastic  establish- 
ments of  modern  times.  Finnian  began  alone  without,  it 
seems,  a  single  disciple.  He  built  his  little  cell  of  wattles 
and  clay,  for  stones  are  scarce  at  Clonard,  and  with  such  help 
as  he  could  procure  he  also  built  his  church  quite  near  his 
cell,  and  in  all  probability  of  similar  materials.  We  know, 
indeed,  that  afterwards  there  was  a  daimhlaig  or  large  stone 
church  at  Clonard — for  we  are  told  that  it  was  burnt  down  in 
A.D.  1045  no  less  than  three  times  in  one  week,  which  is  to  be  un- 
derstood, however,  of  the  furniture  and  the  perishable  materials 
of  the  roof  This  stone  church,  however,  was  not  built  until 
the  place  had  become  famous  by  the  life  and  labours  of  the 
saint.  When  the  little  church  was  built,  he  fenced  around 
both  the  cell  and  the  church  with  a  deep  trench  or  fosse 
which  formed  the  monastic  enclosure,  and,  heedless  of  the 
world,  began  to  live  for  God  alone  in  labour  and  watching, 
fasting  and  perpetual  praj^er.  We  are  told  that  he  slept  on 
the  bare  o^round,  that  he  had  a  chain  around  his  naked  bodv 
which  sank  into  his  flesh,  and  that  he  wore  the  same  old 
clothes  until  they  fell  to  pieces  from  his  back. 

His  ordinary  food  was  a  little  bread  with  herbs  and  salt 
and  water.  ^  On  festival  davs  he  allowed  himself  some  fish, 
or  whey  and  porridge ;  but  flesh  meat  he  never  tasted. 
It  was  not  diflGlcult  to  procure  these  luxuries ;  and  what  time 
he  could  spare  from  labour  he  devoted  to  prayer  and  sacred 
study,  especially  to  the  study  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  for 
deep  knowledge  of  which  he  became  pre-eminently  re- 
markable. 

The  fame  of  a  life  so  austere  and  self-denying  very  soon 
spread  abroad,  and  great  numbers  came  to  visit  him.  He 
performed  many  wondrous  miracles ;  and,  moreover,  gave 
his  visitors  such  heavenly  instruction  as  showed  that  ho  was 
a  man  not  only  of  great  holiness  but  of  great  learning.     He 

1  "  His  tliiily  meal  wan  a  bit  of  barley  broad  and  a  drink  of  wator. 
On  Sunday8  and  liolitlay.s  it  wuh  whoatoa  broml  hiuI  a  j>ioco  ot"  l>nnK\l 
bulmon." — h'hh  hife. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONARD.  201 

had  all  the  science  of  the  saints,  for  he  had  been  in  the  great 
monastic  schools  of  Britain  ;  some  said  he  had  been  to  Tours,^ 
others  added  that  he  had  gone  all  the  wa}'  to  Rome — and 
these  statements  have  come  down  even  to  our  time,  but 
unsupported  by  any  satisfactory  evidence.  Then  a  great 
crowd  of  scholars  began  to  gather  round  him  ;  they  were  of 
all  ages  and  came  from  all  parts.  Abbots  left  their  own 
monasteries  -,  even  great  bishops,  some  of  them  older  than 
Finnian  himself,  left  their  cathedrals  to  profit  by  his 
bright  example,  and  learn  the  lessons  of  divine  wisdom  tha<^ 
fell  from  his  lips.  To  Clonard  came  all  the  men  who  were 
afterwards  famous  as  "  The  Twelve  Apostles  of  Erin." 
Thither  came  the  venerable  Ciaran  of  Saigher,  a  companion 
of  St.  Patrick,  to  bow  his  hoary  head  in  reverence  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  younger  sage  ;  and  that  other  Ciaran,  the  Son 
of  the  Carpenter,  who  in  after  years  founded  the  famous 
monastic  school  of  Clonmacnoise  in  the  fair  meadows  by  the 
Shannon's  shore.  Thither,  too,  came  Brendan  of  Birr, 
*'  the  prophet,''  as  he  was  called,  and  his  still  more  famous 
namesake,  Brendan  of  Clonfert,  St.  Ita's  foster  son,  the 
daring  navigator,  who  first  tried  to  cross  the  Atlantic  to 
preach  the  Grospel,  and  revealed  to  Europe  the  mysteries  of 
the  far  off  Western  Isles.  There,  too,  was  young  Columba, 
who  learned  at  the  feet  of  Finnian  those  lessons  of  wisdom 
and  discipline  that  he  carried  with  him  to  lona,  which 
in  its  turn  became  for  many  centuries  a  torch  to  irradiate  the 
spiritual  gloom  of  Picts,  and  Scots,  and  Saxons.  And  there 
was  that  other  Columba  of  Tir-da- glass,  and  Mobhi- 
Clairenach  of  Glasnevin,  and  Rodan,  the  founder  of  Lorrha 
near  Lough  Derg,  and  Lasserian,  the  son  of  Nadfraech, 
and  Canice  of  Aghaboe,  and  Senanus  from  Inniscathy,  and 
Ninnidh  the  Pious  from  the  far  ofi"  shores  of  Lough  Erne. 
It  is  said,  too,  that  St.  Enda  of  the  Aran  Islands  and 
Sinellus  of  Cleenish,  and  many  other  distinguished  saints 
spent  some  time  at  Clonard,  but  they  are  not,  like  those 
mentioned  above,  reckoned  amongst  "  the  Twelve  Apostles 
of  Erin." 

We  are  told  in  the  office  of  St.  Finnian  that  he  had  no 
less  than  3,000  scholars  under  his  instruction,  and  that,  too, 
not  meaning  those  merely  who  were  there  at  difierent  times, 
but  that  there  were  so  many  as  3,000  together  in  his  school. 
It  might  seem  at  first  sight  that  this  was  a  rather  extrava- 
gant number,  and  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  find 
suitable  accommodation  for  so  many  persons  in  this  wild 
spot.     We  must  remember,  however,   not  to  judge  things 


^  See  the  Irish  Life  in  the  £ook  of  Lismore. 


202  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.   FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

according  to  modern  notions.  There  were  no  school  build- 
ings necessary  in  our  sense, — no  libraries,  lecture  halls,  or 
museums. 

The  instruction  was  altogether  oral.  There  were  no 
books  except  a  few  manuscripts,  and  they  were  very  highly 
prized.  The  instruction  was  generallj'  given  in  the  open 
air,  and  no  more  suitable  place  could  be  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose than  the  green  fields  around  the  moat  of  Clonard.  If 
the  preceptor  took  his  stand  on  its  summit,  or  seated  his 
jDupils  around  its  slopes,  he  could  be  conveniently  heard,  not 
only  by  hundreds,  but  even  by  thousands.  They  were  easily 
accommodated,  too,  with  food  and  lodging.  They  built  their 
own  little  huts  through  the  meadows,  where  several  of  them 
sometimes  lived  together  like  soldiers  in  a  tent.  They  sowed 
their  own  grain ;  they  ground  their  own  corn  with  the 
quern,  or  hand-mill ;  they  fished  in  the  neighbouring  rivers, 
and  had  room  within  the  termon  lands  to  graze  cattle  to  give 
them  milk  in  abundance.  When  supplies  ran  short  they 
put  wallets  on  their  backs  and  went  out  on  their  turn  to  seek 
for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  were  never  refused  abundant 
supplies  by  the  people.  They  wore  little  clothing,  had  no 
books  to  buy,  and  generally,  but  not  always,  received  their 
education  gratuitously.^ 

The  routine  of  daily  life  in  St.  Finnian's  monastic  school 
we  can  easily  gather  from  his  own  Life,  and  from  what  we 
know  of  the  monasteries  in  which  he  was  trained.  We  are 
told  in  the  Life  that  on  a  certain  occasion  he  said  to  his 
beloved  disciple  Senachus,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  abbacy 
of  Clonard :  '^  Go  and  see  what  each  of  my  disciples  is  doing 
at  this  moment."  Senachus  bowed  his  head  and  went ;  and 
lo  !  he  found  them  all  intently  engaged  at  their  various 
occupations.  "  Some  were  engaged  in  manual  labour,  some 
were  studying  the  sacred  Scripture,  and  others,  especially 
Columba  of  Tir-da-Glas,  the  son  of  Crimthann,  he  found 
engaged  in  prayer  with  his  hands  stretched  out  to  heaven, 
and  the  birds  came  and  alighted  on  his  head  and  shoulders." 
''  He  it  is,"  said  Finnian,  "  who  will  offer  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
for  me  at  the  hour  of  my  death,"  for  his,  it  seems,  was  pre- 
eminently the  spirit  of  holy  prayer  and  meekness. 

The  study  of  sacred  Scripture,  as  this  reference  shows, 
was  especially  cultivated  at  Clonard.  It  is  the  most  sublime, 
and  in  one  sense  the  most  difficult  of  all  branches  of  sacred 
knowledge.     Moreover   it  is  a  study  in  which  pruyor  and 


*  See  Colj^an'8  Life  of  St.  Columba  of  Tir-da-tjlas. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF    CLONARD.  203 

meditation  can  do  more  for  the  student  than  mere  human 
wisdom.  It  can  be  best  acquired  at  the  foot  of  the  crucifix, 
and  its  best  teacher  is  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.  But  human 
wisdom,  too,  is  necessary,  and  all  the  aids  which  it  supplies  ; 
and  Finnian  made  use  of  that,  also,  for  his  own  advancement 
and  for  the  instruction  of  his  pupils.  From  his  youth,  under 
the  guidance  of  St.  Fortchern,  he  had  been  a  diligent  student 
of  the  sacred  Volume;  he  pursued  the  same  studies  in 
foreign  schools  under  many  teachers  ;  God's  Holy  Word  was 
food  for  his  mind  and  a  lamp  to  his  feet  through  all  his  days, 
and  in  all  his  wanderings. 

It  was  this  knowledge  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  in  which, 
it  seems,  he  excelled  all  others,  that  attracted  so  many  holy 
and  venerable  men  to  the  banks  of  the  Boyne  at  Clonard, 
and  made  his  name  so  famous  in  the  early  Church  of  Ireland.^ 
For  the  Irish,  though  a  newly  converted  people,  had  an 
insatiable  thirst  for  sacred  knowledge,  and  hung  on  the  lips 
of  every  teacher  who  could  expound  with  clearness  and  with 
power  the  mysteries  and  beauties  of  God's  revelation  to  man. 
And  we  know  of  our  own  knowledge  that  it  is  so  still.  There 
is  not  a  congregation  in  the  wildest  part  of  Ireland  that  will 
not  listen  with  the  most  intense  interest  to  a  preacher  who 
can  clearly  and  literally  explain  the  Gospel  or  Epistle  for  any 
Sunday.  They  will  be  more  attentive  then  than  at  any 
other  time ;  they  will  catch  up  his  smallest  word ;  they  will 
take  it  home  with  them  and  tell  it  to  their  children ;  and 
the  children  sometimes  will  take  it  home  to  the  parents. 
And  they  are  right ;  for  the  words  of  God  are  far  beyond 
any  words  of  men. 

It  seems  to  have  been  this  power  of  expounding  the 
sacred  Scriptures  to  his  scholars  that  secured  for  Finnian 
such  prominence  in  sacred  learning  beyond  all  his  contem- 
poraries, and  filled  the  school  of  Clonard  not  only  with 
scholars  but  with  masters  in  Israel,  who  came  with  the  rest 
to  acquire  divine  wisdom  at  his  feet.  Hence  he  enjoys  in 
history  the  glorious  title  of  "  Tutor  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland." 
Of  the  Second  Order  of  Saints,  the  men  who  shone  like  the 
moon  in  the  firmament  of  our  early  Irish  Church,  Finnian 
has  been  always  recognized  as  the  teacher  and  tie  chief. 
He  has  been  compared  to  the  rose  tree  to  which  the  bees 

*  Regressus  in  Clonardiam 
Ad  cathedram  lecturae, 
Apponit  diligentiam 
Ad  studium  Scripturae. 

—  Hymn  from  St.  Finnian' s  Office. 


204  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNlAN  OF  CLONARD. 

from  every  quarter  gather  in  order  to  extract  the  honey. 
His  seminary  at  Clonard  has  been  described  by  others  as  a 
wonderful  treasure-house,  where  illustrious  men  from  al] 
parts  of  Ireland  assembled  together  in  order  to  enrich  them- 
selves with  the  wealth  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and 
Scriptural  knowledge.  The  hymn  for  the  Lauds  of  his  office 
has  a  stanza  which  may  be  imperfectly  rendered  in  English — 

"  Before  three  thousand  scholars  he, 

Their  humble  master,  meekly  stood  ; 
His  mind  a  mighty  stream  that  poured 
For  all  its  fertilizing  flood."  ^ 

The  Four  Masters  record  his  death  under  date  of  a.d.  548,  but 
it  may  with  more  probability  be  fixed  about  a.d.  552  ;  Colgau, 
however,  thinks  he  lived  until  a.d.  563.  The  Four  Masters 
frequently  antedate  by  four  or  five  years,  so  that  the  date  of 
his  death  as  fixed  by  them  is  really  equivalent  to  a.d.  552  of  the 
common  era,  which  date  is,  we  think,  nearest  the  truth.  In 
O'Clery's  calendar  he  is  described  as  ''  St.  Finnian,  abbot  of 
Clonard,  son  of  Finlogh,  son  of  Fintan,  of  the  Clanna 
Rudhraighe  (Clan  Hory).  Sir  James  Ware  calls  him 
Finnian,  or  Finan,  son  of  Fintan  ^placing  the  grandfather  in 
place  of  the  father. 

*'  He  was  a  philosopher  and  an  eminent  divine,  who  first 
founded  the  College  of  Clonard  in  Meath,  near  the  Boyne, 
where  there  were  one  hundred  bishops,  and  where  with  great 
care  and  labour  he  instructed  many  celebiated  saints,  among 
whom  were  the  two  Brendans,  the  two  Columbs,  viz., 
Columkille  and  Columb  mac  Crimthainn,  Lasserian,  son  of 
!N^adfraech,  Canice,  Mobheus,  Rodanus,  and  many  others  not 
here  enumerated.  His  school  was  in  quality  a  holy  city,  full 
of  wisdom  and  virtue,  according  to  the  writer  of  his  life,  and 
he  himself  obtained  the  name  of  Finnian  the  Wise.  He 
died  on  the  12th  of  December,  a.d.  552 ;  or  according  to  others 
A.D.  563,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  church  at  Clonard.^' 

We  could  find  no  trace  of  his  tomb,  because  in  truth  there 
is  now  no  trace  of  his  church.  The  hand  of  the  spoiler  has 
devastated  Clonard  perhaps  more  completely  than  any  other 
of  our  ancient  shrines.  There  was,  we  know,  a  round  tower 
there,  which  is  said  to  have  partially  fallen  in  a.d.  1039. 
*'The  Cloichtheach  of  Clonard  fell,''   according  to  the  Four 

^  Trium  viroruni  milliuiu 
Sorte  lit  dt)ctor  huinilis; 
Vorbi  luH  fuilit  tluviimi 
Ut  fuuH  uiuunaus  rivulis. 

Tlio  Iri^li  Life  also  iuakt»N  hiin  son  oF  l>'iiit;iii. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONARD.  205 

Masters,  in  that  j^ear.  But  tlie  stump  remained  down  to  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  Sir  W.  Wild  says  nobody  knows 
what  has  become  of  it ;  we  believe  it  was  used  for  the  purpose 
of  building  or  repairing  the  present  Protestant  church,  which 
is  a  plainer  and  uglier  building  than  even  such  edifices 
usually  are  in  Ireland.  There  are  only  two  relics  of  antiquity 
now  remaining  at  Clonard,  and  it  needs  a  close  inspection  to 
find  them  out.  The  first  and  principal  is  an  octagonal  bap- 
tismal font  of  dark  gray  limestone  about  3  feet  high  (with  its 
pedestal),  2  feet  in  diameter,  and  some  20  inches  deep,  with 
an  opening  in  the  bottom  to  permit  the  water  to  flow  away, 
after  use,  into  the  sacrarium.  The  eight  panels  of  the  basin 
are  beautifully  sculptured  wifch  various  figures  in  bold  reliel*, 
supposed  to  represent  St.  Finnian  himself  in  his  episcopal 
robes,  St.  Peter,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  the  Baptism  in  the 
Jordan,  and  other  kindred  and  appropriate  subjects.  The  faces 
of  the  pedestal  on  which  the  basin  rests  are  in  like  manner 
appropriately  ornamented  with  various  floral  decorations. 
INo  date  is  marked,  nor  can  it  be  exactly  fixed  ;  the  work, 
however,  is  in  the  highest  style  of  Celtic  art,  and  though  it 
cannot  by  any  means  be  referred  to  so  early  a  date  as  Hhe 
time  of  St.  Finnian  himself,  it  is  of  very  great  antiquity,  at 
least  dating  back  to  the  eleventh  century.  Some  persons 
fancy  that  on  one  of  the  panels  there  is  a  representation  of 
Augustinian  monks,  and  hence  they  say  this  font  cannot  be 
older  than  a.d.  1175,  when  Walter  de  Lacy  rebuilt  the  abbey 
for  monks  of  that  order.  But  as  far  as  we  could  judge,  the 
assumption  that  the  figures  represent  Augustinian  monks 
is  somewhat  gratuitous.  This  interesting  monum  ent  of  ancient 
monastic  Clonard  now  stands  before  the  Communion  table  of 
the  Protestant  church.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  worthies 
who  placed  it  there  knew  little  of  ancient  Christian  usages. 

The  other  relic  is  a  curious  stone  trough  now  placed 
within  a  few  paces  of  the  entrance  to  the  church.  It  is  2  feet 
2  inches  long,  21  inches  wide, and  15  deep.  It  may  have  been  a 
piscina  to  receive  the  water  that  flowed  from  the  font  referred 
to.  My  Catholic  guide  told  many  marvellous  things  of  the 
efficacy  of  its  waters  for  curing  various  diseases,  how  it  never 
runs  dry,  and  how  fowl  and  other  animals  that  profanely 
drink  of  it  perish.  But  the  unbelieving  sexton  of  the  church 
promptly  contradicted  him,  at  least  on  two  points.  He  him- 
self had  seen  it  dry,  and  he  saw  the  hens  that  drank  of 
the  water  live  to  lay  many  excellent  eggs.  There  is  also  a 
curious  head-shaped  stone  which  was  once  a  corbel  in  the  old 
abbey,  but  is  now  inserted  in  the  church  tower  over  the  door. 


206  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

Like  evcrythinp^  else  of  the  olden  time  it  is  not  only  out  of 
date,  but  out  of  place  in  its  present  position. 

From  tlie  time  of  St.  Finnian  to  Stephen  Rochfort,  the 
Norman  Bishop  of  Meath,  who  transferred  his  episcopal  resi- 
dence from  Clonard  to  Newtown,  near  Trim,  we  have  a 
chronicle  of  the  bishops  and  abbots  who  sat  in  the  chair  of 
St.  Finnian.  It  is  not  certain  that  he  was  himself  a  bishop, 
although  he  is  spoken  of  in  his  office  as  Praesul  and  Pontifex. 

It  IS  much  more  probable,  however,  that  he  was  a  bishop, 
and  his  successors,  though  frequently  styled  abbots,  seem  to 
have  been  in  episcopal  orders ;  and  all  of  them  certainly 
exercised  episcopal  jurisdiction.  The  school  of  Clonard,  too, 
for  many  centuries  retained  its  ancient  fame,  and  from  time 
to  time  produced  distinguished  saints  and  scholars.  St. 
Aileran  the  Wise,  who,  Hke  many  other  Irish  saints,  died  of 
the  fatal  yellow  plague  that  devastated  the  country  in  a.d. 
664,  is  described  as  chief  professor  of  the  schools  of  Clonard. 
He  was  also,  in  Colgan's  opinion,  the  author  of  what  is  known 
as  the  Fourth  Life  of  "St.  Patrick^  as  well  as  of  Lives  of  St. 
Brigidy  and  St.  Fechin  of  Fore,  in  Westmeath.  Moreover, 
he  composed  a  Litany  partly  in  Latin  and  partly  in  Irish, 
which  O' Curry  discovered  in  the  Yellow  Book  of  Lecain  in 
Trinity  College.  Fleming,  too,  has  published  a  fragment  of 
a  Latin  treatise  by  St.  Aileran  on  the  "  Mystical  Interpre- 
tation of  the  Ancestry  of  our  Lord  fesus  Christ ^  This 
fragment  was  found  in  the  Irish  monastery  of  St.  Gall  in 
Switzerland.  It  was  first  published  by  Fleming  in  a.d.  1667, 
and  reprinted  in  the  famous  Benedictine  edition  of  the 
Fathers  in  a.d.  1677.  It  may,  perhaps,  with  greater  readi- 
ness be  referred  to  in  Migne's  Patrology  (vol.  80,  page  328). 
We  make  special  reference  to  this  fragment  because  we  have 
no  other  writings  of  the  Clonard  school  remaining,  either  of 
St.  Finnian  himself  or  of  his  immediate  successors;  and 
secondly  because  of  itself  it  furnishes  ample  proof  of  the  high 
culture  attained  at  that  early  age  in  this  great  Irish  seminary. 
The  Benedictine  editors  say  that  although  the  writer  did  nut 
belong  to  their  order,  they  publish  it  because  Aileran  "  un- 
folded the  meaning  of  Sacred  Scripture  with  so  much  learning 
and  ingenuity  that  every  student  of  the  sacred  volume,  and 
especially  preachers  of  the  Divine  Word,  will  regard  the 
publication  as  most  acceptable  (acceptissima)." 

This  is  high  praise  from  perfectly  impartial  and  coinpe- 
tent  judges,  and  in  that  opinion  we  cordially  agree.  We 
read  over  both  fragments  carefully,  that  mentioned  aboTO, 
and  also  a  *'  Short  Moral  Explanation  of  tlie  Sacred  Nan\«»s," 


THE  schoolIdf  clonard.  207 

by  the  same  author,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
whether  we  consider  the  style  of  the  latinity,  the  learning, 
or  the  ingenuity  of  the  writer,  it  is  equally  marvellous  and 
equally  honourable  to  the  School  of  Clonard.  The  writer 
cites  not  only  St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  and  the  author  of 
the  "  Imperfect  Work,"  but  what  is  more  wonderful  still,  he 
quotes  Origen  repeatedly,  as  well  as  Philo,  the  Alexandrine 
Jew.  We  cannot  undertake  to  say  that  he  was  familiar  with 
these  two  authors  in  the  original  Greek,  but  even  a  know- 
ledge of  the  Latin  versions  in  that  rude  age  is  highly 
honourable  to  our  Irish  schools.  This  fragment  shows,  too, 
that  a  century  after  the  death  of  the  holy  founder  scriptural 
studies  of  the  most  profound  character  were  still  cultivated 
with  eagerness  and  success  in  the  great  school  of  Clonard. 
But  evil  days  came  upon  this  sanctuary  of  the  holy  and  the 
learned,  especially  after  the  advent  of  the  Danes. 

It  was  plundered  and  partially  destroyed  some  twelve 
times  in  all.  But  the  Danes  had  half  that  work  of  sacrilege 
to  their  own  exclusive  credit — they  plundered  it  on  five  or 
six  recorded  occasions.  It  was  burned  no  less  than  fourteen 
times,  sometimes  partially,  but  on  other  occasions  almost 
wholly,  as  for  instance  in  a.d.  1045,  "  when  the  town  of 
Clonard,  together  with  its  churches,  was  wholly  consumed, 
being  thrice  set  on  fire  within  one  week."  On  another  occa- 
sion, in  A.D.  1136,  the  men  of  Breifney,  led  even  then  by 
O'Rorke  of  the  One-Eye,  the  husband  of  the  faithless  Der- 
vorgilla,  "  plundered  and  sacked  Clonard,  and  behaved  in  so 
shameless  a  manner  as  to  strip  O'Daly,  then  chief  poet  of 
Ireland.  Amongst  other  outrages  they  sacrilegiously  took 
from  the  vestry  of  this  abbey  a  sword  which  had  belonged  to 
St.  Finnian  the  Founder." — {Four  Masters.) 

Even  in  that  century  of  nameless  outrage  and  bloodshed, 
Clonard  was  still  the  home  of  poetry  and  learning,  and  to  their 
shame  be  it  spoken,  it  was  an  Irish  chieftain  and  his  followers 
who  destroyed  what  the  Danes  had  spared — the  very  men  who 
claimed  to  have  on  their  side  "  virtue  and  Erin,"  forsooth, 
while  on  the  other  was  the  **  Saxon  and  guilt."  But  any  one 
who  has  ever  read  the  bloody  annals  of  the  long  reign  of 
Tiernan  O'Rorke  in  Breifney  will  have  some  difficulty  in 
accepting  him  as  the  representative  of  virtue  and  Erin.  His 
rival,  Dermod  McMurrough,  who  was  not  outdone  in  villany 
by  any  other  Irishman  of  the  time,  plundered  and  burned 
Clonard  in  a.d.  1170,  and  was  aided  in  his  foul  work  by  Earl 
Strongbow  and  his  friends  from  England  ;  but  next  year  he 
paid  the  penalty  of  Kia  crimes,  dying  of  a  loathsome  disease. 


208  THE  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  FINNIAN  OF  CLONARD. 

witliout  the  sacraments,  accursed  of  God  and  man,  for  the 
Four  Masters  tell  us  that  "he  became  putrid  whilst  I'ving, 
by  the  miracle  of  God,  and  Columkille,  and  Finnian,  and  the 
other  saints  of  Ireland,  whose  churches  he  had  profaned  and 
burned  " — truly  a  fitting  end  for  such  a  life  as  his.  In  a.d. 
1175  Walter  de  Lacy  founded  the  monastery  of  Clonard  for 
the  Canons  Kegular  of  St.  Augustine,  but  in  a.d.  1206,  as  we 
observed  above,  Simon  de  Rochford  transferred  the  See  of 
Meath  from  Clonard  to  Trim^;  and  so  the  ancient  glory  of  the 
place  faded  away  until  now  it  is  merely  a  name  known  only 
to  scholars,  without  even  a  broken  arch  or  ruined  wall  to  speak 
with  saddening  eloquence  of  its  glorious  past. 


^  The  modern  diocese  of  Meath  is  an  aggregate  of  seven  or  eight  ancient 
dioceses  ;  hence  it  has  no  cathedral  church,  but  takes  its  name  from  the 
ancient  principality  (Midhe)  with  which  it  is  almost  conterminous. 


CHAPTER    X. 
THE    SCHOOL    OF    CLONFERT. 

**  [  grew  to  manhood  by  the  western  wave, 

Among  the  mighty  mountains  on  the  shore ; 
My  bed  the  rock  within  some  natural  cave, 

My  food  whate'er  the  seas  and  seasons  bore; 
My  occupation  morn  and  noon  and  night, 

The  only  dream  my  hasty  slumbers  gave 
Was  time's  unheeding,  unreturning  flight, 

And  the  great  world  that  lies  beyond  the  grave.*' 

— 21ie  Voyage  of  St.  Brendan, 

The  School  of  Clonfert  was  for  many  centuries  the  most 
celebrated  and  most  frequented  in  the  West  of  Ireland. 
From  the  earliest  times  the  fame  of  its  o^reat  founder,  St. 
Brendan,  did  much  to  attract  students  to  its  halls  from  all 
parts  of  Ireland.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  Monastery  and 
See  of  Clonfert  by  several  other  distinguished  scholars,  some 
of  whose  writings  still  remain  to  show  the  extent  and  variety 
of  their  learning.  In  spite  of  the  incursions  of  the  Danes 
a  continuous  succession  of  prelates  and  abbots,  whose  names 
have  been  all  handed  down  to  us,  continued  in  Clonfert  to 
cultivate  and  encourage  the  pursuit  of  sacred  studies.  Even 
in  more  recent  limes  its  prelates  were  generous  patrons  of 
learning  and  learned  men,  and  many  important  works  con- 
nected with  Celtic  Ireland  still  remaining  for  us,  are  due 
in  great  measure  to  their  munificence. 

I. — St.  Brendan  of  Clonfert. 

St.  Brendan,  the  founder  of  the  see  of  Clonfert,  and  the 
patron  of  the  dioceses  of  Ardfert  and  Clonfert,  is  in  many 
respects  the  most  interesting  figure  amongst  the  saints  of 
ancient  Erin.  His  travels  by  land,  and  still  more  his  voyages 
by  sea,  have  made  him  famous  from  the  earliest  times. 
Manuscript  copies  of  his  Seven  Years'  Voyage  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  some  of  them  dating  from  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries,  are  to  be  found  in  every  great  library,  and  almost 
in  every  language  of  Europe.     In  our  own  times,  poets  and 


210  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CI,ONFERT. 

literary  men,  both  in  these  countries  and  in  France,  have 
been  attracted  to  celebrate  his  romantic  career,  and  their 
genius  has  helped  to  lend  a  new  immortality  and  more 
attractive  grace  to  his  strange  adventures.  We  can,  how- 
ever, at  present  only  give  the  reader  a  very  brief  sketch  of 
his  holy  but  adventurous  career. 

St.  Brendan  the  Navigator,  as  he  is  frequently  called, 
to  distinguish  him  from  Brendan  of  Birr,  was  born  on  the 
sea-coast  a  little  to  the  west  of  Tralee,  in  the  County  Kerry, 
about  the  year  a.d.  484.  The  time,  place,  and  circumstances 
of  his  birth  can  be  fixed  with  greater  accuracy  than  is 
usual  in  the  case  of  most  of  our  Irish  saints.  He  was  the  son  ot 
Findlug,whowasgrandsonof  Alta,of  the  race  of  the  celebrated 
Fergus  Mac  Ho}^ ;  and  hence  he  is  frequently  called  Brendan 
Mac  Hv  Alta,  His  family  belonged  to  the  tribe  called  tbo 
Ciarri  Luachra,  and  they  dwelt,  we  are  told,  in  Altraighe 
Chaille,  at  Rand  Bera.^  This  place,  still  called  Barra, 
retains  its  ancient  name,  and  is  close  to  the  little  promontory 
of  Fenid,  north  of  the  Bay  of  Tralee.^  It  is  said  that  the  ruins 
of  an  old  church,  still  traceable  at  Fenid  Point,  mark  the 
exact  spot  where  the  saint  was  born.  Finding  was  a  Chris- 
tian, and,  with  his  wife,  lived  under  the  spiritual  direction 
of  the  holy  Bishop  Ere,  who  then  dwelt  at  a  place  about 
three  miles  north  of  Ardfert,  still  called  by  the  peasantry 
Termon  Eire.  Brendan's  mother  had  a  vision  foreshadowing 
his  birth,  in  which  she  thought  she  saw  her  bosom  filled  with 
purest  gold  and  radiant  with  heavenly  light.  This  the  holy 
bishop  explained  to  signify  the  fulness  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  would  adorn  the  offspring  then  in  her  womb.  A 
prophet  of  God  called  Bee  Mac  De  also  announced  the  future 
sanctity  of  Brendan,  and  the  fact  of  his  birth,  to  a  rich  man 
called  Mac  Airde,  who  dwelt  at  a  place  still  called  Cahir- 
Airde  clo^e  to  liand-Bera.  This  rich  man  made  an  offerinij 
of  thirty  cows,  with  their  calves,  to  the  infant,  and  from 
his  very  birth  took  him  to  be  the  patron  of  his  home  and 
family. 

The  child  was  baptized  shortly  after  his  birth  by  Bishop 
Ere  at  Tubber  na  Molt,  or  the  Wedder's  Well,  which  has 
given  its  name  to  the  townland  of  Tubrid,  near  Ardfert,  and 
is  still  regarded  as  a  holy  well  by  the  people,  who  hold  a 
station  there  on  the  festival  of  Brendan.  Numerous  votive 
oQerings  of  every  kind,  hung  around  the  well,  attest  the 
faith  of  the  people  in  the  healing  virtue  of  its  waters. 


^  Leabhar  Breac. 

-  Soo  Father  D.  0'Dono^*-Luo'8  interesting  Paper  in  the  Joumitl  of  the 
B.  S.  A.  I.  lor  1891,  pa^fe  70G. 


ST.  BRENDAN  OF  CLONFPUIT.  211 

For  one  year  the  child  was  nursed  in  the  house  of  his 
parents,  and  was  then  taken  away  by  Bishop  Ere  to  be 
placed  under  saintly  fosterao^e.  St.  Jta  had  just  then 
founded  her  convent  of  Ceall  Ita,  now  known  as  Killeedy, 
in  the  great  plain  south  of  IS^ewcastle  A\^est,  in  the  county 
Limerick,  and  close  to  the  northern  limits  of  that  Slieve 
Lougher  range,  which  bounded  the  native  territory  of  St. 
Brendan.  The  ruins  of  her  ancient  church  are  still  to  be 
seen,  as  well  as  the  bountiful  stream  from  which  young 
Brendan  must  have  often  drunk,  and  also  the  lofty  fragment 
of  an  ancient  castle,  doubtless  built  there  to  defend  the 
church,  like  a  round  tower,  during  the  stormy  centuries  of 
the  Danish  incursions. 

The  young  Brendan  remained  under  the  care  of  St.  Ita 
for  five  years,  and  no  doubt  during  these  years  acquii*ed 
much  of  that  spirit  of  confiding  and  fervent  piety  in  which 
he  walked  all  the  days  of  his  life.  He  always  looked  upon 
St.  Ita  as  a  mother  ;  in  his  temptations  and  trials  he  had 
recourse  to  her  holy  counsels  ;  "  for  she  was  prudent  in  word 
and  work,  sweet  and  winning  in  her  address,  but  constant  of 
mind  and  firm  of  purpose."! 

St.  Ere,  the  tutor  of  Brendan,  then  took  the  boy  under 
his  own  charge.  He  was  a  learned  as  well  as  a  holy  man, 
and  is  most  probably  to  be  identified  with  Ere  of  Slano, 
*  the  sweet  spoken  Judge  of  Patrick,'  who  was  one  of  the  high 
officials  of  the  king,  when  St.  Patrick  visited  Tara,  and  whose 
death  is  recorded  a.d.  512. 

Young  Brendan  made  great  progress  in  learning  under 
the  care  of  St.  Ere.  We  are  told  that  he  read  day  and  night 
under  the  holy  bishop,  and  being  still  very  young  he  had 
many  privations  to  endure  in  the  hermitage  of  the  austere 
prelate.  Once,  it  is  said  that  in  his  thirst  he  cried  for  a 
little  milk,  such  as  he  used  to  get  from  St.  Ita's  dairy  ;  but 
there  was  none  to  be  had  from  St.  Ere,  until  a  doe  from  the 
mountains  came  of  her  own  accord  to  be  milked  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  the  child.  His  young  sister,  Briga,  came  at  this 
time  to  visit  the  holy  youth,  and  was  so  much  impressed  by 
what  she  saw  and  heard,  that  she  too  resolved  to  renounce 
the  world  and  devote  her  life  to  the  service  of  God  in 
perpetual  virginity. 

We  are  told  that  Brendan  studied  the  Latin  language 
from  his  *  infancy,'  and  it  is  most  likely  that  the  Psaltery  and 
the  New  Testament  were  his  principal  books  at  this  period. 
We  may  be  sure,  however,  that  the  old  Brehon  of  King 
Laeghaire  did  not  leave  him  in  ignorance  of  his  country's 

1  Life  of  St.  Ita. 


212  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

language  and  history,  nor  of  the  sweet  songs  of  her  ancient 
bards. 

St.  Brendan  remained  under  the  tuition  of  the  blessed 
Etc  until  he  grew  up  to  be  a  young  man  able  to  take  care  of 
himself,  and  fully  instructed  in  all  the  learning  that  St.  Ere 
tould  teach  him.  Tlien  Brendan,  with  the  permission  of  his 
master,  and  the  blessing  both  of  his  master  and  foster  mother, 
St.  Ita,  resolved  to  go,  "  and  see  the  lives  of  some  of  the  holy 
fathers  of  Erin."  ''  But  come  back,"  said  Ere,  '*  that  you 
may  receive  priestly  orders  from  my  hands  before  I  die.*' 
''  Go,  my  child,"  said  Ita,  ^'  and  study  carefully  the  rules  of 
the  perfect  fathers  of  the  Irish  Church,  but  do  not  visit  often 
the  holy  virgins,  lest  evil  tongues  defame  thee." 

Fortified  with  God's  blessing  and  this  sage  advice, Brendan 
travelled  northwards  to  visit  the  already  celebrated  school  of 
St.  Jarlath,  near  Tuam.  On  his  way  he  met  Colman  Mac 
Lenin,  whom  he  induced  to  give  up  his  worldly  life  and 
accompany  him,  it  seems,  on  his  journey.  This  Colman 
afterwards  founded  the  see  of  Cloyne,  and  became  its  fii>;t 
bishop. 

At  this  time  St.  Jarlath  had  a  seminary  for  sacred  learn- 
ing at  Cluainfois  (Cloonfush),  about  two  miles  to  the  west  of 
Tuam.     He  himself  had  been  the  pupil  of  St.  Benignus,  the 
sweet  psalm-singer,  and  favourite  disciple  of  St.  Patricl>. 
The  Church  of  Kilbannon,  with  its  old  round  tower,  may 
still  be  seen  in  ruins  a  little  to  the  north  of  Cluainfois.    There 
is  also  a  vivid  local  tradition  that  St.  Benignus,  St.  Jarlath, 
and  other  saints   used  to  hold  spiritual  conferences  there 
together.   St.  Beniornus,  however,  was  dead  at  least  thirty  vears 
before  young  Brendan  came  to  this  seminary.     This  *'  School 
of  the  Saints  "  is  still  vivid  in  the  traditional  memory  of  the 
people.     iSt.  Jarlath  was  particularly  skilled  in  the  exposition 
of  the  Sacred  Scripture ;  and  we  are  told  that  it  was  love  for  that 
branch  of  knowledge  especially  that  induced  young  Brendan 
to  come  to  this  remote  seminary  of  the  West.      St.  Brendan 
remained   some  years   at   Cluainfois   in    the   acquisition  of' 
knowledge,    and   the   practice   of    all    virtue.     Before    his 
departure  he  told  St.  Jarlath  that  Providence  wished  liim  to 
remove  to  Tuam,  which  was  destned  by  God  to  be  the  place 
of  his  resurrection,  and  then  getting  his  master's  blessing  he 
leh  the  seminary  of  Cluainfois. 

St.  Brendan  next  travelled  northward  to  the  plain   of 
An.^     It  is  more  commonly  called  by  our  Irish  writers,  Magh 


^  See  Latin  Life  of  St.  B'endau,  edited  by  Cardinal  Morau. 


ST.   BRENDAN  OF  CLONFERT,  213 

Enna,  which  is  the  Celtic  form  of  the  '  Campu?  An.'  It 
includes  the  wide  undulating  plain  that  extends  froni 
ManuUa  Junction  to  Castlebar.  This  district  was  colonized 
then  or  shortly  afterwards  by  the  tribesmen  of  Brendan, 
and  from  them  got  the  name  of  Upper  Kerry  (Ciarraige 
Uachthair).  There  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
to  him  saying  : — *'  Write  the  Rule  that  I  shall  dictate, 
and  live  thou  in  accordance  with  that  Rule."  Then 
Brendan  wrote  his  Rule  according  to  the  dictation  of 
the  Angel ;  and  it  was  the  Rule  by  which  Brendan 
himself,  and  the  monastic  families  founded  by  him,  have 
lived  *  up  to  this  day,'  says  the  writer  of  the  Latin  Life  oj 
Brendan. 

Unfortunately  this  Rule  is  no  longer  extant,  or  at  least 
has  not  yet  been  discovered.     It   was   in  this  plain  called 
Magh  Enna  that  Brendan  performed  a  very  striking  miracle 
in  presence  of  a  great  crowd  of  people.      A  young  man  was 
being  carried  to  the   grave,  when  Brendan  met  the  corpse, 
and  calling  on  the  mourning  relatives  to  have  confidence  in 
God,  be  approached  the  bearers,  and  with  words  of  power 
bade  the  cold  corpse  rise   up   from  the  bier.     At  once  the 
dead  man  arose  ;  and  Brenda-i  i^ave  him  to  his  friends.     Then 
they  brought  Brendan  to  the  kiug,  and  told  him  all  that  had 
];jappened.     Whereupon  the   knu:  offered  to  Brendan  lands 
to  found  a  monastery,  if  he  would  consent  to  remain  amongst 
them.     But   Brendan    replied    that    he   could   not   found  a 
monastery  any  where  without   the  permission  of  his  master^ 
Bi-:hop  Ere  ;  and  that  he  had  promised  to  return  and  receive 
orders  from  him  before  he  died.     The  King  of  Connaught  at 
that;  time  was  probably  the   ga'lant  warrior,  Eoghan  Beul, 
whose  palace  was  on  an  island  in  Lough  Mask.     He  seems 
to  have  reigned  from  a.d.  510  to  542. 

So  Brendan  returned  home  to  Tralee,  and  received  the 
priesthood  from  his  beloved  master,  the  holy  Bishop  Ere. 
The  death  of  St.  Ere  of  Slane  is  noticed  in  our  Annals, 
A.i).  512  or  513  ;  and  it  was  therefore  a  little  before  this  time 
that  Brendan  was  elevated  to  the  priesthood,  when  he  was 
about  twenty- six  years  of  age. 

At  this  period  we  are  told  that  Brendan  built  cells  in  his 
native  territory  for  the  accommodation  of  the  disciples,  Avho 
gathered  round  him,  attracted  by  the  fame  of  his  sanctity. 
But  at  that  time  he  founded  only  a  few  cells,  and  had  com- 
paratively few  disciples  ;  for  he  was  yet  young  and  almost 
unknown  outside  his  own  country.  However,  when  he 
returned  from  his  Atlantic  voyages,  his  fame  extended  far 


214  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CI.ONFERT. 

and  wide;  and   ho  founded  many  monasteries  both  at  home 
and  in  vurious  parts  of  Irehmd. 

It  was  probably  at  this  period  that  St.  Brendan  built  his 
oratory  on  the  summit  of  Brandon  Hill,  and  there  conceived 
the  bold  idea  of  seeking:  the  Promised  Land  beyond  the 
billows  of  the  Atlantic.  Brandon  Ilill  rises  over  the  ocean 
to  the  height  of  3,127  feet  at  the  north  western  corner  of  the 
barony  of  Corcaguiny  to  the  south  of  the  Bay  of  Tralee. 
The  entire  promontory  of  Corcaguiny  is  one  range  of  bare 
and  lofty  hills,  at  the  extremity  of  which  Mount  Brandon 
rises  as  a  huge  detached  cone  overlooking  the  western  ocean. 
It  was  a  daring  thought  to  build  his  cell  and  oratory  on  the 
bare  summit  of  this  lone  mountain,  which  is  frequently  covered 
wn'th  clouds,  and  nearly  always  rudely  swept  by  the  breezes 
that  rise  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  But  on  a  clear  day  the 
spectacle  from  its  summit  is  one  of  sublime  and  uneipproach- 
able  grandeur.  All  the  bold  hills  and  headlands  from  Aran 
to  Kenmare,  that  go  out  to  meet  the  waves,  are  visible  from 
its  summit.  The  rock}^  islets  of  the  Skelligs  and  the  Maherees 
are  the  sentinels  that  guard  its  base.  Inland  the  spectator 
can  cast  his  gaze  over  half  the  South  of  Ireland — mountain 
and  valley,  lake  and  stream  and  plain  and  tow^n,  stretching 
far  away  to  the  east  and  south.  But  the  eye  ever  turns 
s^viward  to  the  grMud  panorama  presented  by  the  ultimate  ocean. 
No  such  view  can  be  had  elsewhere  in  the  British  Islands  ; 
and  Brendan  while  dw^elling  on  the  mountain  summit  saw  it 
in  all  its  A'arying  moods  —  at  early  morning  when  the  glory 
of  the  sun  was  first  diffused  over  its  wide  reaches ;  at  mid- 
night when  the  stars  swept  round  the  pole  that  feared  to  dip 
therasplves  in  the  baths  of  ocean  ;  at  even — above  all  at 
even — when  the  setting  sun  Avent  home  to  his  caverns  beneath 
the  se  I,  and  the  line  of  light  along  the  glowing  west  seemed 
a  road  of  living  gold  to  the  Fortunate  Islands,  where  the 
sorrows  of  earth  never  enter,  and  peace  and  beauty  for  ever 
dwell.  It  was  a  dim  tradition  of  man^s  lost  Paradise  floating 
down  the  stream  of  time,  for  with  curious  unanimity  the 
poets  and  sages  both  of  Greece  and  Rome  spoke  of  these 
Islands  of  the  Blessed  as  located  somewhere  in  the  Western 
Ocean.  The  same  idea  from  the  earliest  times  has  taken 
strong  hold  of  the  Celtic  imagination,  and  reveals  itself  in 
many  strange  tales,  which  were  extremel}^  popular  especially 
with  the  peasantry  on  the  western  coast.  To  this  day  the 
existence  of  O'Bi-azil,  an  (^nehantc^d  land  of  joy  and  beauty, 
wduch  is  seen  sometimes  on  the  blue  rim  of  the  ocean,  is 
very  confidently  believed  in  by  the  iishermcu  of  our  western 


ST.  BRENDAN  OF  CLONFERT.  215 

coasts.  It  is  seen  from  Aran  once  every  seven  years,  as 
Brendan  saw  it  in  olden  times,  like  a  fairy  city  on  the  far 
horizon's  verge  : — 

'*  And  often  now  amid  the  purple  haze 

That  evening  breathed  on  the  horizon's  rim — 

Methought,  as  there  I  sought  my  wished  for  home, 
I  could  descry  amid  the  waters  green, 

Full  many  a  diamond  shrine  and  golden  dome, 
And  crystal  palaces  of  dazzling  sheen." 

Brendan  was  confirmed  in  his  resolution  to  seek  the 
Blessed  Islands  by  a  strange  tale  told  by  Barintbus,  a  monk 
from  tbe  neigbbourbood,  whose  church  of  Kilbarron  is  not 
far  from  Tralee.  One  of  the  monks  of  Barinthus,  Mernoc  by 
name,  had  fled  from  his  monastery  in  search  of  a  desert  in 
the  ocean.  Barinthus  followed  after  him,  and  at  length 
found  him  in  the  island  called  the  '  Delicious,'  from  which 
they  sailed  further  west,  and  cume  to  the  Land  of  Promise  of 
the  Saints — a  beauteous  land  of  light  beyond  the  clouds  and 
mists  of  the  western  sea,  covered  with  verdant  glades  and 
flowery  fields.  But  an  angel  told  them  to  return  liome 
again,  that  this  land  of  light  and  beauty  was  not  yet  to  be 
revealed  to  men. 

Then  Brendan's  heart  was  filled  with  only  one  thought 
to  find  out  for  himself  this  '  Land  of  Promise,'  if  haply  it 
were  God's  high  will.  So  with  his  monks  he  fasted  forty 
days,  and  then  choosing  fourteen  of  their  number  he  made 
ready  for  the  adventurous  voyage.  Even  the  great  St.  Enda  of 
Aran  commended  Brendan's  purpose,  and  foretold  that  God 
would  bring  his  enterprise  to  a  happy  issue.  So  they  built 
themselves  a  large  currach  with  ribs  and  frame  of  willow, 
but  covered  with  hides,  and  taking  with  them  oars  and  sails, 
and  provisions  for  forty  days  they  set  out  upon  the  trackless 
sea  steering  for  the  "  Summer  solstice." 

It  is  not  our  intention  at  present  to  follow  Brendan  and 
his  monks  in  their  wanderings  through  the  Atlantic.  For 
seven  years  they  sailed  from  island  unto  island  in  the 
Atlantic  main,  seeing  many  marvels  by  land  and  sea,  follow- 
ing God's  guidance,  fed  by  His  Providence,  and  protected  by 
His  power.  At  length,  it  is  said,  they  reapbedthe  Continent 
of  America,  and  found  the  place  where  they  landed  to  be 
indeed  a  delicious  country  abounding  in  everything  to 
gratify  the  palate  and  please  the  eye — 

"  The  wind  had  died  upon  the  ocean's  hreast, 

"When  like  a  silvery  vein  through  the  dark  ore, 
A  smooth  bright  current  gliding  to  the  west, 
Bore  our  light  bark  to  that  enchanted  shore. 


216  I'WK  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFEllT. 

1 1  was  a  lovely  plain — spncious  and  fair, 

And  blessed  with  all  delights  that  earth  can  hold, 

Celestial  odours  filled  the  fragrant  air, 
That  breathed  around  that  green  and  pleasant  wold. 

*  Th  're  may  not  rage  of  frost,  nor  snow,  nor  rain 

Injure  the  smallest  and  most  delicate  flower  ; 
Nor  fall  of  hail  wound  the  fair  healthful  plain, 

Nor  the  warm  weather,  nor  the  winter's  shower. 
That  noble  land  is  all  with  blossoms  flowered. 

Shed  by  the  summer  breezes  as  they  pass  ; 
Less  leaves  than  blossoms  on  the  trees  are  showered, 

And  flowers  grow  thicker  in  the  fields  than  grass. 

"  We  were  about  to  cross  its  placid  tide 

When  lo  !  an  angel  on  our  vision  broke, 
Clothed  in  white  upon  the  further  side ; 
He  stood  majestic,  and  thus  sweetly  spokr — 
*  Father,  return,  thy  mission  now  is  o'er, 

God  who  did  bring  thee  here,  now  bids  thee  go. 
Return  in  peace  unto  thy  native  shore. 

And  tell  the  mighty  secrets  thou  dost  know.'  *' 

Therefore  Brendan,  in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  God's  angel, 
would  not  cross  the  mighty  river  that  watered  this  all- 
beauteous  land  ;  so  they  embarked  once  more,  and  guided  by 
Providence,  they  all  returned  in  safety  to  their  native 
homes. 

After  this  voyage,  which  was  soon  noised  abroad, 
Brendan  became  very  famous,  and  crowds  of  holy  men  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  came  to  place  themselves  under  his 
spiritual  direction.  There  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that  it 
was  then  these  villasres  of  beehive  cells  and  stone  oratories  at 
Kilmalkedar  and  Gallerus,  as  well  as  on  the  Blasquet 
Islands,  were  built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  disciphs  of 
St.  Brendan. 

But  like  Ulysses,  Brendan  had  become  a  name,  and  had  a 
hungry  heart  for  much  roaming,  that  he  might  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  half-instructed  natives,  whom  he  had  met  in 
his  journey  through  Connaught.  So  he  left  his  native  place, 
having  founded  the  See  of  Ardfert,  and  crossing  over  the 
estuary  of  the  Shannon,  then  called  Luiinnech,  he  founded  a 
monastery  in  the  island  called  anciently  Inis-da-driiini,  or 
the  Island  of  the  Two  Ilidges,  in  that  great  expanse  of 
water  which  flows  up  to  Clare,  near  the  town  of  Ennis.  The 
island  is  at  present  called  Coney  Island,  and  some  remains  of 
ancient  churclies  are  still  to  be  seen  there,  but  probably  of 
later  dato  than  the  time  of   Hrendan 


ST.  BRENDAN  OF  CLONFERT.  217 

About  iliis  time,  too,  he  went  to  Wales,  where  he  met  the 
great  St.  Gildas,  and  journeyed  still  further  north  to  lona, 
as  we  know  from  Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Coluincille.  It  is 
said  that  this  pilgrimage  to  Britain  was  imposed  on  Brendan 
by  St.  Ita,  as  a  penance  for  a  rash  command  given  by  him  in 
Inis-da-druim,  which  caused  the  death  by  drowning  of  a  too 
obedient  monk.  It  is  probable  that  in  the  first  instance  he 
went  to  the  Scottish  Dalriada,  visiting  lona  and  the  neigh- 
bouring islands  ;  for  it  is  only  after  three  years  spent  in 
'  Britain  '  (which  included  Scotland)  that  we  find  him  in 
Wales  with  St.  Gildas. 

During  this  journey  he  preached  the  Gospel  everywhere, 
and  founded  many  churches.  He  visited  the  Island  of  Heth, 
or  Tiree,  which  is  about  twenty  miles  north-west  of  lona. 
Kilbrandon  in  the  Island  of  Seil,  a  little  to  the  south  of 
Oban,  still  bears  his  name,  and  Cuilbrandon  shows  where  he 
made  his  temporary  residence.  He  visited  a  place  called 
Ailech  in  the  Latin  Life,  which  is  probably  Alyth  in  Perth  • 
shire,  and  the  Sound  between  Aran  and  Kintyre  is  still 
called  Kilbrennan  Sound.^ 

We  gather  from  an  incidental  reference  during  his  Welsh 
journey,  that  Gildas  had  a  missal  written  in  Greek  characters, 
which  he  himself  had  probably  got  during  his  sojourn  at  the 
Greek  monasteries  of  Marseilles,  and  he  invited  Brendan  to 
offer  up  the  Body  of  Christ  on  the  altar,  and  make  use  of  this 
missal.  When  Brendan  saw  the  strange  characters  he 
prayed  to  God  for  help,  and  ''  sang  the  Mass  from  this 
missal  with  the  Greek  characters,  even  as  if  they  were  the 
Latin  letters,  which  he  had  known  from  his  infancy."  This 
seems  to  have  taken  place  at  Gildas*  monastery  of 
Llancarvan,  in  South  Wales,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  Gildas, 
David,  and  Docus,  or  Cadoc  of  Llancarvan,  are  said  to  have 
Sfiven  a  new  M^ss,  or  Liturgy,  to  the  saints  of  the  Second 
Order  in  Ireiai^d. 

it  was  perhaps  after  his  return  from  Britain  that  Brendan 
spent  some  time  at  the  great  College  of  Clonard,  and  visited 
the  King  of  Tara.  All  accounts  agree  in  making  the  two 
Brendans — the  one   of  Clonfert   and   the   other  of  Birr — 


^ "  Bute  (Scotland)  is  said  to  derive  its  name  from  hothe,  a  cell,  St 
Branden  having  once  made  it  the  place  of  hi.s  retreat,  and  for  the  same 
reason,  the  natives  of  this  isle,  and  also  of  Arran,  have  been  sometimes 
styled  Brandani." — Pennant's  Tour  in  Scotland,  vol.  ii.,  4th  edition,  Dublin. 
1775,  p.  164. 

[This  note  was  sent  to  us  by  the  late  lamented  Mr,  Henneesy.J 


218  TUK  SCHOOL  OF  CLO.XFERT. 

disciples  of  St.  Fiimiun  of  Clontird,  who  was  known  as  tlio 
tutor  of  the  Saints  of  Erin.  This  does  not  imply  that 
Brendan  might  not  himself  be  quite  as  old  as  his  tutor,  and 
he  probably  was  so  at  the  time.  The  saints  were  not  ashamed 
to  become  pupils  even  of  younger  men  than  themselves, 
if  they  had  anything  to  learn  either  of  knowledge  or  holiness. 
It  is  more  likely,  however,  that  he  spent  his  time  at  Clonard 
before  his  sojourn  in  Britain,  and  that  it  was  after  his  return 
that  he  visited  King  Diarmaid  at  Tara. 

On  this  occasion  it  seems  he  came  to  Tara  on  an  errand 
of  mercy,  wbich  was  destined  to  have  very  important  con- 
sequences. 

King  Diarmaid  Mac  Cerbhaill  reigned  from  a.d.  514  to 
A.D.  564  or  565.  His  high  steward,  when  going  round  the 
country  to  enforce  the  ancient  laws  of  hospitality,  was  slain 
by  Aedh  Guaire  at  his  Dun  in  Hy-Many.  Guaire  fled  to 
escape  the  vengeance  of  the  king,  and  took  refuge  with  his 
uncle,  St.  Ruadhan  of  Lorrha,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Shan- 
non. But  the  king  discovered  his  retreat,  and  dragged  off 
the  criminal  to  Tara  to  be  punished  for  his  crime.  Ruadhan 
closely  followed,  and  begged  his  neighbour,  St.  Brendan, 
who  had  by  this  time  founded  Clonfert  on  the  Shannon  in 
Hy-Many,  to  accompany  him.  Brendan  did  so;  and  thus  both 
saiuts,  with  their  clerics,  and  their  bells,  and  their  croziers, 
came  to  Tara  to  intercede  for  the  criminal.  But  the  king 
was  obdurate,  and  refused  to  release  his  prisoner.  All  the 
courtiers  joined  the  bishops  in  asking  his  pardon,  but  Diar- 
maid still  refused.  Then  Ruadhan  of  Lorrha  and  "  another 
bishop  who  was  with  him,*'  incensed  with  the  king  for  his 
obduracy,  "  took  their  bells  that  they  had,  which  they  rung 
hardly,  and  cursed  the  king  and  the  place,  and  prayed  God 
that  no  King  or  Queen  would  or  could  ever  dwell  in  Tara, 
and  that  it  should  be  waste  for  ever,  without  court  oi 
palace,  and  so  it  fell  out  accordingly."^  Next  year  the 
king  was  slain,  and  after  him  no  king  or  queen  ever 
reigned  again  in  Tara.  The  spot  where  Huadhan  and 
Brendan  stood,  when  pronouncing  this  dreadful  excommuni- 
cation, was  on  the  Rath  of  the  Synods,  which  is  still  shown 
on  Tara  Hill. 

St.  Brendan  founded  one  church  at  least  in  Leinster  at  a 
place  called  Cluain  Imaire,  now  Clonamery,  in  the  co.  Kil- 
kenny. It  stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Nore,  about 
two  miles  below  Inistiogue.     Brandon  Hill  rises  a  little  to  the 

*  Annals  of  Cloumacnoisi-. 


ST.  BKENDAN   OF  CLONFEKT.  219 

east  of  the  old  church,  whose  ruins  are  still  to  be  seen,  and 
show  it  to  have  been  of  the  most  primitive  type  of  church 
architecture. 

Brendan,  also,  probably  at  an  earlier  date,  founded  two 
still  more  celebrated  establishments  in  the  West  of  Ireland 
even  before  founding  Clonfert,  which  has  always  borne  his 
name. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  celebrated  monastery  of  An- 
naghdown,  on  the  shore  of  Lough  Corrib,  which  he  founded 
for  his  sister,  St.  Briga,  and  where  he  himself  died  on  Sun- 
day, the  16th  of  May,  a.d.  577. 

It  seems  that  after  Brendan's  return  from  Britain,  he  paid 
a  second  visit  to  Con  naught.  During  his  first  sojourn  there 
he  became  familiar  Avith  the  great  plain  stretching  westward 
from  Tuam  to  Loagh  Corrib,  and  doubtless  also  saw  the 
beautiful  islands  that  stud  that  noble  sheet  of  water.  In  one 
of  these  islands,  called  Inchiquin,  which  is  separated  by  a 
narrow  rocky  channel  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake  near 
Ileadford,  he  founded  his  first  monastery  in  the  province  of 
Conn  aught.  It  seems  to  have  been  founded  about  the  year 
A.D.  550  or  552.  He  was  accompanied  to  the  island  by  his 
nephew^,  the  Bishop  Moennu,  or  Moinenn,  whom  he  after- 
wards appointed  to  preside  over  Clonfert.  With  their  own 
hands  they  carried  the  stones^  and  built  their  cells  and  little 
oratory.  Here,  too,  St.  Fursey,  who  was  a  near  relation  of 
St.  Brendan,  received  his  early  training,  as  we  shall  see 
further  on. 

When  Brendan  had  established  himself  on  Inchiquin,  his 
sister,  St.  Briga,  came  from  Kerry,-  for  she  loved  her  brother 
dearl}^,  and  was  anxious  to  be  near  him  for  spiritual  advice 
and  instruction.  Then  Brendan  built  for  his  sister  the  convent 
of  Annaghdown,  on  the  shore  of  the  lake  a  few  miles  to  the 
south,  and  there  she  governed  under  Brendan's  guidance  a 
convent  of  hol}^  nuns.  The  place  afterwards  became  very 
celebrated  and  was  m*  atly  enlarged.  A  parish  church,  and 
later  on  a  cathedral  were  established  there,  which  floui- 
ished  for  many  centuries  as  the  chief  church  of  O'Flaherty's 
territory,  until  it  was  finally  appropriated  somewhat  harshly 
by  the  Archbishops  of  Tuam. 

It  was  probabl}^  whilst  Brendan  lived  at  Lough  Corrib 
that  seeking  after  solitude,  which  has  always  had  such  a  charm 
for  pious  souls,  he  went  further  north  to  the  extreme  west  of 
Erris,  and  there  founded  an  oratory  and  a  cell  that  still 
remain,  though  in  ruins,  and  still  bear  his  name.  The  island 
of  Inis-gluair,  or   Inishgloria,   lies  off  the  extreme  west  of 


220  THE  SCHOOii  OF  CLONFERT.' 

Erris,  and  is  about  one  mile  distant  from  the  mainland  at 
Cross  in  the  Mullet.     We  have,  not  without  difficulty,  visited 
this  remote  and  lonely  island,  and  we  found  the  place  still 
teeming  with  recollections  of  Brendan  and  his  few  disciples, 
but  we  found  only  three  cells  on  the  island.    It  is  a  long,  low- 
lying  rocky  island,  containing  only  about  twenty  acres  of 
fair  pasture  land  for  sheep.     It  is  at  present  without  inha- 
bitants, for  it  is  bare  and  barren  of  itself,  and  besides  is 
separated  from  the  shore  by  a  shallow  stormy  sea,  which  can 
be  navigated  only  in  currachs  with  safety,  and  even  then  only 
in  very  mild  weather.     In  broken  weather,   as  there  is  no 
landing  place  on  the  island,  it  is   absolutely  unapproachable. 
Brendan's  oratory  is  still  to  be  seen,  and  the  remains  of  two 
churches — one  the   Church  of  the  Men,  and  the  other  the 
Church  of    the  Women — the  latter  without  the  monastic 
enclosure.    The  cells  have  almost  disappeared,  and  doubtless, 
in  a  few  years  nothing  but  a  heap  of  stones  will  be  left  to 
mark  the  spot  where  these  men  of  God  slept,  and  prayel,  and 
fasted,  surrounded  by  the  billows  of  that  angry  and  desolate 
sea.     A  few  paces  to  the  east  of  the  doorway  of  Brendan's 
oratory  are  two  flags  which  mark  the  spot  where  the  Chil- 
dren of  Lir,  whose  fate  is  so  pathetically  told  in  Celticlegend, 
sleep  in  peace  awaiting  their  resurrection.     *' After  this," 
says  the  tale,  '*  the  Children  of  Lir  were  baptized  ;  and  they 
died  and  were  buried;  and  P'iachra  and  Conn  were  placed  at 
either  side  of  Fionnghuala,  and  Aedh  before  her  face  ;  and 
their  tombstone  was  raised  over  their  tomb,  and  their  Ogham 
names  were  written  and  their  lamentation  rites  performed  ; 
and  heaven  was  obtained  for  their  souls."     Inishgloria  is  one 
of  the  least  known  but  most  interesting  of  the  many  holy 
islands  around  Ireland. 

According  to  an  ancient  tradition,  no  flesh  can  corrupt  in 
this  island  of  purity ;  even  the  bodies  of  the  dead  remain  for 
ages  free  from  putrefaction  ;  their  nails  and  hair  continue 
to  grow,  so  that  people  may  there  recognise  the  features  of  their 
ancestors,  who  left  the  world  centuries  before.  This  strange 
story  is  not  corroborated  by  modern  experience  ;  but  it  i*s  as 
old  as  the  time  of  the  veracious  and  legend-loving  Gerald 
Barry,  who,  however,  in  his  account  mistakes  Aran  for 
Inishgloria. 

It  was  in  a.d.  556  or  557  that  St.  Brendan  founded  hia 
great  monastery  of  Clonfert.  It  was  regarded  as  a  very 
important  event ;  and  hence  its  date  is  expiossly  reconhd  in 
all  our  Annals.  ''  Brcndinus  ecclesiam  in  (Uuain  tVrtha 
fundavit." — {Annals  of  Ulster^  anno  557).     Tht^  cohbrity  of 


St.  BRENDAN  OF  CLONFERT.  221 

the  founder  soon  attracted  a  vast  number  of  students  and 
relio^ious  men  to  this  great  monastic  school,  so  that  Brendan 
in  his  life  is  said  to  have  been  the  father  of  3,000  monks. 
Probably  this  refers  to  the  number  of  monks  and  scholars  in 
the  various  monasteries  governed  by  him,  who  lived  under 
his  rule  and  obedience.  But  making  the  allowance  even  for 
this  sub-division,  there  still  must  have  been  a  vast  number 
of  students  in  that  monastery  on  the  banks  of  the  Shannon. 
Its  name  implies  that  it  was  a  retired  and  sheltered  meadow, 
surrounded  on  one  side  by  what  was  then  a  vast  forest,  and 
is  now  an  equally  vast  bog.  To  the  north  and  east  it  was 
bounded  by  fertile  meadows  stretching  away  towards  the 
river,  which  at  the  nearest  point  is  two  miles  distant ;  but 
in  rainy  weather  the  river  overflowed  its  low  and  sedgy 
banks,  converting  all  these  meadows  into  one  vast  lake,  so 
that  the  Cluain  itself  became  an  island.  It  is  so  called  in 
some  ancient  references,  which  have  been  misunderstood 
even  by  Dr.  Lanigan,  who  could  not  understand  why  it  was 
called  the  ''  Island  of  Clonfert." 

For  twenty  years  Brendan  presided  over  this  great 
establishment ;  but  occasionally  left  it  for  a  time  in  order  to 
visit  his  other  monasteries.  Hence  he  placed  Moinenn  over 
Clonfert  as  permanent  prior,  or  Head  of  the  House,  so 
that  his  own  frequent  absences  might  not  interfere  with 
the  permanent  efficiency  of  the  monastic  and  scholastic 
work. 

Brendan  died  at  his  sister's  monastery  of  Annaghdown 
in  the  year  a.d.  577,  as  already  stated,  in  the  ninety-fourth 
year  of  his  age.  His  remains  had  to  be  carried  away  by 
stealth  from  his  western  people  around  Lough  Corrib,  who 
loved  him  much,  and  by  his  own  directions  were  brought  to 
his  Church  of  Clonfert,  where  they  were  interred  with  all 
honour  by  the  myriads  of  his  spiritual  children,  who 
crowded  to  his  obsequies. 

We  find  no  reference  to  any  writings  of  St.  Brendan  except 
the  Eule  already  referred  to,  which  he  wrote  at  the  dictation 
of  the  Angel.  The  great  influence  which  he  exercised  in  his 
own  time  was  due  to  the  zeal  and  sanctity  of  his  life  ;  and 
was  felt  for  many  centuries  after  his  death.  He  has  even 
now  more — far  more — than  3,000  spiritual  children  in  Kerrv 
and  Galway  who  revere  his  memory  as  a  precious  inheritance 
and  a  bright  example.  The  ancient  cathedrals  of  Clonfert 
and  Ardfert  have  b^en  seized  by  the  stranger,  and  are 
desolate  or  decaying.  Inishgloria  and  Inchiquin  are  waste 
and  silent  solitudes.     Annagtidown  and  Inish-da-druim  are  in 


222  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

ruins  ;  yet  the  tree  of  Christian  faith  and  virtue,  which 
Brendan  planted,  flourishes  like  the  palm-treo  by  the  waters, 
producing  each  year  richer  and  more  abundant  iruit.^ 

II. — St.  Moinenn. 

This  name  is  spelled  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  Here 
we  shall  adopt  the  form  given  in  the  Feiire  of  ^ngus,  our 
oldest  and  best  authority.  The  nominative  there  is  Momen, 
the  genitive  is  Moinend  or  Moinenn.^  His  festival  day,  as  we 
know  from  the  same  authority,  and  from  all  our  martyr- 
ologies,  was  the  first  day  of  March. 

As  Colgan  observes  in  the  sketch  which  he  has  given, 
us  of  this  saint,  there  are  some  things  concerning  him  which 
are  certain,  and  some  which  are  doubtful — we  should  say 
very  doubtful.  First  of  all  it  is  certain  that  he  was  the 
intimate  friend  and  associate  of  St.  Brendan  for  many  years, 
both  during  his  Atlantic  voyages,  and  when  he  was  found- 
ing his  monasteries  on  Lough  Corrib's  shores  and  islands. 
Secondly,  he  was  chosen  by  St.  Brendan  from  amongst  hi% 
three  thousand  disciples  to  rule  over  Clqnfert,  and  if  he 
outlived  his  master,  to  succeed  him  in  the  See  and  Abbacy. 
He  was  in  fact  a  Coadjutor  to  St.  Brendan,  chosen  by  that 
saint  himself  on  account  of  his  great  learning  and  holiness. 
Thirdly,  it  is  certain  that  St.  Moinenn  after  governing 
Clonfert  with  great  prudence  and  success,  died  in  the  year 
A.D.  570  or  571,  that  is  six  or  seven  years  before  the  death 
of  Brendan  himself.  In  the  scholiast's  annotations  to  the 
Felire  of  ^ngus,  Moinenn  is  described  as  "  bishop  and 
comarb  of  Brendan ;  "  and  the  Martyi'ology  of  Donegal 
calls  him  at  the  same  date,  like  all  our  other  Marty rologies — 
Bishop  of  Cluain-fearta-Brenainn.  The  scholiast  on  ^ngus, 
from  the  fact  that  he  and  St.  Senan  of  Iniscathy  are  men- 
tioned on  the  same  day,  the  eighth  of  March,  which  is  Senan's 

1  iVom  the  late  W.  M.  Hennessy  we  received  shortly  before  his  lamented 
death  the  following  note  : — 

"In  an  Irish  MS.   in  Trinity  College,  Dublin  (Class  H.  1,  7),  in  a 

tract  beginning  on  fol.  84,  two  poems  are  copied,  the  composition  of  which 

is  ascribed  to  St.  Brendan  (obviously  of  Clonfert).  The  first,  No.  7,  begins — 

An  da  Aodh  mo  dha  Chaniid 

(The  two  Hughs,  my  two  friends). 

The  second  begins — 

Beannacht  an  Choimhdhe  chomachtaigh 
(The  blessing  of  the  Almighty  Lord). 
This,"  adds   Mr.  Hennessy,  '*  is  stated  to  be  in  praise  of  Aedh,  King  ol 
Cashel  ;  but  there  is  no  record  of  wuch  a  King  Of  Caahel  in  the  time  of  St. 
Brendan."     It  is  much  more  likely  it  refers  to   Atdh,  King  of  Connaught, 
who  gave  Inchiquin  to  Brendan. 

'-'  There  are  families  near  Clonfert,  who  bear  thia  name  at  the  present 
day. 


ST.    MOINENN.  223 

proper  festival,  infers  that  the  latter  was  Bishop  Moinenn's 
psalmist. 

Now  as  to  what  is  uncertain,  Colgan  is  inclined  to  think 
that  this  Bishop  Moinenn  of  Clonfert  is  identical  with 
JVIonennius,  the  founder  of  the  great  Monastery  of  Rosnat 
in  Britain,  and  themaster  of  several  of  our  most  distinguished 
Irish  saints,  including  St.  Tighernach  of  Clones,  St.  Eugenius 
of  Ardstraw,  St.  Enda  of  Aran,  and  St.  Cairbre  of  Coleraine. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  prefix  7no  is  merely  a  term  of 
endearment,  and  hence  the  name  Moinenn  or  Mo-nenn,  is 
really  the  same  as  Nennio  or  Mo-nennius,  the  great  and 
celebrated  saint  who  w^as  undoubtedly  the  tutor  of  the  saints 
of  Northern  Erin,  as  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard  w^as  the  tutor 
of  the  Saints  of  the  South  and  West— the  celebrated  Twelve 
Apostles  of  Erin. 

Colgan's  opinion  is  always  entitled  to  the  highest  respect, 
and  the  more  deeply  one  is  versed  in  the  ecclesiastical  history 
of  ancient  Ireland,  the  more  one  is  likely  to  set  a  high  value 
on  the  opinion  of  Colgan.  Still  we  cannot  assent  to  thi& 
conjecture  of  his,  especially  for  reasons  of  chronology. 

We  agree  with  the  learned  and  judicious  Skene  that  the 
monastery  of  Hosnat,  the  magnuvi  )nonasteriuiny  which  was^ 
also  called  Alba}-  and  Candida,  can  be  no  other  than  Whiterne 
in  Galloway,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  Futerna.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  St.  Nennio,  Nennius  or  Ninian,  was  the 
founder  of  that  great  monastery,  and  he  may  have  been  the 
teacher  of  some  of  the  great  saints  from  the  north  of  Ireland, 
whose  names  are  mentioned  above.  Furthermore  it  was 
through  him  and  his  great  monastery  that  monastic  life  and 
discipline  were  introduced  into  those  parts  of  Ireland,  where 
these  early  saints,  his  disciples,  founded  their  own  establish- 
ments. St.  Nennio  or  Ninian  of  Candida  Casa  was  buildino: 
his  new  stone  church — the  White  House — in  Gfalloway  when 
he  heard  of  the  death  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  whose  disciple 
he  had  been.  Now,  Martin  died  the  11th  of  November, 
A.D.  397  ;  and  it  is  manifestly  out  of  the  question  to  suppose 
that  this  Ninian,  or  Nennio,  could  have  lived  on  to  the  year 
A.D.  570,  when  he  w^ould  be  at  least  200  years  of  age.  This 
assumes,  however,  the  identity  of  Rosnat  with  Candida  Casa. 
But  if  Bosnat  were  a  Welsh  monastery,  and  that  Moinenn  is 
merely  another  name  for  St.  Manchan,  or  Manchenus,  the 
Master,  as  some  think ;  then  Moinenn,  Bishop  of  Clonfert, 
was  very  likely  that  person,  and   derived  his  training  and 

'  Life  of  St.  Tighernach. 

2  Whiterne  in  sound  for  Irish  ears  is  nearly  the  same  as  Futewie, 
the  Latin  being  Futerna. 


224  THE  SCHOOL  of  CLO.NFERT. 

knowledp-e  of  raonastic  discipline,  at  least  to  some  extent, 
from  that  source.  We  have  seen  that  St.  Brendan  spent  some 
time  in  Wales,  and  that  he  belonged  to  the  Second  Order  of 
Saints,  which  got  a  AJass  from  the  three  great,  Saints  of 
Wales.  As  St.  Moinenn  had  accompanied  him  in  his  voyages 
in  the  Atlantic,  nothing  in  more  likely  than  that  he  would 
also  accompany  him  to  Wales,  and  remain  there  until  such 
time  as  Brendan  founded  Clonfert,  when  he  was  called  home 
by  the  latter  to  take  charge  of  this  new  and  important 
foundation.  It  is  evident,  moreover,  that  he  was  a  man  of 
large  culture,  and  that  during  his  presidency  over  Clonfert 
he  laid  the  foundations  of  that  celebrity  which  the  school 
subsequently  attained. 

There  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  that  St.  Brendan  himself 
ever  received  episcopal  orders,  but  rather  that  in  his  humility 
he,  like  the  great  St.  Columba  of  lona,  contiaued  all  his  life 
a  presbyter-abbot.  Of  course  the  necessary  episcopal  func- 
tions would  be  preformed  by  St.  Moinenn;  and  no  doubt  that 
was  one  of  the  reasons  why  he  was  chosen  to  preside  over  the 
monastery  and  school  of  Clonfert.  A  similar  arrangement 
existed  for  a  long  period  in  lona.  The  head  of  the  commu- 
nity was  a  presbyter-abbot ;  but  there  was  nearly  always  a 
bishop  belonging  to  that  great  House,  who  conferred  the 
necessary  orders  on  the  various  members  of  the  Community, 
All,  or  nearly  all,  Brendan's  successors,  however,  appear  to 
have  been  bishops,  as  well  as  abbots,  down  to  a  comparatively 
recent  period,  when  the  offices  and  mensal  estates  of  the 
bishop  and  abbot  became  quite  distinct.  The  monastery  as 
such  was  nominally  suppressed  in  the  reign  of  Henry  YIII., 
but  the  incumbents  contrived  to  hold  their  ground  until 
A.D.  1571,  when  the  bishop,  Roland  de  Burgo,  came  into 
possession  of  the  monastic  as  well  as  of  the  See  lands.  They 
afterwards  passed  to  the  Protestant  prelates  whose  represen- 
tatives hold  them  still. 

St.  Fintan,  surnamed  Corach,  seems  to  have  been  the 
immediate  successor  of  St.  Brendan,  lor,  as  w^e  have  seen, 
St.  Moinenn  was  reall}'  coadjutor  to  Brendan,  and  died  before 
the  coadjutus. 

We  are  told  in  the  Felire  of  -^ngus  that  Fintan's  feast 
was  the  21st  of  February,  i.e.y  Fintan  Coragh  or  the  Melodious, 
because  he  was  famed  as  a  psalm-singer  and  choir-master. 
The  scholiast  after  giving  other  explanations  of  the  term, 
adds  that  he  was  Brendan's  successor,  and  came  of  the  Coroo- 
Duibne  race,  and  that  Brendan's  mother  belonged  to  the 
same  tribe.     That  tribe  has  given  its  name  to  the  present 


ST    riNTAN  CORACH.  225 

baruiiy  of  Corcaguiny,  and  y,e  know  that  Brendan  spent 
many  years  of  his  life  in  that  district,  in  which  the  famous 
Mount  Brandon  is  situated.  He  had  only  to  cross  the  Bay 
of  Trulee  to  reach  it  from  the  place  where  his  father's  family 
lived  at  Fenid.  Fintan's  father,  according  to  the  same 
authority,  was  Gaibrene,  son  of  Cocran.  The  names  of  his 
two  immediate  successors  in  Clonfert  are  also  given : — 

•*  Fintan  the  melodious,  Senach  the  rough, 
Colmari,  son  of  Comgall,  the  guileless, 
Three  great  (spiritual)  kings  with  warfare  of  valour. 
One  after  the  other  in  the  abbey  (of  Clonfert)." 

The  Martyrology  of  Donegal  describes  Fintan  Corach 
as  "  Bishop  of  Cluain-ferta-Brenainn,  and  he  is  in  Cluain- 
eidhncch  also/'  But  it  is  uncertain  if  Fintan  ever  went  to 
Olonenagh,  and  it  seems  highly  probable  that  he  was 
1  onfounded  with  one  of  the  other  Fintaiis,  who  founded  and 
ruled  that  Church.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  connection  o.^ 
St.  Brendan  by  the  mother's  side,  will  explain  why  he  was 
chosen  to  succeed  that  saint  in  the  government  of  the  Church 
of  Clonfert.  It  was  an  established  rule  to  select  the  comarb 
from  the  kin,  or  failing  that,  from  the  tribe  of  the  founder, 
when  a  suitable  candidate  so  recommended  was  forthcoming. 

No  doubt  St.  Fintan,  whilst  he  governed  Clonfert,  did 
much  to  encourage  the  study  and  practice  of  sacred  psalmody 
in  the  abbey  choir.  He  could  hardly  be  false  to  his  name,  or 
allow  discords  to  prevail,  where  harmony — heavenly  har- 
mony— should  help  to  raise  the  mind  to  God  and  His 
Angelic  Choirs.  He  seems  to  have  died  towards  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century.  Archdall  gives  the  date  as  a.d.  590,  but 
nothing  is  known  for  certain  on  the  point. 

The  Abbot  Seanach  Garbh  appears  to  have  been  the 
successor  of  St.  Fintan,  but  beyond  the  record  of  his  death, 
which  the  Ulster  Annals  give  a.d.  620,  we  know  nothing. 
St.  Colman,  son  of  Comgall,  is  mentioned  by  the  scholiast  of 
j3Engus  as  the  next  of  the  three  '  kings'  who  ruled  the  abbey 
in  succession  to  Brendan,  but  of  him  in  like  manner  we  know 
nothing  more. 

The  next  Abbot-Bishop  of  Clonfert  was  the  celebrated 
Cummian  Fada,  or  Cummian  the  Tall,  perhaps  the  most  dis- 
tinguished scholar  of  his  time  in  Ireland.  Before,  however. 
we  give  an  account  of  his  life  and  writings,  it  is  necessary  to 
refer  briefly  to  another  famous  disciple  of  St.  Brendan,  that 
is,  the  celebrated  St.  Fursey. 

After  Brendan  himself,  St.  Fursey  is  the  most  remarkable 
saint  of  the  times  in  w^hich  he  lived,  and  it  is  fortunate  that 

p 


226  fllE  SCHOOL   OF   CLONFERT. 

we  have  a  Life  of  this  saint  still  extant  which  at  least  iu 
suhstanee  must  be  accepted  as  authentic.  Tliis  Life  is  referred 
to  by  Bede,  who  himself  gives  a  long-  and  most  interesting 
account  of  the  saint.     It  is  evident  that  tlie  Life  quoted  by 
Bede  was  the  work  of    an  almost  contemporary  writer  ;  for 
he  speaks  of  the  plague  and   the    great  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
which   liappened  last  year,  that  is,  as  we  know   from  Bede 
himself,  on  the  3rd  of  May,  a.d.  ()()4.     The  Life  was  therefore 
written  within  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  the  death  of  St.  Fursey  ; 
and  although  additions  were  probably  made  to  it  afterwards, 
it  must  be  accepted  even  in  its  present  shape  as  authentic 
and  truthful,  at   least  in   substance.     It   is,  moreover,  con- 
firmed in  many  particulars  by  the  evidence   of  our  native 
annals. 

According  to  this  Life,  which  has  been  published  by 
Colgan  at  January  16th,  St.  Fursey  was  the  son  of  aMunster 
prince  named  Fintan,^  son  of  Finloga;  and  this  Fintan,  either 
by  his  father's  or  mother's  side  was  a  nephew  of  St. 
Brendan.  The  history  of  the  birth  of  the  saint  is  not 
without  an  element  of  romance,  and  hence  we  shall  refer  to 
it  more  in  detail  than  our  purpose  would  otherwise  require. 

Young  Fintan  from  some  cause  or  other  left  the  home  of 
his  father,  who  is  described  as  king  of  Western  Munster, 
and  came  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  to  the  court  of  Brudin,  o/  as 
he  is  sometimes  called,  Brendinus,  King  of  North  Con- 
naught.  In  some  of  the  versions  of  the  Life  of  Fursey  he  is 
made  to  come  to  the  court  of  Brandubh,  King  of  Leinster  ; 
but  this  error  arose  from  confounding  the  latter  with 
Brendinus,  or  Brudinus,  King  of  North  Connaught. 

The  Hy-Briuin  race  of  Connaught  derived  their  descent 
from  Duach  Galach,  youngest  son  of  Brian,  son  of  Eochaidh 
Muighmheadhoin  (Eochy  Moyvane).  Feargus,  great  grandson 
of  Duach  "the  Yictorious"  (galach)^  was  king,  or  prince  of 
Connaught  about  the  year  a.d.  517,  whilst  St.  Brendan  was 
still  a  young  man.  He  had  three  sons,  who  became  the 
ancestors  of  the  three  great  branches  of  the  Hy-Briuin  race 
— namely,  Eochaidh  Tirmcharna,  the  ancestor  of  the 
O'Conors,  Duach  Teangumha,  the  head  of  the  great  clan  of 
the  O'Flahertys  of  West  Connaught,  and  Feargna  the 
common  ancestor  of  the  O'Horkes  and  O'Heillys  of  Breifney. 
Now  Aedh,  son  of  Eochaidh,  was  King  of  Connaught — at 
least  of  South  Connaught — when  St.  Brendan  founded  his 
monastery  on  Inchiquin,  about  a.d.  550.     His  uncle  Feargna 

*  Somo  confoiiTid  tliis  St.  Fursey  with  another  Fursey,  son  of  Loohau  of 
the  Dal-nraidlie. 


ST.  FURSET.  227 

had  three  sons,  who  at  the  same  time  ruled  in  North 
Connaught — Brendiii  or  Brudin,  Aedh  Finn,  and  Fearadach. 
It  was  to  Brudin,  the  eldest,  it  seems,  of  these  three  brothers, 
that  youno-  Fintan  came  from  Kerry  as  a  soldier  of  fortune. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  too,  that  there  was  a  great 
emigration  at  this  period  from  Kerry  to  North  Connaught, 
So  that  probably  Fintan  did  not  come  alone,  but  accompanied 
by  aonie  of  his  tribesmen. 

JSTow  Aedh  Finn,  the  Prince  of  North  Connaught,  had  a 
beautiful  daughter  called  Gelges,  and  she  fixed  her  affections 
on  the  young  prince  from  Kerry.  The  father  would  not 
allow  her  to  marry  a  penniless  exile,  but  love  ignores  such 
obstacles  ;  they  were  secretly  married,  and  the  fact  was  first 
disclosed  to  the  kicg  by  the  visible  pregnancy  of  his 
daugliter.  In  his  wrath  he  condemned  the  daughter  and  her 
unborn  child  to  be  burned  alive.  But  Providence  extinguished 
the  fire  ;  and  it  seems,  too,  that  the  king's  sub-chieftains 
would  not  tolerate  the  commission  of  this  great  crime.  So 
Fintan  and  Gelges  were  allowed  to  escape  deatli,  but  were 
ordered  to  return  no  more  to  Breifney. 

In  this  great  difiiculty  Fintan  bethought  himself  of  his 
uncle,  St.  Brendan,  just  then  established  in  Inchiquin  ;  and 
to  him  he  fled  for  refuge.  The  saint  received  his  kinsman 
kindly,  and  as  he  and  his  wife  were  in  danger  of  their  lives, 
he  allowed  them  to  lodge  for  the  time  in  the  hospice  of 
Inchiquin.  There  within  a  few  days  the  unhappy  Gelges 
gave  birth  to  a  boy,  the  future  Fursey,  the  renowned  saint  of 
Ireland,  and  England,  and  France,  He  was  baptized  by  St. 
Brendan,  and  we  are  told  that  so  long  as  Brendan  lived^  h'^ 
instructed  the  youth  in  all  knowledge,  sacred  and  profane, 
and  that  the  work  was  afterwards  continued  by  his  disciple, 
k>t.  Meldan,  of  Inchiquin.  It  is  no  wonder  that  Brendan, 
remembering  his  own  youth  spent  under  the  care  of  St.  Ita 
and  St.  Ere,  now  in  his  turn  soucj-lit  to  give  to  this  princely 
boy  the  same  tender  care,  and  the  same  religious  training 
which  he  had  himself  received.  We  can  even  trace  the  vivid 
imagination  of  Brendan  hiinselfin  the  wonderful  visions  of 
Fursey  ;  ^and  that  snnie  restless  longinsr,  pere^^rinari  hro 
Chrzsto,  to  preach  Christ  in  strange  lands,  which  caL'«ed 
Brendan  to  sail  the  Atlantic  seas,  caused  Fursey  to  preacli  at 
.arst  in  Ireland,  then  in  England,  and  afterwards  in  France. 

It  is  said  in  his  life  that  Fursey  founded  a  mon:istery  of 
iiis  own  in  the   Island  of  Hathmat,   or  Hamath,  in  Lough 

^  Fursey  must  have  been  very  young,  certainly  not  more  than  ten   years 
of  age,  when  Brendan  died  in  a.d.  577. 


228  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

Corrib.  This  island  cannot  now  be  identified,  but  on  the 
sliore  of  Lough  Corrib,  not  far  from  Inchiquin,  is  the  old 
church  and  parish  of  Killursa,  which  bears  his  name,  and  of 
which  Fursey  was  undoubtedly  the  founder  and   the  patron. 

There  is  also  a  place  near  Inchiquin  on  the  mainland 
called  Ard-fintain — Fintan's  Height — near  Headfort,  which 
still  gives  its  name  to  the  townland  ;  and  there  are  traces  of 
an  ancient  rath  in  the  place. ^  It  seems  almost  certain  that 
Fintan,  leaving  Inchiquin,  took  up  his  residence  with  his 
wife  at  Ard-fintain,  that  there  his  children,  St.  Ultan  and 
St.  Foillan,  brothers  of  St.  Fursey,  were  born,  and  like  him, 
were  educated  on  the  neighbouring  island  of  Inchiquin  by 
the  good  monks  of  St.  Brendan.  It  is  likely,  too,  though 
not  mentioned  in  Fursey 's  Life,  that  the  brothers  were  sent, 
when  they  grew  up,  to  the  great  School  of  Clonfert,  which 
had  been  founded  by  their  grand  uncle,  and  which  was  still 
governed  by  their  own  kinsmen. 

Of  the  subsequent  career  of  the  great  St.  Fursey  we 
cannot  now  speak  at  length.  His  celebrated  visions  were 
known  to  all  mediaeval  Europe;  and  it  is  said  they  furnished 
Dante  with  the  groundwork  of  the  plot  of  the  best  scenes  in  the 
Divina  Commedia.  His  influence  has  been  felt  according  to 
certain  writers  in  shaping  the  entire  course  of  mediaeval 
theology  with  regard  to  the  state  of  the  souls  in  the  world  to 
come.  This  of  course  is  an  exaggeration;  but  it  shows  how 
widely  the  influence  of  his  life  and  actions  is  supposed  to 
have  extended.  Bede  evidently  believed  in  the  reality  of 
these  visions  of  the  saint,  and  was  very  far  indeed  from  re- 
garding them  as  the  purely  subjective  visions  of  a  disordered 
imagination.  Of  Fursey's  subsequent  career,  both  in  England 
and  France,  we  shall,  let  us  hope,  learn  more  hereafter. 

III. — St.  CuMMiAN  THE  Tall,  Bishop  OF  Clonfert. 

St.  Cummian,  surnamed  the  Tall  (fada),  to  distinguish 
him  from  Cummian  the  Fair  (finn),  Abbot  of  Hy,  was  the 
most  learned  Irish  scholar  of  the  seventh  century.  lie  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  famous  Paschal  controversy,  and  his 
letter  on  that  question,  which  is  fortunately  extant,  proves 
that  he  was  perfectly  familiar  with  Church  history,  and  deeply 
versed  in  Sacred  Scri])ture.  He  was  well  skilled,  loo,  in  the 
moral  theology  of  the  times,  as  the  Liber  de  Mensura 
Pocniteiitiarum  clearly  shows.  He  tried  his  hand  at  poetry 
also,  but  we  cannot  say  as  much  for  his  verses  as  for  hie 
theology :  it  is  rarely,  indeed,  that  theoloi^iana  are  good 
poets— they  have  too  much  sobriety  of  mind.     His  eontein- 

*  ^Vo  liavo  iiiatle  a  niiiiiito  oxiinuimtit)M  of  all  thU  locality  with  th» 
help  of  tlio  \  ory  Kev.  J.  Dunett,  1M'..V.K 


ST.  CUMMIAN  THE  TALL,   BISHOP  OF  CLONFEKT.  229 

poraries  likened  Cummian  in  morals  and  life  to  St.  Gregory 
the  Great,  and  one  of  his  admirers,  in  an  old  rann  preserved  by 
the  Four  Masters,  says  he  was  the  only  Irishman  of  his  time 
fit  to  succeed  that  illustrious  Pontiff  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter. 

Yet,  the  birth  of  this  holy  and  learned  man  was  the  fruit 
of  an  unspeakable  crime,  to  which  it  is  unnecessary  here  to 
make  further  reference.  His  i'ather  was  Fiachna,  son  of 
Fiachra  Gairine,  King  of  West  Munster.  The  clan  were 
known  as  the  Eoghanach  of  Lough  Lein,  because  they  were 
sprung  from  the  great  Eoghan  More,  son  of  Ollioll  Olum, 
and  dwelt  in  the  woods  and  mountains  round  the  beautiful 
lakes  of  Killarney.  His  unhappy  mother  was,  it  seems,  in 
early  youth  called  Flann,  but  she  was  also  called  Mughain  or 
Mugania,  and  was  sometimes  known  as  Pirn,  or,  as  Colgan 
latinises  it,  Pima.  Her  identity,  however,  under  these 
various  names  is  suflSciently  established  by  the  great  mis- 
fortune of  her  life,  for  which,  perhaps,  she  may  not  have 
been  responsible. 

The  child  was  born  in  a.d.  589,  or  590,  for  he  died  in 
A.D.  661,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two.  Drumdaliter — Marianus 
O'Gorman  tells  us — was  *'  the  name  of  his  town,"  and 
Aedh  or  Hugh  was  his  ''proper  name*'  at  first.  Shortly 
after  his  birth  the  infant  was  exposed  by  his  parents,  and 
left  at  the  head  of  the  cross  in  a  t?raall  Cummian  or  basket 
near  St.  Ita's  Convent  of  Killeedy,  and  the  holy  sisterhood 
finding  the  child  thus  abandoned  took  charge  of  the  foundling, 
and  called  him  Cummian,  because  he  was  found  in  the  basket. 

The  history  of  the  lady  Flann,  the  mother  of  Cummian, 
is  very  singular.  The  great  misfortune  of  her  life  seems  to 
have  happened  when  she  was  very  young,  and  it  may  have 
been  greatly,  if  not  entirely,  against  her  own  will.  It  seems, 
too,  that  she  was  very  beautiful — in  a  stanza  composed  by 
Cummian  himself,  she  is  called  Flann  the  Fair — it  is  said  also 
that  she  was  four  times  married,  and  became  the  mother  of 
no  less  than  six  kings  and  six  bishops. 

After  the  death  of  her  fourth  husband,  Flann,  whether 
tired  of  the  cares  of  married  life,  or  anxious  to  do  penance 
for  the  sin  of  her  youth,  consulted  her  son  Cummian  as  to  her 
future  ;  and  he  advised  her  to  retire  from  the  world,  and 
spend  the  rest  of  her  days  in  prayer  and  penance.  She  did 
so,  and  died  a  holy  nun  at  an  advanced  age. 

From  Killeedy,  or  perhaps  from  Killarney,  youno* 
Cummian  was  sent  to  the  great  school  of  Cork,  founded  by 
St.  Finnbarr  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century, 
when  Cummian  would  be  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  age. 


230  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

Among  the  teaclurs  in  Cork,  either  then,  or  a  little  later 
on,  was  Colman  Mac  O'Cluasaigh,  who  is  called  the  "tutor" 
of  young  Cummiaii,  to  whom  he  became  greatly  attached. 
Colman  O'Cluasaigh  was,  it  seems,  a  most  accomplished 
scholar,  and  had,  moreover,  an  Irishman's  love  for  poetry  and 
song.  Dr.  Todd^  has  published,  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Liber  Hymnorum,  a  very  beautiful  Irish  hymn  composed 
by  Colman  to  invoke  for  himself  and  his  pupils  the  protection 
of  God  and  His  Saints  against  the  yellow  plu<;ue,  which 
devastated  Ireland  between  the  years  a.d.  660-664.  He  is 
described  in  the  preface  to  that  hymn  as  a  reader  of  Cork 
{fei'-legincf),  and  is  said  to  have  composed  it  when  he  was 
fleeing,  with  his  pupils,  from  the  plague,  to  take  refuge  iu 
some  island  of  the  sea,  because  it  was  thought  the  contagien 
could  not  extend  beyond  nine  waves  from  the  land,  which, 
even  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view,  was  likely  enough.  He 
also  composed,  about  the  same  time,  an  elegy  on  the  death 
of  Cummian. 

Colman  inspired  his  pupil  with  his  own  love  for  poetry  ; 
and  fortunately  we  have,  in  the  same  Book  of  Hymns,  a  Latin 
poem  written  by  Cummian,  which  we  should  reprint  if  the 
space  at  our  disposal  were  not  so  limited.  * 

From  St.  Finnbarr's  school  Cummian  seems  to  have  gone 
to  visit  his  half  brother  Guaiie,  who  was  King  of  South 
Connaught  at  this  period,  or  a  little  later  on.  As  Cummian 
was  already  famous  for  sanctity  and  learning,  and  belonged 
to  an  influential  family,  who  would  now  be  ready  enough  to 
acknowledge  the  relationship,  we  can  easily  conceive  how  his 
own  merits  and  Guaire's  influence,  would  have  procured  his 
selection  for  the  bishopric  of  Clonfert.  "All  the  Martyrologies 
and  Annals,''  says  Cardinal  Moran,^  "  agree  in  styling 
St.  Cummian  Fada,  Bishop  and  Abbot  of  Clonfert.'* 

But  it  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  exact  date  of  his  appointment. 
We  find  the  death  of  Senach  Garbh,  Abbot  of  Clonfert, 
marked  by  the  Four  Masters  under  the  date  of  a.d.  620,  and 
his  successor  Colman  died,  according  to  Archdall,  in  the  same 
year  which  he  gives  as  A.u.  621.  As  there  is  no  other  obituary 
of  a  Bishop  or  Abbot  of  Clonfert  noticed  in  our  xinnals  until 
the  death  of  Cummian  himself  in  A.u.  661,  we  may,  perhaps, 
fairly  assume  that  he  succeeded  the  xibbot  Colman  and 
governed  the  See  for  forty  years.  Colman,  King  of  Con- 
naught,  the  uncle  of  Cummian  and  father  of  Guairo,  was 
slain  in  a.d.  617,  and  Guaire,  if  not  actually  king  at  this 

1  To  whom  we  aro  indebted  for  much  infonuatiou  about  Cuiuiuiau. 
"^  Note  to  AioLdttU,  iub  voct,  "  Clonfert." 


ST.  CUMMIAN  THE  TALL,  BISHOP  OV  CLONFKRT.  231 

date,  was  an  influential  chief,  and  his  defeat  with  others  at 
the  battle  of  Carn  Fearadhai^h  in  Limerick  is  noted  by  the 
annalists  in  a.d.  622,  and  his  death  in  a.d.  662,  so  that  the 
two  brothers,  the  Bishop  and  Chieftain,  were  contemporaries 
ruling  in  South  Connaught  during  a  long  and  chequered 
career.  This  fact  will  help  to  explain  the  great  influence 
which  Cummian  possessed,  and  the  leading  position  which 
he  occupied  in  the  Irish  Church  at  that  period.^  His  fame 
as  a  saint  and  scholar  spread  throughout  all  Ireland,  and 
attracted  crowds  of  students  to  his  great  school  at  Clonfert. 
He  appears,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  to  have  taken  a 
leading  part  in  the  Synod  of  Magh  Lene,  held  about 
A.D.  630,  and  no  doubt  it  was  at  the  request  of  the  Fathers 
of  that  Synod,  that  he  wrote  his  famous  epistle  on  the 
Paschal  Question  to  the  Abbot  Segienus  of  Hy,  about  the 
year  a.d.  634.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  Segienus 
and  Cummian  were,  if  'not  personal  friends,  at  least  well 
known  to  each  other,  for  the  Columbian  Abbey  of  Durrow  in 
King's  County,  was  not  far  from  Clonfert,  and  the  uncle  of 
Segienus  had  been  Abbot  of  that  house  until  he  was  transferred 
to  Hy  in  the  year  a.d.  600.  Segienus  himself  was  very  likely 
educated  there  under  his  uncle's  care,  and  perhaps  succeeded 
him  later  on  in  the  government  of  the  Abbey.  It  is  at  all 
events  certain  that  frequent  intercourse  existed  between  Hy 
and  Durrow;  and  that  Cummian  must  have  been  well  known 
at  Durrow  is  manifest. 

About  a  mile  and  a-half  from  Shinrone,  to  the  west  of 
Roscrea,  there  is  an  old  ruin,  perhaps  originally  built  by  St. 
Cummian,  which  gives  its  name — Kilcommin — to  the  parish. 
This  was  Disert  Chuimin  in  regione  Roscreensi,  to  which 
Cummian  probably  retired  before  the  Synod  of  Magh  Lene, 
to  devote  himself  to  a  year's  study  of  the  Paschal  question. 
It  is  about  twenty -five  miles  from  Durrow,  and  fifteen  from 
Clonfert.     The  old  church   was  built  under  the  shadow  of 


1  There  is  a  characteristic  story  of  Cummian,  Guaire,  and  Caimin,  tcld 
by  the  scholiast  on  the  Felire  of  ^ngus.  The  three  half  brothers  were  at 
one  time  in  Caimin' s  Church  of  Inis  Cealtra  in  Lough  Derg.  "  What  would 
you  wish  to  have  this  Church  filled  with  ?"  said  Caimin  to  G-uaire.  "  With 
silver  and  gold,"  he  replied,  ''that  I  might  give  it  for  my  soul's  sake  to 
saints  and  to  churches,  and  to  the  poor."  "  And  you,  Cummian,  what  would 
you  have  it  filled  with?"  "I  would  have  it  full  of  books  to  instruct 
studious  men,  to  enable  them  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  save  souls," 
said  Cummian,  Then  they  said,  "  But  thou,  Caimin,  what  would  you  wish 
to  have  in  it?"  "  I  would  wish  to  have  the  full  of  it  of  diseases  and 
sicknesses  to  afflict  my  body,"  replied  Caimin.  And  all  three  got  their 
wish,  "  the  earth  to  Guaire,  wisdom  to  Cummian,  and  sickness  and  disease 
to  Caimin  ;  "  and  they  all  went  to  heaven  in  the  way  they  wished. 


2:82  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

Knockshigowiia,  the  beautiful  hill  on  which  the  Tipperarr 
i'airies  hold  their  revels. 

The  knowledge  of  these  facts  will  help  to  explain  Cum- 
mian*s  relations  with  King  Domhnall  a  few  years  later. 

When  Domhnall,  King  of  Ireland  from  a.d.  628  to  642, 
was  a  mere  boy,  he  accompanied  his  father  to  the  great  Synod 
of  Drumceat.  On  that  occasion  his  relative  Columcille  put 
his  hands  on  the  boy's  head  and  blessed  him,  foretelling  at 
the  same  time  that  he  would  survive  his  brothers,  and  become 
a  great  king,  and,  moreover,  that  he  would  expire  peaceably 
and  happily  on  his  bed  surrounded  by  his  family — quite  an 
unusual  occurrence  for  an  Irish  king  in  those  days.  King 
Domhnall  reigned  and  sinned,  like  most  other  kings ;  so  that 
towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  did  not  feel  himself  well  dis- 
posed to  die,  because,  says  the  scholiast,  be  had  not  the  gift 
of  penance  to  bewail  his  sins.  However,  he  had  confidence 
in  Columcille's  prediction,  so  he  sent  a  message  to  the  Abbot 
)f  Hy  to  ask  w^hether  he  should  go  there  in  person  to  do 
penance,  or,  if  not,  what  soul's- friend  the  Abbot  would  recom- 
mend him.  Segienus,  then  Abbot  of  Hy,  sent  back  word  to 
the  king,  that  his  confessor  would  come  to  him  from  the 
south,  and  he  very  likely  asked,  at  the  same  time,  Cummian 
to  visit  the  monarch.  This  message  was  attributed,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  custom  of  the  times,  to  Columcille  himself.  It 
is  preserved  by  the  scholiast  on  Cummian's  hymn,  and  is  to 
the  following  e£Pect : — 

'*  A  Doctor  who  shall  come  from  the  south, 

It  is  with  him  (Domhnall)  shall  find  what  he  wants; 
He  will  bring  Communion  to  his  house, 
To  the  excellent  grandson  of  Ainmire." 

There  is  a  play  on  the  word  Communion  which  in  Irish 
is  the  same,  or  almost  the  same,  as  Cummiany  the  man's 
name. 

Thus,  it  came  to  pass,  whether  by  accident  or  design,  that 
Cummian,  the  great  Saot  or  Doctor  of  the  south,  came  all 
the  way  to  Derry  to  visit  the  king,  and  administer  spiritual 
consolation  to  him.  But  it  seems  the  heart  of  the  king  still 
continued  dry  and  impenitent.  Then  Cummian  had  recourse 
to  prayer,  and  in  order  to  obtain  the  gift  of  tears  for  his  royal 
penitent,  he  composed,  in  honour  of  the  Apostles,  the  very 
striking  hymn  in  the  Liber  Hymnorum.  It  seems  that  this 
poetic  prayer  was  efHcacious  ;  Domhnall  became  a  sincere 
penitent,  bewailing  his  sins  with  floods  of  tears.  The  pre- 
diction of  Columcille  was  completely  verified,  and  the  I'our 


ST.  CUMMIAN  THE  TALL,  BISHOP  OF  CLONFERT,  23 


o 


Masters  tell  us  that  Domhnall  died  at  Ard-folhadh,  near 
Ballymacgrorty,  in  the  Barony  of  Tirhugh,  '^afterthe  victory 
of  penance,  for  lie  was  a  year  in  mortal-sickness,  and  lie  used 
to  receive  the  body  of  Christ  every  Sunday/'  As  King 
Domlinall  died  in  a.d.  642,  we  may  fix  this  visit  of  Cummian 
at  A.D.  640  or  641  ;  the  scholiast  in  the  poem  that  caused  the 
conversion  of  the  king,  tells  us  expressly,  that  it  was  "written 
in  Derry,''  nigh  to  the  ancient  Aileach,  the  royal  residence 
of  the  northern  kings. 

By  far  the  most  important  and  interesting  event  in  the 
life  of  Cummian  was  the  part  he  played  in  the  great  Paschal 
controversy.  We  can  at  present  give  only  the  merest  sketch 
of  the  history  of  this  great  discussion,  so  as  to  enable  our 
readers  to  understand  Cummian's  share  in  the  controversy. 

Of  course  the  system  of  computing  the  date  of  Easter  in 
use  both  in  Iceland  and  England  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century  was  that  which  was  introduced  by  St.  Patrick 
himself,  and  which  he  acquired  in  the  schools  of  France  and 
Italy.  From  the  very  beginning,  however,  much  diversity 
of  practice  existed  between  the  Churches  of  the  East  and 
"West,  and  even  between  some  Churches  in  the  West  itself,  in 
reference  to  the  date  of  Easter  Day.  With  a  view  to  secure 
uniformity  as  far  as  possible,  the  Synod  of  Aries,  to  which 
Cummian  refers,  held  in  a.d.  314,  prescribes  in  its  first  canon 
that  the  whole  world  should  celebrate  the  Easter  festival  on 
one  and  the  same  day,  and  that  the  Pope,  according  to  custom, 
should  notify  that  day  to  all  the  Churches.^  There  were  three 
British  bishops  present  at  that  Synod.  But  the  diversity  of 
practice  still  continued,  to  the  joy  of  the  pagans  and  to  the 
scandal  of  the  faithful. 

Then  the  Nicene  Synod  intervened  in  a.d.  325,  and  com- 
manded all  the  Eastern  Churches  "  which  heretofore  used  to 
celebrate  the  Pasch  with  the  Jews,"^  to  celebrate  it  in  future 
at  the  same  time  with  the  Romi^ns  and  with  us — so  say  the 
prelates  of  the  Synod  in  their  circular  letter  to  the  Egyptian 
Churches.  Constantine,  the  Emperor,  in  his  own  circular 
says  that  the  Synod  agrees  that  all  should  celebrate  the  Pasch 
on  the  same  day,  but  that  it  should  never  be  on  the  same  day 
with  the  Jews  ;  and  Cyril  of  Alexandria  states,  and  Leo  the 
Great  confirms  the  statement,  that  the  Alexandrian  Church 
was  to  calculate  the  dates,  and  then  notify  them  to  the  Roman 

^  Primo  loco  de  observatione  Paschae  Domini,  et  uno  die  et  uno  tempore 
per  omnem  orbem  a  nobis  observetiir  et  juxta  consuetudinem  litteras  ad 
omnes  tu  dirigas, 

2  See  Hefele.     Councils^  vol  i.,  page  314.     French  Edition^  1869. 


254  THK  SCHOOI.  OF  CLONFERT 

Church,  which  was  to  convey  tlie  information  to  the  other 
Churches.  This  was  virtually  adopting  the  Alexandrian 
cycle  of  nineteen  years — which  was  very  different  from  the 
Roman  cycle.  Then  at  Alexandria  the  equinox  was  rightly 
fixed  on  the  21st  March,  at  E-ome  it  was  the  18th  ;  at  Alex- 
andria they  celebrated  Easter  on  the  loth  day  of  the  moon, 
wJien  the  i^tk  was  a  Saturday  ;  at  Rome  they  did  not  cele- 
brate Easter  in  any  circumstances  before  the  16th  day  of  the 
moon — assuming  that  as  the  14th  day  represented  Good 
Friday,  the  Pasch  of  the  Passion,  Easter  Sunday,  the  Pasch 
of  the  Resurrection,  could  not  rightly  tuke  place  before  the 
16th.  It  is  curious  that  Cummian  in  his  Epistle  supports 
this  opinion,  although  Bede  makes  the  15th  of  the  moon  a 
possible  Easter  Sunday,  and  such  is  still  the  usage.  A  diver- 
sity of  practice,  therefore,  between  Rome  and  Alexandria 
still  continued  for  many  years.  However,  the  Alexandrian 
usage  ultimately  prevailed,  but  was  finally  accepted  in  the 
Western  World  only  about  a.d.  530,  when  explained  and 
developed  by  Dionysius  Exiguus. 

This,  the  correct  system,  therefore,  lays  down  three  prin- 
ciples. First,  Easter  Day  must  be  always  a  Sunday,  never 
on,  but  ftext  after  the  14th  day  of  the  moon.  Secondly,  that 
14th  day,  or  the  full  moon,  should  be  that  on  or  next  after 
the  vernal  equinox  ;  and  thirdly,  the  equinox  itself  was 
invariably  assigned  to  the  21st  of  March. 

Whilst,  however,  the  Continental  Churches  aimed  at  uni- 
formity after  a  troublesome  experience  of  their  own  errors, 
the  Irish  and  British  Churches,  practically  isolated  from  their 
neighbours,  tenaciously  clung  to  the  system  introduced  by 
St.  Patrick.  It  was  the  system  of  their  sainted  fathers,  and 
that  was  enough  for  them.  So  when  Augustine  and  his 
companions,  having  partially  converted  the  Saxons,  came 
into  contact  with  the  Christians  of  the  north  of  England,  they 
were  much  scandalized  at  their  celebrating  Easter  at  a  dif- 
ferent time  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  remonstrated, 
but  in  vain ;  the  Scots  of  England  and  Ireland  would  not 
change  their  ways ;  some  of  them  would  not  even  eat  with 
the  newcomers  ;  the  Britons  of  Wales  refused  to  aid  them  in 
converting  the  Saxons.  Colman,  after  his  discussion  with 
Wilfred  at  Whitby,  refuted  but  not  convinced,  left  England 
with  his  monks  and  sailed  away  to  a  lonely  island  in  his 
native  Mayo,  rather  than  give  up  his  Irish  tonsure  and  his 
Irish  Easter.  Columbanus  was  ecpially  obdurate  in  France, 
and  the  Abbots  of  lly  for  a  hundred  years  more  tenaciously 
adhered  to  the  traditions  of  their  own  great  founder.     But 


ST.  CUMMIAN  THE  TALI.,  BISHOP  OF  CLONFERT.  235 

all  Ireland  was  not  equally   stubborn,   and  the   Southerns 
yielded  first. 

The  English  Prelates,  Laurence  of  Canterbury,  Millitus  of 
London,  and  Justus  of  Rochester,  shortly  after  the  death  of 
Augustine,  addressed  a  letter  to  "  their  most  dear  brothers 
the  Lords,  Bishops,  and  Abbots  throughout  all  Ireland 
(Scotia),'*  admonishing  them  to  give  up  their  "  errors "  in 
reference  to  Easter,  and  celebrate  it  in  conformity  with  the 
Universal  Church.  But  the  Irishmen  appear  to  have  taken 
no  notice  of  this  document,  for  it  looked  like  an  attempts  to 
assert  a  spiritual  supremacy  over  the  *'  Scots  "  which  they 
always  vigorously  repudiated. 

Millitus  afterwards  went  to  Rome,  and  others,  too,  going 
there  after  him  spoke  of  the  errors  and  contumacy  of  the 
Scots  in  this  matter  of  Easter  as  well  as  in  some  other  things 
also.  So  Pope  Honorius,  about  the  year  a.d.  629,  addressed 
an  admonition  to  the  pastors  of  the  Irish  Church,  sharply 
rebuking  them  for  their  pertinacity  in  their  erroneous  prac- 
tices, especially  in  reference  to  Easter,  and  calling  upon 
them  to  act  thenceforward  in  conformity  with  the  Universal 
Church. 

The  main  charge  brought  against  the  Irish,  so  far  as  we 
can  gather  from  Bede  and  Cummian,  was  that  they  celebrated 
Easter  from  the  14th  to  the  20th  day  of  the  moon,  thus  cele- 
brating it  on  the  same  day  with  the  Jews,  viz.,  the  14th,  if 
that  should  happen  to  be  Sunday,  which  was  contrary  to  the 
express  prohibition  of  the  Council  of  Nice.  Most  certainly 
they  did  not  celebrate  it  with  the  heretical  Quartodecimans 
on  the  14th  day  of  the  moon,  no  matter  what  day  of  the  week 
it  might  happen  to  be — they  never  celebrated  Easter  on  any 
day  but  a  Sunday,  as  both  Bede  and  Cummian  expressly 
admit.  Cummian  says  that  St.  Patrick  assigned  the  equinox 
to  the  21st  of  March,  but  their  cycle  was  the  older  Roman 
cycle  of  eighty-four  years,  not  the  new  and  more  correct 
cycle  of  nineteen  years  adopted  first  at  Alexandria  and  after- 
wards at  Rome.  The  main  charge,  however,  was  opposition 
to  the  Universal  Church  in  celebrating  Easter  from  the  14th 
to  the  20th  of  the  moon,  because  the  14th  of  Nisan  being  the 
Jewish  festival  was,  by  the  Council  of  Nice,  declared  unlaw- 
ful for  the  Christian  festival. 

How,  then,  could  St.  Patrick  have  come  to  admit  the  14th 
of  the  moon  in  any  circumstances  as  a  lawful  date  for^  Easter 
Day?  This  is  a  difficult  point  not  yet  clearly  determined. 
We  rather  think  that  this  usage  of  celebrating  Easter  on  the 
14th  of  Nisan,  if  it  fell  on  Sunday,  was  retained  in  several 


236  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONFERT. 

of  the  Galilean  Churches  even  after  the  Council  of  Nice.  The 
Council  itself  expressly  tells  us  that  it  was  retained  up  to  its 
own  time  in  the  Eastern  Churches.  Now,  Eastern  influence 
and  Eastern  customs  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent  in 
Southern  Gaul  during  the  fifth  century.  The  great  monastery 
of  Lerins  was  founded  about  a.d.  410,  and  from  its  cloisters 
issued  the  greatest  prelates  of  Southern  France.  John  Cassian 
came  from  the  East,  and,  as  we  know,  was  imbued  with 
Eastern  ideas — Cassian,  the  greatest  man  of  his  time,  so  holy, 
so  learned,  and  so  amiable,  was  a  monk  of  Lerins,  and  in 
A.D.  415  founded  the  great  monastery  of  St.  Victor,  where 
Eastern  ideas  were  also  prevalent.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
St.  Patrick  derived  his  Paschal  computation  from  these 
11  ona stories,  or  from  some  of  the  great  scholars  who  issued 
from  their  cloist  rs. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  when  the  Irish  clerg}^  received  the 
admonition  of  Pope  Honorius,  they  convened  a  National 
Synod,  which  met  at  a  place  called  Magh  Lene,  or  Campus 
Lene,  in  the  ancient  Feara-Ceall,  close  to  Rahan,  in  the 
King's  County.  Cummian,  in  his  epistle,  incidentally  tells  us 
almost  all  we  know  of  this  important  Synod.  The  successors 
of  Ailbe,  of  Ciaran  of  Clonmacnoise,  of  Brendan,  of  Nessan, 
of  Molua,  were  there  assembled  about  the  year  a.d.  630.  The 
result  of  their  deliberations  was  ''  to  receive  humbly  and 
without  hesitation "  the  doctrines  and  practices  brought  to 
them  from  the  Holy  See  as  their  forefathers  had  commanded 
them,  and  therefore  they  resols^ed  to  celebrate  Easter  next 
year,  and  thenceforward  with  the  Universal  Church.  But 
shortly  after  a  "whitened  wall"  rising  up  amongst  them 
caused  disunion,  under  pretext  of  urging  them  to  preserve 
the  traditions  of  the  elders.  At  last  a  compromise  was 
adopted,  and  it  was  resolved  to  send  messengers  to  Rome  to 
see  with  their  own  ej^es  what  was  the  custom  of  the  Holy  City 
in  reference  to  the  celebration  of  Easter.  The  messengers 
returned  in  the  third  year,  and  told  them  how  they  saw 
strangers  from  the  whole  world  keeping  the  Roman  Easter  in 
the  Church  of  Peter.  Many  wondrous  cures  were  also 
wrought  by  the  relics  of  the  martyrs  which  they  had  brought 
with  them  from  Rome,  so  it  was  resolved  thenceforward  to 
celebrate  Easter  on  the  same  day  with  *'  their  mother  the 
Church  of  Rome  ;"  and  that  resolution  was  faithfully  carried 
out  in  the  southern  and  midland  parts  of  the  kingdom,  which 
were  principally  represented  at  the  Synod.  The  north  still 
held  out,  mainly  through  the  influence  and  example  of  the 
great  monastery  of  loua  and  its  dependent  houses  iu  Areland. 


ST.   CUMMIAN  TllK  TALL,   BISHOP  OF  CLONFEllT.  237 

It  was  to  try  and  induce  Segienus,  Abbot  of  Hy,  to  give  up 
t^e  ancient  usage,  and  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  adopt  the 
Roman  praciice,  that  Cummian,  probably  at  the  request  of 
the  Sjmod,  wrote  this  Paschal  Epistle.  He  was  favourably 
known  in  lona,  as  we  have  already  seen  ;  bis  learning  and 
sanctity  were  greatly  respected  there,  and  having  giv<  n 
special  study  lo  the  question,  he  not  unnaturally  thought 
he  might  be  able  to  persuade  the  abbot  to  give  up  the  old 
Columbian  usage.  Though  he  failed  in  the  attempt,  his  letter 
was  carefully  preserved,  and  either  the  original,  or  a  copy, 
was  carried  by  refugees  from  lona  to  St.  Gall,  where  it  was 
fortunately  secured  for  posterity. 

The  epistle  begins  with  the  motto  or  inscription:  **  I 
confide  in  the  Divine  Name  of  the  Supreme  God  " — and  is 
addressed  by  its  author,  who  calls  himself  a  suppliant  sinner, 
to  the  Abbot  Segienus,  successor  of  St.  Columba,  and  of  other 
saints,  and  to  the  Solitary  Beccan,^  ''^y  brother  in  the  flesh 
and  in  the  spirit."  The  following  is  a  brief  analysis  of  this 
most  interesting  monument  of  our  early  Irish  Church. 

First  of  all  the  writer  humbly  apologises  for  presuming  to 
address  these  holy  men,  and  he  calls  God  to  witness  that  in 
celebrating  the  Paschal  solemnity  with  the  learned  generally 
he  does  so  in  no  spirit  of  pride  or  contempt  for  others.  For 
when  the  new  (Dionysian)  cycle  of  532  years  was  first  intro- 
duced into  Ireland,  he  did  not  at  once  accept  it,  but  held  his 
peace,  not  presuming  to  praise  or  censure  either  party. 

For  he  did  not  think  himself  wiser  than  the  Hebrews, 
Greeks,  and  Latins,  nor  did  he  venture  to  disdain  the  food  he 
had  not  yet  tasted  ;  he  rather  retired  for  a  whole  year  into 
the  sanctuary  of  sacred  study,^  to  examine  as  best  he  could 
the  te.-timonies  of  Scripture,  the  facts  of  history,  and  the 
nature  of  the  various  cycles  in  use.  The  results  of  this  j^ear's 
study  he  sums  up  in  this  epistle.  He  first  proceeds  to  explain 
from  Scripture  the  proper  date  of  the  Jewish  Pasch,  which, 
including  the  days  of  unleavened  bread,  began  on  the  14th 
day  of  the  moon,  and  ended  on  the  21st;  and  he  quotes 
St.  Jerome,  who  declares  that  as  Christ  is  our  Pasch,  we  must 
celebrate  that  festival  from  the  14th  to  the  21st  day  of  the 
moon  (the  date  with  us  necessarily  varying  with  the  day  of 
the  week).  But  the  Pasch,  he  says,  means  the  day  on  which 
the  lamb  was  slain ^  for  our  Saviour  himself  said,  "  With 

^Was  this  Breacan  of  Dairinis,  near  Waterford,  half-brother  to 
Cummian  ?     He  might  have  been  then  at  Hy. 

2  Perhaps  to  Bisert  Chuimin,  where  he  wrote  :  *'  Ut  me  ut  nycticoracem 
in  domicilio  latitantem  defendercm."     Epistola. 


238  •^  THE  SCUOOT,  OF  CT,0N1  KllT. 

lonp;in<*  I  liave  longed  to  eat  this  Pasch  with  you  before  I 
sillier."  ITencc,  the  day  of  l*assion  in  the  Christian  Festival 
can  never  begin  before  the  14th  day  of  the  moon  ;  then  the 
day  of  burial  will  be  the  15th  of  the  moon,  and  therefore  the 
day  of  the  Resurrection  ^  can  never  be  earlier  than  the  16th 
day  of  the  moon  ;  and  being  always  a  Sunday,  must  be  on 
some  day  between  the  16th  and  22nd  day  of  the  moon, 
inclusive.  **  For  if,  be  says,  as  you  do,  the  Resurrection  were 
celebrated  on  the  14th  of  the  moon,  then  the  day  of  burial 
will  be  the  13th,  and  the  day  of  Passion  the  12th,  which  is 
preposterous  and  opposed  to  the  clear  testimony  of  Scripture." 
Then  he  appeals  to  the  authorit)^  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Synods  against  the  Irish  usage.  There  was,  he  admits,  in 
the  beginning  a  diversity  of  practice  even  in  the  Apostolic 
churches  founded  by  Peter  the  Key-bearer,  and  John  the 
Eagle-pinioned,  for  the  Apostles  themselves,  driven  hither 
and  thither  by  persecution,  had  no  time  to  fix  a  uniform 
cycle  for  all  the  Churches.  But  afterwards  '*  I  find  it  was 
ordered  that  all  those  were  to  be  excommunicated  who  dared 
to  act  against  the  statutes  of  the  four  Apostolic  Sees  of 
Pome,  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  and  Alexandria."  The  Nicene 
Synod,  he  adds,  composed  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen 
bishops,  ordained  that  the  same  rule  should  be  followed  in 
all  the  Churches  of  the  East  and  West.  The  Synod  of  Aries 
also,  where  six  hundred  bishops  were  present,  insisted  on 
uniformity  throughout  the  whole  world  in  the  observance  of 
the  Pasch,  lest,  as  St.  Jerome  observes,  we  should  run  the 
risk  of  eating  the  Pasch  contrary  to  the  law,  extra  unam 
domu7ny  that  is,  outside  the  communion  of  the  Universal 
Church.  '*  Consider  you  well,  therefore,  whether  it  is  the 
Hebrews,  Greeks,  I^atins,  and  Egyptians,  united  together, 
that  are  the  exti'ci  domum^  or  a  fragment  of  the  Scots  and 
Britains,  living  at  the  end  of  the  world,  that  form  a  con- 
venticle separated  from  the  communion  of  the  Church.  You 
are  the  leaders  of  the  people  ;  beware  how  you  act,  leading 
others  into  error  by  your  obstinacy.  Not  so  our  Fathers, 
whom  you  pretend  to  follow,  for  they  were  blameless  in  their 
own  days,  seeing  that  they  faithfully  followed  what  they 
thought  in  their  simplicity  to  be  best ;  but  you  can  scarcely 
excuse  yourselves  for  knowingly  rejecting  the  observances  of 
the  Universal  Church."  The  writer  thon  proceeds  to  insist 
at  great  length  on  this  argument  from  the  practice  and 
authority  of  the  Church  ;  and  recites  various  passages  from 
St.  Augustine,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Cyprian,  and  St.  Gregory,  on 
the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  the  guilt  and  danger  of  sehiama- 


ST.  CUMMIAN  THE  TALL,  Bli^HOP  OF  CLONFERT.  239 

tical  practices.  "  Non  alia  Roman ae  urbis  ecclesia,  alia 
totius  orbis  aestimanda  est/'  be  says,  quoting  St.  Augustine  ; 
and  then  be  adds  from  St.  Jerome,  "  Si  quis  Catbedrae  S.  Petri 
jungatur  mens  est  ille," — communion  witb  Rome  was  in 
Cummian's  estimation,  as  in  Jeromeis,  tbe  test  of  orthodoxy 
both  in  doctrine  and  discipline.  "  Can  anything,''  be  says, 
'*  be  more  absurd  than  to  say  of  our  mother  the  Church — 
E/Ome  errs,  Jerusalem  errs,  Antioch  errs,  and  the  whole 
world  errs,  the  Irish  (Scoti)  and  Britons  alone  are  in  tbe 
right?"  In  this  part  of*  his  letter  Cummian  certainly 
displays  not  only  great  learning^  but  also  great  vigour  and 
eloquence  of  style. 

Lastl)^  he  discusses  the  various  cycles  in  use  at  different 
periods,  and  although  be  found  much  diversity  with  various 
nations,  "you,"  he  says,  "have  one  of  your  own  quite  different 
from  them  all.  First,  there  is  the  Paschal  cycle  introduced 
by  St.  Patrick, ^our  spiritual  Father  (Papa  nostra),  according 
to  which  the  Equinox  was  assigned  to  the  21st  of  March, 
and  Easter  day  ranged  from  the  14th  to  tbe  21st  day  of  the 
moon."  He  then  refers  to  the  cycles  of  Anatolius,  Theophilus, 
Dionysius,  Cyril,  Morinus,  Augustine,  Yictorius,  and  lastly 
he  mentions  the  cycle  of  Pachomius  to  whom  an  angel 
revealed  the  proper  way  to  calculate  Easter — cycle  meaning, 
it  would  seem,  the  special  manner  of  calculating  Easter 
peculiar  to  each.  He  then  refers  to  tbe  cycle  of  nineteen 
years  adopted  by  the  Nicene  Fathers,  calling  it  by  its  Greek 
name — cvi/ca-KatSeKaTrjptSa — which,  he  adds,  might  enable  them 
to  ascertain  tbe  date  of  Easter  with  suttLcient  accuracy. 
"  It  is,  as  I  find,  quite  different  from  3'ours  in  its  kalends, 
its  bissextile,  in  its  epact,  in  its  fourteenth  moon,  in  its  first 
month,  and  in  its  equinox."  This  is  an  important  passage, 
because  it  shows  that  the  Irish  cycle  was  in  every  respect 
different  from  tbe  cycle  of  nineteen  years  as  adopted  by  the 
Church  of  Alexandria.  He  then  refers  to  St.  Cyril,  and  tbe 
cycle  of  Victoricius,  clearh^  showing  that  be  was  familiar 
witb  the  entire  subject,  and  probablj''  had  in  his  hands  some 
works  which  we  no  longer  possess. 

After  referring  to  the  Synod  of  tbe  Campus  Lene,  as 
explained  above,  and  the  appeal  to  Pome  in  accordance  witb 
tbe  ancient  statute  (man datum)  of  the  Irish  Church,  be  goes 
on   to  say  that  according  to  the  sy nodical  decree^ all  such 

^  Skene  says  this  "is  the  oldest  authentic  notice  of  St.  Patrick."  — 
Otitic  Scot,,  vol.  ii.,  p.  17. 

^  This  is  the  synodical  decree  quoted  in  the  Booh  of  Armagh,  and  already 
referred  to  in  this  work  at  page  60.  Its  citation  by  Cummian  so  early  as 
A.D.  640  is  a  clear  proof  that  the  Syno'^  j  decrees  are  authentic. 


24t)  THK  SCHOOL  OV  CI.ONKKUT. 

"  causae  inajores  ad  caput  urbium  sunt  referenda.'*  This 
refers  to  the  decree  of  the  Synod  of  Patrick,  Auxillus,  and 
Iserninus,  bidding  the  iri.-h  prelates  if  any  <'ause  of  disuiuoM 
arose,  to  go  to  tlie  place  which  the  Lord  hath  chosen  (to 
Rome,  the  *caput  urbium')  for  the  decision  of  these  more 
impoitant  causes,  **  so  we  sent  there  certain  wise  and  humble 
ni'n, whom  we  knew,[is  cliiMreii  to  their  mother/'  And  they 
leturued  in  the  third  year,  and  told  us  what  they  had  seen 
and  heard,  and  how  in  the  Church  of  St.  Peter,  the  common 
hospiee  of  all  the  faithful,  Greeks  and  Hebrews,  Scythians 
and  Egyptians — "all  celebrated  Plaster  on  the  s  <me  dav.  whieh 
diliered  an  entire  month  from  our  own,  and  we  saw  with  our 
own  eyes  many  miracles  wrought  by  the  relics  of  the  saints 
and  martyrs  which  they  had  carried  home  with  them  from 
the  holy  city."  In  conclusion,  he  adds  that  he  had  not  written 
to  attack  them  but  to  defend  the  truth;  he  apologises  for  any 
wrong  or  harsh  words  that  might  have  fallen  from  him,  and 
in  the  last  sentence  implores  on  them  all  the  strong  blessing 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  to  guard  them  from  all  evil. 

This  remarkable  epistle  affords  a  striking  proof,  not  only 
of  Cumraian's  own  learnin*^,  but  of  the  high  efficiency  of  the 
schools  of  his  native  land,  in  which  he  studied.  He  gives  the 
Hebrew,  Greek  and  Egyptian  names  of  thefirst  lunar  month. 
He  refers  to  almost  every  cycle,  and  emendation  of  a  cycle, 
of  which  we  have  any  account,  briefly,  indeed,  but  sufficiently 
to  show  that  he  was  acquain'ed  with  them,  and  with  the 
decrees  of  synods,  and  with  the  passages  of  the  Fathers  that 
make  reference  to  them.  Above  all  things,  he  insists  upon 
the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  incontestably  establishes  the 
Irish  tradition  in  his  own  time,  that  the  Irish  Church  was 
founded  from  Pome,  that  Pome  is  the  Souice  of  Unity,  the 
final  Court  of  Appeal,  and  the  Mother  of  the  Irish,  as  of  all 
other  Churches.  The  text  is  unfortunately  somewhat  corrupt, 
and  the  style  wants  polish ;  but,  though  in  this  respect 
Cummian  is  inferior  to  several  Irish  writers  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  his  Latin  is  much  superior  to  that  of  several  ecclesi- 
astical documents  that  we  have  seen  in  our  own  nineteenth 
century. 

The  Liber  de  Mettsura  Poenitentiarum,  cannot  with 
certainty  be  ascribed  to  Cummian  Fadu  ;  but  it  is  highly 
probable  that  he  was  the  author.  It  was  preserved  like  so 
many  other  invaluable  Irish  MSS.,  in  the  Monastery  of  St. 
Gall,  and  has  been  published  in  the  BibliotJieca  Pairnm^ 
and,  together  with  the  Paschal  Epistle,  has  been  republished 
bv  Afiirne.i 

^  Tomo  87.  Patr.  Latina. 


ST.  CUMMIA*N  THE  TALL,   BISHOP  OF  CLONFERT.  241 

Wo  have  seen  that  Cummian  was  regarded  by  the  Abbot 
of  Hy  as  a  great  moralist,  and  it  may  be  that  the  same 
Segienus  was  the  *'  faithful  friend,"  whom  the  author 
addresses — mi  fidelissime — in  the  prologue.  The  treatise 
consists  of  fourteen  chapters,  giving  the  canonical  penances 
assigned  to  sins  of  various  kinds.  It  treats  of  these  sins  in 
the  most  minute  detail,  but  contains  little  original  matter; 
for  the  penances  are,  in  most  cases,  taken  from  the  works  ol 
the  Fathers  and  the  penitential  canons  of  various  early 
Councils.  But  it  shows  how  carefully  these  matters  were 
attended  to  in  our  early  Irish  Church,  and  is  another  striking 
monument  of  its  ecclesiastical  learning. 

Cummian  Fada  has  not  unfrequently  been  confounded 
vs^ith  Cummian  Finn,  the  nephew  of  Segienus,  Abbot  of  Hy. 
The  latter  wrote  a  life  of  St.  Columba,  to  which  Adamnan 
refers,  and  most  of  which  he,  Adamnan,  inserted  in  the 
Third  Book  of  his  own  Life  of  St.  Columba.  The  Paschal 
Epistle  has  also  been  attributed  to  him,  but  without  any 
grounds.  The  intrinsic  evidence  of  the  letter  itself  shows 
that  it  was  written  by  a  prelate  of  the  southern  half  of 
Ireland  ;  he  speaks  of  Ailbe,  Brendan,  and  the  rest  as  "  our 
fathers  and  predecessors  ;"  he  had  accepted  the  E-oman  usage 
which  Hy  and  its  family  refused  to  accept  for  many  years 
after;  and  he  uses  in  reference  to  St.  Peter  the  very  peculiar 
expression,  "  clavicularis,"  which  is  also  used  by  the  author 
of  the  poem  in  honour  of  the  Apostles,  which  was  undoubtedly 
the  work  of  Cummian  Fada,  the  Bishop  of  Clonfert. 

The  Four  Masters  say  that  "  St.  Cummian  Fada,  son  of 
Fiachna,  Bishop  of  Cluainf carta  Brennain,  died  on  the  12th 
of  November,  661,"  which  is  his  festival  day.  The  entry  of 
the  death  of  his  beloved  tutor,  St.  Colman  O'Cluasaigh,  is 
marked  a  little  later  on  as  happening  in  the  same  year,  and 
therefore  towards  its  close.  Colman,  however,  lived  long 
enough  after  Cummian  to  compose  an  elegy  on  his  death. 
The  Four  Masters  have  preserved  a  few  lines,  which  may 
be  thus  translated  : — 

**  No  bark  o'er  Luimneach's  bosom  bore, 
From  Munster  to  the  Northern  shore, 
A  prize  so  rich  in  battle  won, 
As  Cummian's  corpse,  great  Fiachna's  son. 
Of  Erin's  priests,  it  were  not  meet 
That  one  should  sit  in  Gregory's  Seat, 
Except  that  Cummian  crossed  the  sea, 
For  he  Rome's  ruler  well  might  be. 
Ah  !  woe  is  me,  at  Cummian's  bier 
My  eyelids  drop  the  ceaseless  tear ; 
The  pain,  of  hopeless  anguish  bred, 
Will  burst  my  heart  since  Cummian's  dead." 


24^2  THE  SCHOOL  OF   CLONFEIIT; 

The  poet's  verse  was  true — Colman  died  within  a  montli 
of  his  pupil  to  whom  he  was  so  deeply  and  tenderly  attached 
We  may  infer,  too,  from  these  verses  that  Cuinmian  died 
at  home  in  his  native  Kerry,  but  that  his  remains  were 
carried  up  the  Shannon  in  a  boat  to  his  own  Cathedral  of 
Cloiifert,  where  he  was  interred.  The  Four  Masters  tell  us 
that  in  a.d.  1162  the  *'  relics  oi  Maeinenn  and  of  Cummian 
Fada^  were  removed  from  the  earth  by  the  clerpjy  of  Brenainn 
(that  is,  of  Clonfert),  and  they  were  enclosed  in  a  protectini; 
shrine."  So  far  as  we^know  there  is  no  account  to  be  had 
now  of  the  existence  of  this  shrine. 

IV. —  SUFJSEQUENT   HlSTORY   OF    ClONFERT. 

Frequent  reference  is  subsequently  made  in  our  Annals  to 
the  monastery  and  See  of  Clonfert,  but  it  is  oftentimes  a 
saddening  record.  Its  buildiugs  were  four  times  plundered, 
and  six  times  burnt.  Nor  was  this  the  work  of  the  Danes 
alone.  The  degenerate  chieftains  of  Ireland  too  frequently 
followed  their  bad  example,  and  provoked  Divine  vengeance 
by  unspeakable  acts  of  sacrilege,  especially  during  the  tenth 
and  eleventh  centuries. 

In  A.D.  838,  Turgesius  brought  a  great  fleet  to  Lough 
E,ee,  which  he  stationed  there  for  the  express  purpose  of 
harrying  the  banks  and  islands  of  the  Shannon.  He  plun- 
dered and  burnt  Clonfert,  Clonmacnoise,  and  indeed  all  the 
monasteries  and  churches  from  Lanesborough  to  Limerick, 
which  were  within  reach  of  his  marauders ;  and  not  once  but 
frequently  between  the  years  a.d.  838  and  845.  Yet  strange 
to  say  it  is  stated  in  the  old  Annals  of  Imiisf alien,  that 
Feidhlimidh,  son  of  Crimthann,  King  of  Munster,  had  a 
friendly  conference  with  Niall,  son  of  Hugh,  King  of  Ulster, 
in  the  year  a.d.  840,  at  Clonfert,  and  there  received  NialFs 
homage  as  High  King,  and  sat  in  the  seat  of  the  abbots 
of  Clonfert. 

Still  the  schf>ols  were  not  entirely  destroyed,  for  in 
A.D.  868  is  recorded  the  death  of  Cormac — Steward,  Scribe, 
and  Doctor  of  Clontert-Brenainn,  It  was  well  that 
God  then  called  him  away,  for  next  year,  in  a.d.  86i^ 
came  Earl  Tomrar  with  his  warriors  from  Limerick 
to  Clonfert.  "  He  was  a  fierce,  cruel,  rough  man  oi 
the  Lochlans  ;'*  and  hoped  to  obtain  a  great  prey  in 
the  church  and  monastery.  But  he  was  disappointed, 
for  the  brethren  heard  of  his  approach,  and  fled  expertly 
before  him,  as  the  Annals  tell  us,  some  in  boats,  and  some 

^  In  sume  ancient  MSS.  Fiida  is  written  Fota,  but  it  is  tlie  same  wonl« 
meaning  '  Tall.' 


SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  CLONFERT.  243 

into  the  surrounding  morasses.  Others  took  refuge  iu  the 
church,  but  the  disappointed  freebooter  killed  them  all,  both 
those  whom  he  found  in  the  church  and  in  the  cemetery. 
Tomrar,  however,  died  of  madness  three  days  afterwards,  "for 
Brendan  wrought  a  miracle  upon  him  for  plundering  his 
monastery  and  killing  his  monks."  In  a.d.  949,  Ceallachan, 
King  of  Cashel,  plundered  the  monastery  of  Clonfert.  But 
the  men  of  Munster  were  not  without  rivals  in  their  deeds 
of  sacrilege.  In  a.d.  1031  Art  O'Rorke,  surnamed  the 
*  Cock,'  plundered  the  monastery  once  more,  but  providen- 
tially when  returning  laden  with  his  pillage,  he  fell  in  with 
Doncha,  son  of  Brian,  who  defeated  him  and  his  followers 
with  great  slaughter. 

Some  thirty  years  later  in  a.d.  1065,  Aedh  O'Rorke  and 
Diarmaid  O'Kelly  plundered  Clonfert  and  Clonmacnoise,  and 
once  more  speedy  vengeance  overtook  the  robbers ;  for  Aedh 
O'Connor  came  against  them  and  defeated  them  through  the 
miracles  of  Ciaran  and  Brenainn,  whose  churches  they  had 
plundered.  A  bloody  slaughter  was  made  by  Aedh,  and, 
moreover,  he  captured  or  sunk  their  boats,  and  drove  great 
numbers  of  the  plunderers  into  the  river.  Yet  the  monastery 
and  School  of  Clonfert  still  lived  on  down  to  the  advent  of 
the  Anglo-Normans,  for  in  the  year  a.d.  1170,  is  recorded 
the  death  of  Cormac  O'Lumluini,  whom  the  Four  Masters 
in  pathetic  language  describe  as  the  remnant  of  the  Sages  of 
Erin.  The  subsequent  history  of  the  School  and  See  of 
Clonfert  is  foreign  to  our  present  purpose. 

The  old  Cathedral  of  Clonfert  still  survives,  and  is  one  of 
the  i'ew  of  our  ancient  buildings  now  used  for  religious 
worship.  It  has  passed,  however,  from  Catholic  hands,  and 
will,  doubtless,  soon  be  abandoned  by  the  Protestants  too, 
for  the  few  persons  who  attend  divine  worship  in  the  old 
Cathedral  of  St.  Brendan  can  hardly  be  called  a  congrega- 
tion. 

The  church  consisted  of  a  nave  with  a  western  tower  in 
the  centre,  and  a  chancel  with  two  transepts  branching 
nearly  at  the  centre  of  the  nave.  The  building  is  small,  the 
nave  being  54  feet  by  27  in  the  clear,  but  very  beautiful. 
The  western  doorway  is  described  with  great  fulness  of 
detail  by  Brash  (p.  4-3),  who  declares  that  in  point  of  design 
and  execution,  it  is  not  excelled  by  any  similar  work  that  he 
has  seen  in  these  islands.  There  is  not,  he  says,  a  square 
inch  of  any  portion  of  this  beautiful  doorway,  with  its  six 
orders  of  shafts  and  arches,  that  is  without  the  mark  of  the 
sculptor's  tool,  every  bit  of  the  work  being  finished  with  the 


244  THK  SCHOOL  OF  Cl.ONFERT. 

greatest  accuracy.  Romanesque  and  Norman  porches  and 
doorways,  he  adds,  exist  of  grander  proportions,  but  nono 
exhibiting  the  fertility  of  invention  and  beauty  of  design 
which  this  one  does. 

The  altar  window  of  the  chancel  is  also  greatly  praised  bj^ 
the  same  competent  authority.  **  The  design  of  this  window 
is  exceedingly  chaste  and  beautiful,  the  mouldings  simple 
and  eft'ective,  and  the  workmanship  superior  to  anything  I 
have  seen  either  of  ancient  or  modern  times.  The  mouldings 
are  finel}'  wrought,  and  the  pointing  of  the  stone  work  so 
close,  that  I  cannot  believe  they  were  ever  worked  b}'^  tools."^ 

He  says  the  work  is,  in  his  opinion,  of  the  twelfth 
century,  and  he  is  inclined  to  attribute  its  building  to  the 
celebrated  Peter  O'AIordha,  a  Cistei-cian  monk,  who  was  first 
Abbot  of  Boyle,  and  afterwards  became  Bishop  of  Clonfert. 
He  was  unfortunately  drowned  in  the  Shannon  two  daj^s 
after  Christmas  Day,  in  the  year  a.d.  1171.  With  him  we 
may  fitly  close  the  history  of  the  School  of  Clonfert. 

*  Ecclesiastical  Architecture  of  Ireland,  page  44 


CHAPTER    XT. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVILLE. 

-"  Traiisfigiii-e<,l  Life ! 


This  was  the  glory,  that,  without  a  sigh, 
Who  loved  thee,  yet  could  leave  thee." 

I. St.  FlNNIAN  OF  MoVlLLE. 

Therp:  are  two  saints  of  the  same  name  whom  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  distinct  in  dealing  with  the  literary  history 
of  the  early  Irish  Church — St.  Finnian  of  Clonard,  and  St. 
Finnian  of  Moville.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  former  ; 
we  now  propose  to  speak  of  the  latter^  and  of  the  great  school 
of  which  he  was  the  founder. 

Moville,  or  Movilla,  is  at  present  the  name  of  a  townland 
less  than  a  mile  to  the  north-east  of  Newtownards,  at  the 
head  of  Strangfoid  Lough,  in  the  county  Down.  This  dis- 
trict was  in  ancient  times  famous  for  its  great  religious 
establishments.  Bangor,  to  which  we  shall  refer  presently, 
is  not  quite  five  miles  due  north  of  Moville.  Newtownards, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  a  much  more  modern  place,  but  it  was 
the  seat  of  a  great  Dominican  Priory  almost  since  the  first 
advent  of  the  Friar  Preachers  to  Ireland.  Comber,  a  few 
miles  to  the  west  at  the  head  of  Strangford  Lough,  con- 
tained both  a  Cistercian  and  an  Augustinian  Monastery. 
Abbey  Gfrey,  on  the  opposite  or  eastern  shore  of  the  Lough, 
had  another  great  Cistercian  house,  founded  by  John  de 
Courcy,  the  conqueror,  and,  we  must  add,  the  plunderer  of 
Ulster.  Further  south,  but  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
same  Lough,  anciently  called  Lough  Cuan,  were  the  Abbey 
of  Inch,  the  famous  Church  of  Saul,  in  which  St.  Patrick 
died,  and  the  Church  of  Downpatrick,  in  which  he  was  buried 
with  SS.  Brigid  and  Columcille.  And  in  one  of  the  islands 
in  the  same  Strangford  Lough,  now  called  Island  Mahee, 
quite  close  to  the  western  shore,  was  that  ancient  monastery 
and  school  of  Noendrum,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 
Religious  men  from  the  beginning  loved  to  build  their 
houses  and  churches  in  vie^v  of  this  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
with  its  myriad  islands  and  fertile  shores,  bounded  in  tiij 
distance  by  swelling  uplands,  that  lend  a  charming  variety 
to  this  rich  and  populous  and  highly  cultivated  county. 


246  THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVILT.E. 

Of  the  boyhood  and  education  of  St.  Finniun  little  is 
known  with  certainty.  He  belono-ed  to  the  noble  family  of 
the  Dalfiatach,  who  seem  to  have  been  dynasts  of  tbe  district 
to  tbe  north  of  this  great  inlet  of  the  sea,  which  they  called 
Lough  Cuan.  He  was  probably  born  some  years  be  lore  the 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  His  first  teacher  was 
St.  Colman,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Dromore,  who  at  that  time 
seems  to  have  been  himself  under  the  guidance  and  instruc- 
tion of  St.  Mochae  in  the  Island  of  Noendrum,  but  known  at 
present  as  Island  Mahee,  in  Strangfbrd  Lough.  Colman 
became  a  favourite  pupil  of  Mochae,  who,  when  he  himself 
was  growing  old,  seems  to  have  entrusted  him  with  the  care 
of  the  younger  boys  who  had  come  to  the  island  seminary 
to  be  trained  up  by  these  great  masters  in  learning  and  piety. 
It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  St.  Colman  was  sroinff  to 
chastise  the  young  Finnian  for  some  real  or  imaginary  fault, 
when  he  felt  his  hand  invisibly  restrained  by  an  angel,  and 
he  thereupon  declared  that  he  was  unworthy  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  care  of  so  holy  a  youth,  and  that  henceforward  he 
would  resign  that  office,  so  far  as  Finnian  was  concerned,  to 
St.  Mochae  himself.  This  story  at  least  shows  that  the 
young  boy  made  great  progress  in  virtue  and  wisdom  under 
the  guidance  of  both  these  hoi}"  men  on  the  Island  of 
Noendriim. 

Now  it  came  to  pass  whilst  Finnian  was  at  Noendrum, 
under  the  care  of  St.  Mochae,  that  *'  ships  *'  came  from  Britain 
into  Strangford  Lough,  and  cast  anchor  in  front  of  the  island. 
On  board  these  vessels  was  a  certain  bishop  called  Nennio, 
who,  with  several  of  his  disciples,  had  come  from  the  famous 
monastery  called  Candida  Casa,  on  the  opposite  shores  of 
Galloway,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  religious  family  of  Noendrum. 
We  know  from  the  lives  of  our  early  saints  that  this  was  no 
unusual  occurrence.  In  those  early  da3'S  religious  men  were 
inspired  with  a  spirit  of  spiritual  enterprise,  and  several  of 
them  made  it  a  point  to  visit  the  most  renowned  saints  both 
in  Ireland  and  Britain,  in  order  to  benefit  by  their  instruction 
and  example. 

As  we  have  seen,  Candida  Casa,  or  the  White  House, 
was  a  stone  church  built  on  the  extremity  of  a  promontory 
in  Galloway,  about  the  year  a.d.  397,  by  the  great  St.  Ninian, 
the  first  apostle  of  the  Northern  Britons,  at  least  after 
the  departure  of  the  Ilomans.  It  is  true  Christianity  had 
been  previously  known  in  the  district,  for  St.  Patrick  himself 
was  in  all  probability  a  native  of  the  valley  of  the  Clyde, 
and  was   a   captive    iu    Inland    about   the   wry    time  that 


ST.^IXNIAN  OF  MOVILLE.  247 

St.  I^inian  first  came  to  Galloway.  But  after  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Roman  troops  from  the  northern  province  the 
district  was  overrun  by  the  Picts  and  Scots,  so  that  the 
remnants  of  the  faithful  were  almost  all  driven  out  from  the 
Lowlands  of  Scotland. 

Mnian,  who  was  a  native  of  the  district,  had  been 
educated  in  Rome  during  the  pontiii<iate  of  Pope  Damasus,  and 
later  on  returned  to  preach  the  Gospel  anew  in  his  native  land. 
On  his  way  he  stopped  for  a  short  time  at  Tours,  to  pay  a 
visit  to  St.  Martin,  the  most  prominent  figure  at  the  time  in 
Christendom.  It  was  from  St.  Martin,  as  Bede  informs  us, 
that  he  got  the  masons  through  whose  means  he  was  able  to 
build  the  first  stone  church  in  Britain.  The  people  had 
never  before  seen  anything  of  the  kind — they  had  no  stone 
houses  and  no  masons  able  to  build  them — hence  in  their 
admiration  they  called  the  new  building  tlie  White  House, 
to  signify,  just  as  the  Americans  do,  that  it  was  the  grandest 
building  in  the  kingdom.  We  are  enabled  to  fix  the  date 
of  its  erection,  because  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  during  the 
progress  of  the  work  Ninian  heard  of  the  death  of  St.  Martin 
of  Tours,  and  dedicated  the  new  church  to  him,  which  could 
only  be  done  after  his  death,  that  is,  about  the  year  a. d.  397 — 
some  thirty-five  years  before  St.  Patrick  began  lo  preach  in 
Ireland. 

It  cannot  have  been  St.  Ninian  himself  under  whom 
St.  Finnian  studied  at  the  Candida  Casa,  which  was  founded 
at  least  a  hundred  years  before  the  date  of  this  visit.  In 
some  of  the  lives  his  teacher  is  called  Nennio,^  in  others 
Mugentius  (see  Colgan,  page  633).  It  seems,  certain,  how- 
ever, that  young  Finnian,  thirsty  for  sacred  knowledge, 
begged  permission  from  St.  Mochae  to  accompany  the 
visitors  on  their  return  to  the  White  House.  The  permission 
was  readily  granted ;  so,  gliding  southward  in  their  boats 
between  the  multitudinous  islands  of  Lough  Cuan,  they  were 
carried  out  to  sea  through  its  narrow  mouth  by  the  swiftly 
receding  tide,  and  then  spreading  every  sail  to  catch  the 
western  breeze  a  few  hours  would  bring  them  across  the 
narrow  channel  that  separates  the  Ards  of  Down  from  the 
Mull  of  Galloway,  At  the  southern  extremity  of  the  inner 
promontory  of  Wigtown,  there  is  a  very  small  island  which 
still  bears  the  name  of  the  Isle  of  Whithern.  On  this  island 
are  the  ruins  of  an  old  church,  which  is  probably  all  that 
now  remains  of  the  Candida  Casa — a  spot  like  Aran,  Glaston- 
bury, and  lona,  to  be  ever  venerated  as  one  of  the  cradles  of 
Celtic  Christianity. 

'  And  (.ometiines  Ninian,  because  he  was  confounded  with  the  orig-inal 
founder. 


248  THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVILLE. 

How  loii<2^  iunnian  remained  at  Candida  Casa  cannot  be 
exactly  ascertained  ;  but  it  was  at  least  long  enougb  to 
acquire  the  learning  and  discipline  of  the  place  in  which, 
according  to  some  accounts,  he  succeeded  so  well  as  to  incur 
the  bitter  jealousy  of  his  master. 

The  original  founder  of  the  Candida  Casa  had  been 
educated  at  Komc,  and  no  doubt  the  thoughts  of  its  inmates 
were  from  time  to  time  turned  to  the  school  of  their  great 
founder.  Finnian,  at  least,  resolved  to  go  to  the  fountain 
head,  and  so,  putting  on  his  wallet  and  grasping  his  pilgrim 
staif,  he  set  out  upon  his  long  journey.  It  was  much  more 
difficult  and  dangerous  then  to  go  to  Rome  than  it  is  now, 
but  these  heroic  Christian  men  despised  dangers  and  hardships. 
Their  life  was  a  warfare  for  Christ ;  so  tlioy  cared  little  when 
or  where  they  fell  in  their  Master's  cause.  Besides,  they 
were  never  refused  hospitality  at  the  religious  houses  where 
thev  called,  and  even  the  rude  mariners  welcomed  on  board 
their  vessels  a  holy  man  whose  prayers  were  strong  to  calm 
the  wrath  of  tempestuous  seas.  Finnian  spent  three  months 
at  E-ome  "  learning  the  Apostolical  customs  and  the  Ecclesi- 
astical Laws,''  and  then  resolved  to  return  to  his  native  land. 
But  he  bore  with  him  from  Rome  a  priceless  treasure,  or,  as 
the  Martyrology  of  j^ngus  calls  it  '*  yellow  gold  from  over 
the  sea;'*  not,  however,  yellow  gold  from  the  mine,  but  what 
our  Celtic  fathers  valued  more,  the  pure  red  gold  of  the 
Gospel  corrected  by  the  great  St.  Jerome  and  formally  sanc- 
tfoned  by  the  Pope  as  the  authentic  text.  The  Vulgate,  as 
we  now  have  it,  is  substantially  the  work  of  St.  Jerome  to 
this  extent,  that  he  corrected  the  New  "J  estament  of  the  Old 
Vulgate  ;  he  translated  from  the  Hebrew  the  proto-canonical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  moreover  corrected  the 
deutero-cauonical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  according  to  ti.e 
best  MSS.  of  the  Septuagint.  It  is,  however,  his  correction, 
and  not  his  own  translation  from  the  Hebrew,  which  under 
the  name  of  the  Gallican  Psaltery,  is  still  retained  in  our 
Latin  Vulgate.  But  although  this  great  work  had  been 
performed  with  the  sanction  of  the  Popes  between  the  years 
A.D.  383  and  403,  yet  two  hundred  years  elapsed  before  this 
version  came  into  general  use ;  and  though  it  was  commonly, 
it  was  not  yet  exclusively  used  even  when  St.  Finnian  was 
in  Home,  between,  a.d.  530  and  540.  It  was,  however,  a 
great  improvement  on  the  previous  vert;ion,  and  as  such 
highly  valued  by  all  scholars.  It  seems,  however,  that  the 
new  version  had  not  been  hiihcrto  introduced  into  Ireland, 
and  so  special   mention  is  made  of  Finnian'8  copv  \\\  the 


ST.  FINNIAN  OF  MOVILLE.  249 

Calendar  of  Cashel  quoted  by  Colgan — "  Finnian  the  White, 
of  Iviaohbile  (Moville)  ;  it  was  iie  who  first  carried  into 
Ireland  the  Mosaic  Law  and  the  whole  Gospel" — mean- 
ing thereby  that  it  was  he  who  first  brought  the  first 
integral co^Y  of  St.  Jerome's  Vulgate,  which  afterwards  came 
into  exclusive  use  in  the  Irish  as  in  the  other  churches. 

Colgan  identifies  St.  Finnian  of  Moville  with  St.  Fridian, 
or  Frigidian,  who  became  bishop  of  Lucca  in  Ital}^  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century.  There  are  undoubtedly  several 
facts  narrated  in  the  lives  of  both  that  go  to  establish  this 
identity;  but  there  is  one  great  difiiculty.  According  to  the 
life  of  Fridian  he  died  at  Lucca,  where  it  is  said  his  blessed 
body  is  still  preserved  and  reverenced ;  but  according  to  the 
ancient  Life  of  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor,  and  the  local  traditions, 
Finnian  the  bishop,  or  Finbarr,  as  he  is  often  called,  "sleeps 
amid  many  miracles  in  his  own  city  of  Maghbile/' 

Finnian  is  said  to  have  returned  to  Ireland  and  founded 
his  school  at  Moville  about  the  year  a.d.  540,  that  is  some 
twenty  years  after  his  namesake  of  Clonard  had  opened  his 
own  great  school  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne.  The  name 
Maghbile  means  the  plain  of  the  old  tree ^  probably  referring 
to  some  venerable  oak  reverenced  by  the  Druids  before  the 
advent  of  St.  Patrick.  At  present  there  is  nothing  of  the 
ancient  abbey-school  except  a  few  venerable  yews  to  mark  the 
city  of  the  dead,  and  an  old  ruined  church  on  the  line  of  the 
high  road  from  Newtownards  to  Donaghadee.  This  old 
church,  which  was  one  hundred  and  seven  feet  in  length,  in 
all  probability  did  not  date  back  to  the  original  foundation  of 
the  place,  although  it  undoubtedly  stands  on  the  site  of 
St.  Finnian's  original  church.  The  spot  was  aptly  chosen, 
sheltered  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills  from  the  winds  of  the 
north  and  east,  and  commanding  far  away  to  the  south  a  noble 
prospect  of  Lough  Cuan's  verdant  islets  and  glancing  waters. 

The  most  famous  pupil  of  this  infant  seminary 
was  St.  Columba,  the  light  of  all  the  Celtic  west.  If  the 
incident  to  which  Adamnan  refers^  in  his  Life  of  St.  Columba 
be  understood  of  Moville  rather  than  Clonard,  it  seems  that 
at  this  period  Columba  was  studying  Sacred  Scripture  under  * 
Finnian,  that  he  was  then  a  deacon,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  the  wine  failed  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  he  went  with  the 
cruet  to  the  neighbouring  well  (since  closed  up,  but  within 
living  memory),  and  blessing  the  water,  it  was  changed  into 
wine,  with  w^hich  the  Holy  Sacrifice  was  duly  offered  up  on 
that  Festival  Day. 

There   is   another  very  celebrated   incident  recorded  of 

*  Book  ii.  c.  i. 


250  THE  SCHOOL  OF   MOVILLK. 

S8.  Fiiinian  and  Columcille,  whicli  seems  to  have  really 
happened,  and  produced  consequences  of  great  import  in  the 
designs  of  Providence. 

As  we  have  seen,  Finnian  had  brought  from  Rome  a  copy 
of  the  entire  Bible,  partly  translated,  partly  corrected  by 
St.  Jerome.  Very  naturally  this  copy  was  highly  prized  and 
jealously  guarded  by  the  saint,  for  if  any  part  were  lost  or 
injured  the  damage  might  have  been,  at  least  for  him,  irrepar- 
able. Now,  the  young  Columba  was  an  ardent  student  otthc 
sacred  volume  ;  and  especially  he  was  anxious  to  get  a  copy 
of  the  new  Psaltery,  which  most  of  our  early  saints  were  in 
the  habit  of  reading  daily.  In  truth  it  was  their  Breviary, 
and  in  their  estimation  was  the  greatest  of  their  treasures.  So 
Columba  begged  Finnian  to  allow  him  to  make  a  copy  of  the 
Gallic  Psaltery, as  we  now  have  it  in  theYulgate,but  Finnian, 
fearing  for  his  treasure  "  of  pure  red  gold,"  would  not  allow 
him,  lest  the  manuscript  might  be  lost  or  injured.  Then 
Columba,  finding  a  suitable  opportunity,  stealthily  tianscribed 
the  Psalter,  remaining  up  all  night  for  the  puipose,  so  that 
when  Finnian  came  to  his  cell  he  found  Columba  hard  at 
work  at  midnight,  and,  lo  !  a  divine  radiance  illuminated 
his  cell.  Next  day  Finnian  sought  his  manu-script,  and 
Columba  confessed  that  he  had  made  the  copy  without  his 
permission.  Finnian  thereupon  demanded  the  copy,  but 
Columba  claimed  it  as  his  own — it  was  the  fruit  of  his  labour, 
and  the  original  was  uninjured.  Nevertheless,  as  Finnian 
persisted  in  his  demand,  it  was  agreed  to  leave  the  matter  to 
the  arbitration  of  King  Diarmaid  at  Tara.  Tara  was  not  far 
from  Druim-fhinn  (now  Drumin  in  Louth)  where  this 
incident  is  said  to  have  taken  place.  The  king  heard  the 
parties,  and  then  pronounced  his  award :  "  The  calf  goes 
with  the  cow,  and  the  son-book,  or  copy,  must  go  with  the 
mother-book,  or  original."^  The  decision  was  not  equitable, 
and  Columba  was  sore  distressed.  Moreover,  it  came  to  pass 
that  a  young  prince,  Curnan  by  name,  accidentally  killed  a 
companion  at  court,  and  fled  for  refuge  to  Columba,  who  was 
then  standing  near  at  hand.  But  the  king  had  him  dragged 
from  the  protection  of  the  saint  and  slain  on  the  spot. 
Columba,  thus  doubly  wronged,  fled  from  Tara,  and  told  his 
royal  kinsmen  how  he  had  been  treated  by  King  Diarmaid. 
They  at  once  flew  to  arms  to  avenge  the  insults  ofl'ered  to  a 
prince  of  Conal  Gulban's  royal  line,  whose  holiness  moreover 
even  then  was  celebrated  throiigli  all  the  North.  Thev 
•gathered  togetlier  a  mighty  army — all  the  Clanna  Niall  oi 
the  North — and  met  the  monarch  and  his  forces  at  a  place 

'  Ijc  (juch  boin  a  boinin. 


ST.  finniaN  of  MOVILLE.  ^51 

called  Cail-Dreimhne  (now  Cooldriimmo  i)  in  the  parish  of 
Drumcliff',  to  the  north  of*  Sligo.  In  the  bloody  battle  which 
followed,  the  forces  of  king  Diarmaid  were  nearly  annihilated 
— ^but  Columcille  was  praying  for  his  kinsmen  during  the 
battle,  and  so  they  nearly  all  escaped,  whilst  the  enemy  was 
destroyed.  The  Psalter,  too,  it  seems,  became  the  prize  of 
the  victors,  and  the  most  famous  heirloom  in  the  family  of 
the  O'Donnells.  But  the  blood  shed  on  this  occasion  weighed 
heavily  on  the  conscience  of  Columba,  although  he  may  have 
been  the  innocent,  cause  of  it ;  and  for  his  share  in  this  battle 
he  narrowly  escaped  excommunication  at  the  hands  of  the 
saints  of  Ireland  later  on.  With  heroic  fortitude,  however, 
he  accepted  the  penance  imposed  upon  him  by  St.  Molaise  of 
Innismurray  at  the  cross  of  Ahamlish  in  iSligo — to  go  to 
foreign  lands  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  never  look  upon  his 
native  land  again.  The  saint  obeyed  and,  it  is  said,  religiously 
kept  his  vow — for  though  he  returned  to  Ireland  again  at  the 
high  call  of  duty,  he  bandaged  his  aged  eyes  with  a  cloth,  so 
that  they  were  never  gladdened  even  with  one  glance  of  the 
green  hills  of  his  native  land,  which  he  loved  with  even  more 
than  the  passionate  tenderness  of  the  Irish  heart.  He  gave 
expression  to  his  bitter  grief  in  several  touching  poems, 
written  in  the  sweet  and  musical  tongue  of  Erin. 

The  copy  of  St.  Finnian's  Psaltery  furtively  made  by 
Columcille  has  had  a  very  strange,  eventful  history,  and  is 
perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  our  ancient  relics.  At  present 
the  manuscript,  with  the  casket  which  contains  it,  is  the 
property  of  Sir  Richard  O'Donnell  of  Newport  in  the  County 
Mayo  ;  but  it  is  preserved  for  public  inspection  in  the  strong 
room  of  the  Hoyal  Irish  Academy  in  Dublin.  It  is  known  as 
the  Cathach,  or  Battler,  from  the  Irish  word  Cath,  a  battle  ; 
and  was  so  called  because  if  carried  three  times  around 
O'DonnelPs  host,  in  battle,  on  the  breast  of  a  priest  free  from 
mortal  sin,  it  was  sure  to  bring  victory  to  the  clan.  Columcille 
was  himself  great  grandson  of  Conal  Gulban,  the  great  sire 
of  all  the  Cinel  Conal.  He  thus  became  the  patron  of  that 
warlike  clan  ;  in  defence  of  his  honour  and  to  maintain  his 
right  to  this  very  Psalter,  they  fought  the  great  buttle  of 
iJuil'ii(^imhne,  and  they  won  the  victory  through  his  strong 
prayers.  So  it  was  only  natural  that  the  Psalter  on  earth 
and  the  saint  in  heaven  should  still  be  shield  and  buckler  for 
the  clan  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

And  so  indeed  it  was.  But  St.  Cailin  of  Fenagh  had  told 
them  to  guard  it  well,  and  above  all  to  see  that  it  never  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  foreigner,  for  that  day  would  work  woe 


252  THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVILLE. 

lor  Krin  and  confusion  to  the  O'Donnells.  Thus  it  became 
the  most  precious  treasure  of  the  Clan-C(mal,  and  not  a  man 
of  them  that  was  not  ready  to  die  in  its  delence  on  the  fit  Id 
of  battle.  Moreover,  they  appointed  as  horeditury  guardian 
of  the  Cathach,  the  family  of  McRobartaig-h — now  McGroarty 
— and  assigned  for  their  maintenance  the  lands  still  called 
from  them  Ballymacgroarty,  in  the  parish  of  Drumhome, 
couuty  JJunc^al.  The  casket,  or  aiindach,  in  which  this 
treasure  was  contained,  bears  an  inscription  in  Irish  on  three 
sides  to  this  effect : — "  Pray  for  Cathbarr  O'Donnell  for  whom 
this  casket  was  made,  and  for  Sitric,  son  of  Mac  Aedha,  who 
made  it,  and  for  Domnall  MacRobartaigh  (abbot)  of  Kells  at 
whose  house  it  was  made."  The  casket  itself  is  of  tha  most 
exquisite  workmanship,  and  this  inscription  proves  that  it 
was  made  at  the  expense  of  Cathbarr  O'Donnell,  chief  of  his 
name  in  Donegal  about  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century — he 
died  in  a.d.  1106.  It  was  made,  however,  in  the  Abbey  of 
Kells,  which  had  been  founded  by  Columcille,  and  was  then 
ruled  by  a  member  of  that  very  family  of  McGroarty, 
who  were  the  hereditary  custodians  of  the  Cathach.  The 
McGroarty s  were  more  faithful  to  their  trust  than  the 
McMoyres,  who  had  the  custody  of  the  Book  of  Armagh^ 
and  several  members  of  the  family  met  their  death  in  defence 
of  their  sacred  charge.  In  a.d.  1497  Con  O'Donnell  led  an 
army  against  McDermott  of  Moylurg ;  but  he  and  his  troops 
were  defeated,  and  "the  Cathach  of  Columcille  was  also  taken 
from  them,  and  McGroarty,  the  keeper  of  it,  was  slain."  It 
was  restored,  however,  two  years  later.  Again,  in  a.d.  1567, 
McGroarty,  the  keeper  of  the  Cathach,  was  slain  in  a  fratri- 
cidal conflict  between  the  O'Donnells  and  O'Neills  on  the 
shore  of  Lough  Swilly.  In  a.d.  1647,  when  John  Colgan 
wrote,  it  was  still,  he  tells  us,  in  his  own  native  county  of 
Donegal.  Daniel  O'Donnell,  who  fought  well  for  King 
James,  carried  it  with  him  to  the  Continent,  and  had  a  new 
rim  fixed  on  the  casket  with  his  name  and  the  date,  a,d.  1723. 
He  died  in  a.d.  1735,  leaving  this  precious  relic  on  the  Con- 
tinent, where  it  remained  until  1802,  when  it  was  claimed 
and  recovered  by  Sir  Neal  O'Donnell  of  Newport  in  the 
county  Mjivo,  from  whom  it  passed  to  its  present  owner,  Sir 
Kichard  O'Donnell. 

It  was  deemed  a  heinous  crime  to  open  the  sacred  casket, 
and  the  widow  of  Sir  Neal  actually  brought  an  action  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  in  1814  against  Sir  W.  Betham,  Ulster 
King-at-Arms,  for  daring  to  open  the  casket  without  her  per- 
mission   Tlis  crime  at  any  rate  ijfratified  our  curiosity,  for  when 


ST.  FINNIAN  OF  MOVILLE.  253 

opened  it  was  found  to  contain  a  small  wooden  box  very  much 
decayed.  Within  the  box  was  a  dark,  damp  mass,  which,  on 
careful  and  cautious  examination,  proved  to  be  a  portion  of 
the  Psalter  in  Latin,  written  in  a  neat  but  hurried  hand,  of 
which,  however,  several  folios  at  the  beginnings  and  end  were 
utterly  destro3^ed  by  the  damp.  Fifty-eight  leaves  remain, 
containing  the  Psalter  from  the  31st  to  the  106th  psalm. 
We  have  examined  the  fac-similes  published  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  National  Manuscripts  of  Ireland^  and  we  find 
that  it  is  a  portion  of  the  Gallican  Psalter,  that  is  the  Psalter 
at  present  in  our  Latin  Vulgate,  which  was  a  second  and 
more  careful  correction  of  the  then  existing  Psalter  made  by 
St.  Jerome,  not  according  to  the  Septuagint,  like  his  first 
correction,  the  Roman  Psalter,  but  made  according  to  the 
Hexaplar  Greek  of  Origen.  St.  Columcille's  copy  is  executed 
with  wonderful  neatness  and  accuracy,  containing  even  the 
astei'isks  and  obelisks  of  St.  Jerome's  correction.  We  note 
these  facts  to  show  that  the  Bible  brought  from  Rome  by  St. 
Finnian  was  in  truth  the  new  and  corrected  edition  of  the  old 
Vulgate,  which  was  just  then  coming  into  universal  use. 
This  fact  is  quite  enough  to  explain  St.  Columcille's  anxiety 
to  get  a  copy,  ms  well  as  St.  Finnian's  fear  that  his  own  trea- 
sure might  be  lost  or  injured. 

Tourists  visiting  Ireland  would  do  well  to  examine  this 
venerable  memorial  of  our  ancient  Church,  as  well  as  the  other 
relics  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  The  casket  itself  con- 
sists of  a  brass  box  nine  and  a  half  inches  long,  eight  in 
breadth,  and  two  in  thickness.  The  top,  however,  is  covered 
with  a  silver  plate,  richly  gilt,  chased,  and  adorned  with 
marvellously  wrought  figures  of  Columcille,  the  Crucifixion, 
and  other  sacred  objects.  The  corners,  too,  were  set  in  pre- 
cious stones — crystals,  pearls,  sapphires,  and  amethysts,  many 
of  which,  as  might  be  expected,  have  been  lost.  The  whole 
work  furnishes  a  striking  proof  of  the  skiLof  our  Celtic  fore- 
fathers in  metallurgy  so  earl}'  as  the  eleventh  century,  when 
iw  was  almost  lost  as  an  art  elsewhere. 

St.  Finnian  composed  a  Rule  for  his  monks,  and  a  peni- 
tential code,  which  latter  is  still  extant,  and  of  much  interest 
to  antiquarians,  as  it  is,  perhaps,  the  earliest  expression  of 
the  discipline  of  the  primitive  Irish  Church  on  this  important 
subject.  These  penitential  canons  are  fifty-three  in  number, 
and  several  of  them  are  rather  rigorous,  at  least  according  to 
our  relaxed  modern  notions.  In  those  days  men  were  more 
in  earnest  in  the  work  of  saving  their  souls,  and  pmiished 
with  voluntary  severity  any  grave  neglect  of  this  great  duty. 
A  penance  of  seven  years  was  imposed  for  perjury,  with  the 


254  THK  SCHOOL  OF  MOVIM.E. 

additional  penalt}'  of  setting  free  a  bondsman  or  bondswoman. 
This  goes  to  sliow  that  slavery  had  not  yet  been  abolished  in 
Ireland  ;  but  that  the  Church  took  every  opportunity  of  pro- 
moting- its  abolition,  not  indeed  by  violence  or  injustice,  but 
by  the  gentler  method  of  persunsion  and  mercy.  These  peni- 
tential canons  have  been  published  by  Wasserschleben  at 
Halle  in  1851,  from  manuscripts  in  the  libraries  of  St.  Gall, 
Paris,  and  Vienna.  There  is  also  extant  in  MSS.  an  interest- 
ing romantic  dialogue  said  to  have  taken  place  between  Tuan 
Mac  Cairill  and  Finnian  of  Moville.  In  all  probability, 
however,  it  is  a  composition  of  a  much  later  date,  and  the 
dialogue,  though  highly  interesting,  is  purely  imaginary. 
There  is  a  copy  of  this  romantic  tale  in  the  book  known  as 
Leabhar  na  h-Uidhre,  an  ancient  work  said  to  have  been 
originally  written  at  Clonmacnoise,  in  the  lifetime  of  its 
founder,  St.  Ciaran. 

St.  Finnian  died  in  a.d.  589,  according  to  the  Annals  of 
Ulster y  at  a  very  great  age.  In  those  days,  when  men  led 
temperate  and  active  lives,  free  from  care,  and  always  rejoic- 
ing in  God,  it  was  no  unusual  thing  to  live  to  the  age  of  one 
hundred,  or  even  one  hundred  and  twenty,  like  St.  Patrick 
and  St.  Kevin  of  Glendaloch.  This  date,  too,  goes  to  show 
that  Finnian  of  Moville  was  identical  with  St.  Frigidian  ot 
Lucca  in  Italy,  for  the  death  of  the  latter  is  assigned  to  a.d. 
588  by  Ughelli  in  his  Italia  Sacra} 

His  death  was  much  lamented,  for  his  fame  was  great 
throughout  all  the  land  ;  and  all  our  martyrologists  bear 
testimony  to  his  merits.  Marianus  O'Gorman  calls  him 
"  Finnian  with  heart  devout ;"  and  another  writer  exclaims, 
"■  0  blessed  school  (of  Maghbile)  the  resting  place  of  Finnian ; 
how  blessed  that  one  saint  should  be  the  tutor  of  his  fellow 
saints."  His  festival  is  celebrated  on  the  10th  of  September, 
the  day  after  the  festival  of  his  contemporary,  St.  Ciaran 
of  Clonmacnoise,  and  his  blessed  relics  rest  amid  many 
miracles  within  that  old  Church  of  Moville,  under  the 
shadow  of  its  ancient  yews,  forgotten  by  men,  but  watched 
over  by  the  angels  of  God. 

There  is  an  ancient  poem  in  the  Saltair  na  Rann  on  the 
patron  Saints  of  the  various  Irish  clans.  In  the  opening 
stanza  Finnian  is  described  as  the  patron  of  Ulidia — th(» 
Ulidians,  it  is  said,  all  stand  behind  his  back,  that  is,  under 
his  protection.     Here  it  is  in  poetry  : — 

'•  Of  Eiin  all  is  Patrick  jud^e 
On  Macha's  Royal  Hill; 
Tliey  bless  his  name  with  loud  acclaim, 
Our  King  by  God'i  high  will. 


Cardinal  Moran's  Essat/s,  page  138. 


ST.  FINNIAN  OF  MOVILLE.  255 

"The  Clanna  Neil  a  sheltering  oak 
Have  found  in  Columcille, 
And  Ulaf5b's  sons  are  strong  behind 
Great  Finnian  of  Moville." 

St.  riniiian  was,  it  seems,  a  bishop,  and  his  successors  m 
Moville  for  some  two  hundred  years  are  spoken  of  as  bishops; 
but  from  a.d.  731  they  are  merely  described  as  abbots,  and 
seem  to  have  lost  their  episcopal  jurisdiction.  Still  the  School 
of  Moville  then  and  long  after  continued  to  flourish,  although 
it  appears  to  have  been  eclipsed  by  the  brighter  flame  of 
Bangor,  its  younger  neighbour  to  the  north. 

In  A.D.  730  flourished  Colman,  son  of  Murchu,  Abbot  of 
Moville,  who  is  regarded  as  the  author  of  a  Latin  hymn  of 
singular  beauty  preserved  in  the  famous  work  known  as  the 
Liber  Hymnorum  now  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  "  Colman, 
son  of  Murchu,"  is  described  as  the  author  of  the  hymn,  and 
hence  Dr.  Todd  very  justly  regards  him  as  identical  with  the 
Abbot  of  Moville.  The  following  is  an  English  translation 
made  for  the  learned  Father  O'Laverty,  author  of  the  History 
of  the  Diocese  of  Down  a7td  Connor^  by  the  late  lamented 
Denis  Florence  McCarthj^,  a  poet  whose  own  pure  heart  could 
well  interpret  the  soaring  aspirations  of  a  saintly  soul: — 

THE  HYMN   OF   ST.    COLMAN,    SON  OF  MURCHU,    IN  PRAISE   OF 
ST.   MICHAEL  THE  ARCHANGEL. 

"  No  wild  bird  rising  from  the  wave,  no  omen  from  the  land  or  sea, 
Oh  Blessed  Trinity,  shall  shake  my  fixed  trust  in  thee. 
No  name  to  God,  or  demon  given,  no  synonym  of  sin  or  shame, 
Shall  make  me  cease  to  supplicate  the  Archangel  Michael's  name. 
That  he,  by  God  the  leader  led,  may  meet  my  soul  that  awful  day 
When  frotu  this  body  and  this  life  it  trembling  takes  its  way. 
Lest  the  demoniac  power  of  him,  who  is  at  once  the  foot  of  pride 
And  prince  of  darkness,  force  it  then  from  the  true  path  aside. 
May  Michael  the  Archangel  turn  that  hour  which  else  were  dark  and 

sad 
To  one,  when  angels  will  rejoice  and  all  the  just  be  glad. 
Him  I  beseech  that  he  avert  from  me  the  fiend's  malignant  face, 
And  lead  me  to  the  realm  of  rest  in  God's  own  dwelling  place. 
May  holy  Michael  day  and  night,  he  knowing  well  my  need,  be  nigh, 
To  place  me  in  the  fellowship  of  the  good  saints  on  high  ; 
May  holy  Michael,  an  approved  assistant  when  all  else  may  fail, 
Plead  for  me,  sinner  that  I  am,  in  thought  and  act  so  frail, 
May  holy  Michael  in  his  strength  my  parting  soul  from  harm  defend, 
rill  circled  by  the  myriad  saints  in  heaven  its  flight  doth  end; 
For  me  may  holy  Gabriel  pray — for  me  may  holy  Raphael  plead — 
For  me  may  all  the  angelic  choirs  for  ever  intercede. 
May  the  great  King's  eternal   halls   receive   me  freed   from   stain 

and  sin, 
That  I  the  joys  of  Paradise  may  share  with  Christ  therein. 


•256 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  MOVIT.LE. 


Glory  for  aye  be  f^iven  to  God — for  aye  to  Father  and  to  Son- 
Fur  aye  unto  the  koly  Ghost  with  them  in  council  one. 

V.  *'  Mav  the  most  holy  St.  Michael 

The  prince  of  angels  defend  us, 
Whom  to  conduct  our  souls  heavenward 
God  from  the  highest  doth  send  us.'* 

The  Scliool  of  Moville  during  the  subsequent  centuries  of 
disaster  not  only  mainiained  its  existence  but  produced  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  mediaeval  historians,  the 
celebrated  Marianus  Scotus,  the  chronicler,  to  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  his  namesake  and  contemporary, 
Marianus  Scotus,  a  poet,  theologian  and  commentator  of 
Sacred  Scripture,  to  whom  we  hope  to  refer  on  another 
occasion, 

II. — Marianus  Scotus. 

Marianus  Scotus,  the  Chronicler,  was  born,  as  he  himself 
tells  us,  in  the  year  a.d.  1028  ;  but  we  know  nothing  of  his 
family,  or  the  place  of  his  birth.  Marianus  is  the  smooth, 
latinized  form  of  Maelbridge,  the  servant  of  St.  Brigid,  a 
favourite  pre-nomen  in  ancient  Ireland.  He  tells  us,  too,  in 
his  chronicle,  that  when  he  had  on  one  occasion  committed  a 
slight  fault,  his  preceptor  Tighernagh  Boirceach  reminded 
him,  how  the  abbot  of  Iniscaltra,  an  island  in  Lough.  Derg, 
had  expelled  a  holy  man  from  the  Island  and  commanded 
him  to  leave  Ireland  for  giving  a  little  food  to  the  brethren 
without  permission.  This  shows  that  Tighernach  Boirceach, 
Abbot  of  Moville  for  several  years  beforehis  death  in  a.d.  1061, 
must  have  been  the  spiritual  guide  who  reprimanded 
Marianus  for  his  fault ;  whence  we  infer  that  Marianus 
spent  his  youth  in  the  School  of  Moville.  In  a.d.  1056  he  tells 
us — "  I,  Marianus,  left  my  native  country  this  year,  having 
become  a  pilgrim  for  the  kingdom  of  God."  He  came  to 
Cologne  and  there  entered  the  Monastery  of  St.  Martin, 
at  that  time  ruled  by  Irish  abbots,  and  containing  a  com- 
munity of  Irish  monks.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  Fulda, 
and  "  all  unworthy  as  I  am,  I  Marianus,  was  ordained  priest, 
with  Sigfrid,  Abbot  of  Fulda,  nigh  to  the  body  of  the  blessed 
Martyr  Kilian  of  Wurtzburg  " — his  countryman  who  had 
been  like  himself  a  pilgrim  and  died  ibr  Christ  in  a  foreign 
land.  There  he  became  a  recluse,  shut  up  in  his  little  t^U 
for  ten  long  years,  given  wholly  to  prayer,  penance,  and 
study.  Every  day  during  these  ten  years  he  offered  the  Holy 
Sacrifice  over  the  tomb  of  his  countryman,  Anmchaidh,  the 
same  who  was  driven  from  Inniscaltru  us  a  penauce  for  his 


MAUTAXUS  SCOTUS,  THE  CHRONICLER.  257 

I'ault,  and  who  died  in  a.d.  1043  in  the  odour  of  sanctity.  From 
Falda  in  a.d.  1061),  be,  tlio  ''  wretched  Mariaaus,''  was,  as  he 
tells  ns,  transferred  by  order  of  the  Abbot  of  Fulda  and  the 
Bishop  of  Mayence  to  that  city,  and  there  again,  as  he  tells 
us  in  his  sweet  humilitj^,  he  became  once  more  a  hermit  for 
his  sins.  His  learning,  especially  in  history  and  chronology, 
was  very  extensive,  and  so  by  order  of  his  superiors  he  wrote 
a  Chronicle  in  Three  Books,  which  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
memorials  of  mediaeval  learning  that  have  come  down  to  our 
times.  The  first  two  books  are  mainly  devoted  to  questions 
of  chronoloo'v  in  which  the  writer  exhibits  vast  learnino:  and 
great  ingenuity.  He  labours  especially  to  refute  the  com- 
monly assigned  date  of  our  Saviour's  birth  as  fixed  by  the 
Dionysian  computation,  which  he  affirms  is  twenty-two 
years  behind  the  proper  date.  For  this,  though  he  is 
not  followed  by  modern  chronologists,  he  certainly  won  the 
applause  of  his  mediaeval  contemporaries.  Unfortunately 
toese  two  books  have  not  yet  been  published ;  but  the 
"  Third  Book "  has  been  published  by  the  learned  Waitz 
in  the  fifth  volume  of  Pertz^s  Historical  Monuments 
of  Germany.  It  has  been  since  republished  in  Migne^s 
Latin  Patrology^  volume  147,  where  it  can  be  more 
readily  consulted  by  Irish  scholars.  The  work  extends  from 
the  birth  of  Christ  to  the  year  a.d.  1081  ;  the  following  year 
A.D.  1082  the  writer  ended  a  life  full  of  good  works,  glorious 
for  God,  and  for  his  country.  He  sleeps,  like  many  another 
Irish  saint,  far  away  from  the  green  hills  of  Ireland  ;  but 
he  sleeps  well  with  kindred  dust  in  the  monastery  of 
St.  Martin  of  Mayence,  and  posterity  has  honoured,  with  the 
name  of  *'  the  Blessed,"  Marianus  Scotus,  the  latest  glory  of 
the  School  of  Moviile. 


CHAPTER     XII. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF   OLONMAONOISE. 

I. — St.  Ciaran  of  Clonmacnoise. 

"  QuGmodo  sedet  sola  ci vitas  plena  populo." 

— Jere^nias. 

How  solitary  now  she  sits  by  the  great  river  that  once 
thronged  City  !  Her  gates  are  broken,  and  her  streets  are 
silent.  Yet  in  olden  time  she  was  a  queen,  and  the  children 
of  many  lands  came  to  do  her  homao:e.  She  was  the  nursins: 
mother  of  our  saints,  and  the  teacher  of  our  higrhest  learning 
for  a  long  six  hundred  years.  The  most  ancient  and  the 
most  accurate  of  the  Annals  of  Erin  were  written  in  her  halls  ; 
the  most  learned  *Doctdts  of  the  Scots '  lectured  in  her  class- 
rooms ;  tlie  sweetest  of  our  old  Gaedhlic  poems  were  com- 
posed by  her  professors  ;  the  noblest  youth  of  France  and 
England  crowded  her  halls,  and  bore  the  renown  of  her 
holiness  and  learning  to  foreign  lands.  Even  still  her 
churches,  her  crosses,  and  her  tombstones  furnish  the  best 
and  most  characteristic  specimens  of  our  ancieiit  Celtic  art  in 
sculpture  and  in  architecture.  Yiew  it  as  you  may, 
Clonmacnoise  was  the  greatest  of  our  schools  in  the  past,  as 
it  is  the  most  interesting  of  our  ruins  in  the  present. 

How  well  St.  Ciaran  chose  the  site  of  his  monastic  city  in 
those  turbulent  and  lawless  days!  It  reposed  in  the  bosom  of 
a  grassy  lawn  of  fertile  meadow  land  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Shannon,  about  ten  miles  south  of  Athlone.  Just  at  this 
point  the  majestic  river  takes  a  wide  semi- circular  sweep 
first  to  the  east  and  then  to  the  south ;  presently  it  widens 
and  deepens  into  calm  repose  under  the  shelter  of  that  grassy 
rido-e,  wbich  Ciaran  chose  as  the  site  of  his  monastery.  A 
vast  expanse  of  bog  lies  beyond  the  river  ;  and  in  the  time  of 
St.  Ciaran  the  country  all  round  about  was  an  impassable 
morass  to  the  dast,  south,  and  north  of  the  verdant  oasis  on 
which  he  built  his  little  church.  So  it  became  necessary  to 
construct  a  causeway  through  the  bog  from  the  monastei'v 
somewhat  on  the  line  of  the  present  road  to  Athlone.  At 
this  day  the  aspect  of  the  place  is  very  desolate  and  lon«W. 


ST.  CIARAN  OF  CLONMACNOISE.  250 

There  is  nothing  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  stranger 
save  the  gray  ruins,  the  sweep  of  the  full- bosomed  river 
stealing  silently  onwards  like  time  in  its  flight,  and  vast 
flocks  of  plover  and  curlew  that  are  now  settled  on  the 
meadows,  and  a  moment  after  are  circling  in  flying  clouds 
around  us.  The  report  of  a  gun  had  startled  both  them  and 
us.     It  was  like  a  voice  in  the  regions  of  the  dead. 

St.  Ciaran,  the  founder  of  Cionmacnoise,  is  usually  called 
Ciaran  Mac  In  Tsair,  that  is,  the  Son  of  the  Carpenter,  and 
sometimes  Ciaran  the  Younger,  to  distinguish  him  from  St. 
Ciaran  of  Saigher,  the  patron  of  the  diocese  of  Ossory.  His 
father,  Beoit,  son  of  Olcan,  though  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
came  of  high  descent.  His  mother,  Darerca,  was  a  daughter 
of  the  race  that  gave  its  name  to  the  county  Kerry.  Beoit 
lived  at  Larne,  in  Antrim,  but  being  greatly  harassed  by  the 
exactions  of  Ainmire,  king  of  the  district,  he  migrated  to  the 
province  of  Connaught,  and  settled  at  a  place  called  liath 
Crimthann,  near  Fuerty,  in  the  county  Roscommon.  He 
was,  it  seems,  unmarried  at  the  time,  and  there  took  to  himself 
a  wife  from  the  daughters  of  the  Ciarraighe,  who  abcut  the 
same  time  had  migrated  from  Irluachair,  in  Kerry,  and  had 
settled  along  the  western  bank  of  the  Suck  in  that  very 
district.^  They  were  a  holy  couple,  and  trained  up  a  holy 
family,  for  they  had  no  less  than  five  sons  and  three 
daughters,  who  were  great  servants  of  God. 

Ciaran  was  baptized  by  the  deacon  Justus  at  Fuerty 
{Fidharta)y  in  the  year  a.d.  512,  which  we  take  to  be  the 
date  of  the  saint's  birth. ^  He  received  his  early  education 
from  the  same  holy  man,  and  in  his  turn  was  not  too  proud  to 
tend  the  herds  of  his  tutor  at  Fuerty,  especially  during  the 
absence  of  the  holy  deacon.  We  are  told,  too,  that  while 
tending  the  cattle  he  was  also  much  given  to  study  and 
prayer. 

It  is  probable  that  young  Ciaran  went  directly  from  home 
to  the  great  School  of  Clonard,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  While  he  was  there,  he  gave  himself  up  with  great 
zeal  to  the  study  of  holy  Scripture  under  the  direction  of  the 
wise  and  learned  Finnian.  He  made  the  acquaintance,  too, 
of  nearly  all  the  great  and  holy  men  who  about  this  period 
lived  in  blessed  brotherhood  at  Clonard,  and  were  afterwards 
known  as  the  Twelve  Apostles  of  Erin.  He  was  much 
beloved  both  by  his  master,  who  called  him  the  *' gentle 
youth,''  and  by  his  companions,  whom  he   was  ever  anxious 

^  Book  of  Rights,  page  100,  note. 

^See  Chronicon  Scotorum,  compiled  at  Cionmacnoise. 


21)0  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONMACNOISE. 

to  oblige.  Books  were  then  very  scarce,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  St.  Ninnidius  of  Ijougli  Erne  was  vainly  seaiching  for 
a  copy  of  the  Gospels,  Ciaran  gave  Ijiin  his  own  copy,  saying 
that  we  shouhl  do  to  others  as  we  would  liave  others  do  to 
us — the  text  which  lie  was  studying  in  St.  Matthew  at  the 
moment. 

Ciaran  once  made  a  present  of  corn  to  his  master  and  the 
brotherhood,  which  sufficed  for  their  wants  during  forty 
days — it  was  said,  too,  this  blessed  food  given  by  Ciaran 
had  virtue  to  heal  the  sick,  who  partook  of  it,  and  a  portion  of 
it  was  reserved  for  that  purpose.  Finnian  in  return  blessed 
his  generous  and  holy  pupil,  and  foretold  that  his  Chu:  ch  in 
the  coming  years  would  be  fruitful  '*  of  nobility  and  wisdom  ;" 
that  it  would  have  much  glory  and  much  land ;  and  that 
half  Ireland  would  one  day  be  subject  to  his  rule.  When  the 
master  was  absent,  Ciaran  was  deputed  to  take  his  place, 
which  shows  the  high  opinion  then  entertained  by  Finnian 
of  his  learning  and  holiness.  One  day  Finnian  suw  in  vision 
two  golden  moons  in  the  firmament  of  Erin  ;  one  he  said  was 
Columcille,  to  illumine  the  JSTorth  with  the  lustre  of  his 
virtues  and  high  descent ;  the  other  was  Ciaran,  who  would 
shine  over  central  Erin,  with  the  mild  radiance  of  charity 
and  meekness. 

At  length  the  time  came  for  Ciaran  to  leave  Clonard. 
Both  masters  and  scholars  wi-re  sorry  to  part  with  the  gentle 
youth.  Finnian  even  offered  to  resign  the  master's  chair  in 
his  favour  ;  but  Ciaran  wisely  declined  the  great  honour, 
for  he  w^as  too  young  and  inexperienced  for  that  office. 
Columcille  was  then  at  Clonard  about  the  year  a.d.  537  or 
538,  and  was  greatly  attached  to  Ciai'an ;  he  composed 
regretful  stanzas  at  his  departure,  and  afterwards  followed 
him  all  the  way  to  Aran : — 

*'  The  noble  youth  that  goeth  westward, 
And  leaves  us  mourning  here — 
Ah!   gentle,  lovinp-,  tender-hearted 
Is  Ciaran  Mac  In  Tsair." 

We  have  in  a  previous  chapter  referred  to  Ciaran's 
sojourn  in  Aran  with  St.  Enda.  On  his  departure  frnui  the 
blessed  isles  Ciaran  told  the  venerable  Enda  that  he  saw  in  a 
vision  a  large  fruitful  tree  planted  in  the  midst  of  Erin,  and 
its  boughs  sheltered  all  the  land.  Its  fair  iruit  was  borne 
over  land  and  sea,  and  all  the  birds  ot  the  air  came  and  eat 
thereof.  "  That  tree  is  thyself,"  said  Enda  ;  *'  all  Erin  shall 
be  filled  with  thy  name,  and  rihehered  by  the  grace  that  will 
be  in  thee,  and  many  men  from  all  parts   will  be   fed  by  thy 


ST.  CIARAN  OF  CLONMACKOISE.  261 

prayers  and  tliy  fastings.     Go,  then,  in  God's  name,  and  found 
thy  Church  on  the  Shannon's  banks  in  the  centre  of  the  island." 

After  leaving  Aran,  Ciaran- paid  a  short  visit  to  8i. 
Senan  of  Scattery  Island,  in  the  Lower  Shannon,  and  w  s 
much  edified  by  the  example  and  conversation  of  that  holy 
man.  He  then  went  north  in  obedience  to  the  word  of  Enda, 
and  at  first  founded  a  church  at  a  place  called  Isell  Ciaran, 
where  he  remained  only  a  short  time.  He  then  founded 
another  oratory  on  Inis  Ainghin,  now  called  Hare  Island,  in 
Lough  Ree,  a  beautifull}^  wooded  islet  about  two  miles  north 
of  Aihlone,  where  a  ruined  church  may  still  be  seen  that  was 
built  on  the  site  of  Ciaran's  more  ancient  oratory. 

It  was  an  admirable  site  for  a  monastery  ;  far  enough  from 
the  shore  for  security,  but  near  enough  for  convenience,  and 
situated  just  at  the  point  where  the  wide  and  beautiful  lake 
contracts  its  waters  into  the  stately  stream  that  flows  beneatli 
the  historic  arches  of  the  bridge  at  Aihlone. 

For  three  years  and  three  months  only  Ciaran  remained 
at  Hare  Island.  This  would  fix  his  arrival  there  in  a.d.  540 
if,  as  we  shall  see,  he  died  in  ad.  544  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three  years.  Going  further  south  by  the  bank  of  the  river 
to  a  place  that  would  be  nearer  to  the  centre  of  the  island, 
he  stopped  at  the  spot  then  called  Ard  Mantain,  which  in 
his  opinion  was  too  fertile  and  too  beautiful  to  be  chosen  as 
the  abode  of  fasting  saints.  "  AVe  might,"  he  said,  "have 
here  much  of  the  w^orld's  riches,  but  the  souls  going  to  heaven 
from  it  would  be  few."  So  he  journeyed  on  still  further  to  the 
south  through  what  was  then  a  desolate  expanse  of  fens  and 
brakes,  until  he  came  to  Ard  Tiprait,  the  Height  of  the 
Spring.  '*  Here,"  he  said  to  his  companions,  "let  us  remain, 
for  many  souls  will  ascend  to  heaven  from  this  spot."^  It, 
was  on  the  10th  of  the  Kalends  of  February  that  Ciaran 
took  up  his  abode  at  Clonmacnoise  with  eight  companions  ; 
and  it  was  on  the  10th  of  the  Moon,  and  a  Saturday.  This 
is  very  specific  information,  and  evidently  authentic.  It 
shows  that  the  writer  of  Ciaran's  life  knew  what  he  wa  . 
saying,  and  was  not  afraid  of  being  contradicted.  Thesn 
dates  prove  that  the  foundation  of  Clonmacnoise  took  plac  e 
on  Saturday,  the  23rd  of  January,  in  the  year  a.d.  544,  "^  J  t 
was  finished  on  the  Dtli  of  Ma}^  following  ;  and  the  sani" 
ancient  and  accurate  life  tells  us  the  circumstances  of  this 
most  remarkable  event — the  founding  of  the  greatest  school 
and  the  greatest  monastery  in  Ireland. 


^   Vita  &'.  Ciarani. 

2  This  date  of  the  Latin  Life  is  quite  accurate.  The  Dominical  letter  for 
that  year  is  c.  b.  ;  therefore  the  Ist  of  January  was  on  Friday,  and  the  2.3rd 
was  Saturday ;  and  the  9th  of  Sept.  was  also  on  Saturday.  We  cannot, 
however,  now  ascertain  the  exact  day  of  the  moon,  for  the  old  cycle  was 
then  in   Ti.ce. 


262  TiiK  SCHOOL  of  (t.onm.mts'oisi;. 

Wlinn  Ciaran  was  planting  the  first  post  to  mark  out  I  In 
site  of  I  ho  Cathair  of  Clonmacuoise,  Dianuaid  Mac  Cearbliaill. 
who  happened  to  be  present  with  a  few  of  his  companions, 
helped  the  saint  with  his  own  hands  to  fix  the  post  in  the 
earth.  "  Though  your  companions  to-day  are  ii-vf"  said 
Ciaran,  *' to-morrow  thou  shalt  be  High  King  of  Erin." 
This  proplieey,  like  many  others,  helped  to  fulfil  itself. 
One  of  Diarmaid's  companions,  Maehnor,^  his  foster  brother, 
overheard  the  saint's  word ;  and  knowing  that  he  was  a  majj 
of  God,  he  resolved  to  help  in  carrying  it  out.  King  Tuathnl 
Maelgarbh,  great  grandson  of  JSiall  the  Great,  had  set  a 
price  on  Diarmaid's  head,  or  rather  on  his  heart,  if  brought  to 
him  in  person  ;  so  Diarmaid  was  forced  to  hide  himself  and 
live  in  the  deserts  and  bogs  around « Clonmacnoise.  There 
he  met  the  saint,  and  not  only  aided  him  to  build  his 
monastery,  as  stated  above,  but  in  reverence  to  the  saint  he 
placed  his  own  hand  beneath  that  of  Ciaran  in  fixing  the 
first  pole.  Now,  Maelmor  hearing  the  prediction,  with 
Diarmaid's  reluctant  consent,  took  his  fleet  black  horse,  and  a 
<vhelp's  heart  besprinkled,  w'ith  blood  on  the  point  of  his 
spear,  arsd  rode  post  haste  to  a  place  called  Greallach  Eillte 
in  Meath,  w^here  the  king  with  his  nobles  happened  to  be  at 
the  time,  v^eeing  the  stranger  riding  post  to  the  king  with 
the  bloody  heart  on  his  sp^^ar,  all  made  way  for  him,  for 
they,  like  the  king  himself,  thought  it  was  the  heart  of 
-Diarmaid,  which  1m-  was  going  to  present  to  the  king.  But 
instead  of  Diarmaid's  heart,  Maelmor  gave  the  monarch  a 
fatal  thrust  witli  his  spear,  which  killed  him  on  the  spot. 
Maelmor  was  immediately  set  upon  by  the  royal  guards  and 
hew^n  to  pieces.  But  his  purpose  was  achieved — Diarmai<l 
MacCearbhaill  was  the  nearest  heir  to  the  throne,  and  was 
immediately  proclaimed  king  without  opposition.  During  his 
reign  he  was,  as  might  be  expected,  a  great  patron  and  bent - 
factor  of  Clonmacuoise,  and  although  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  he  still  kept  Druids^and  soothsayers  in  his  palace, 
he  gave  that  monastery  large  grants  of  land,  and  subjected  to 
its  authority  no  less  than  one  hundred  of  the  small  churches 
in  its  neighbourhood.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Diccese 
of  Clonmacuoise,  which  after  many  vicissitudes  is  now  united 
to  that  of  Ardagh.^ 

St.  Ciaran  lived  only  four  months  after  founding  his 
monastery  and  little  church — the  Eclais  Beg — on  the  bunks 


'  ChTonicon  Scotorum.     Aimo  544. 

'^  (Julgau  s;iys  that  some  of  tJ»e  Druids  contiimeil  in  IreluuJ  ilowu  to  the 
eighth  century,  and  were  lield  in  high  esteem  in  certain  parts  of  the 
country  as  potts  and  shoanacliies. — Acta  SH.,  page  1H1,  n.  15. 

^  Sue  Dr.  Mouay;han'8  interosling  JitcorUs  o/  Aniayh  uhU  ClontnacHoist, 


ST.  CIAR AN  OF  CLONMACNOISE.  '      263 

of  the  Shannon.  The  same  accurate  writer  of  his  life  states 
with  great  precision  that  his  death  came  upon  him  in  the 
thirty-third  year  of  his  age,  on  the  fifth  of  the  Ides  (the  9th) 
of  September,  on  a  Saturday,  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  moon. 
These  data  mark  the  year  a.d.  544  (not  549),  as  the  year  of 
the  saint's  death.  It  was  also  the  year  in  which  King 
Diarmaid  ascended  the  throne,  and  which  brought  with  it  a 
great  plague  that  proved  fatal  to  many  of  the  saints  of  Erin, 
cis  well  as  to  Ciaran  himself. 

The  death  of  Ciaran  was  very  touching.  "Take  me  x)ut 
a  little,"  he  said,  "  from  the  cell  into  the  open  air."  Then 
looking  up  to  the  blue  sky,  he  said — "Narrow  indeed 
is  the  way  which  leads  to  heaven."  "Not  for  you, 
father,  will  it  be  narrow,"  said  one  of  his  monks  who 
was  standing  nigh,.  "  It  is  not  said  in  the  Gospel  that 
it  will  be  easy  for  me  or  for  any  one,"  said  Ciaran  ;  "  even 
the  blessed  Paul  and  David  were  afraid."  He  would  not 
allow  the  stone  pillow  to  be  removed  in  order  to  give  more 
ease  to  his  head.  He  had  kept  it  during  life,  and  he  would 
rest  on  it  in  death — "  Blessed  are  they,"  he  observed^  "  who 
persevere  unto  the  end."  The  brethren  now  saw  God's 
angels  hovering  in  the  air  around  them  awaiting  the  moment 
Df  Ciaran's  departure.  He  grew  weaker,  so  they  brought 
him  in  again  to  Eclais  Beg.  It  was  fitting  he  should  die 
there  ;  it  was  the  scene  of  his  prayers  and  tears.  The  skin 
on  which  he  used  to  sleep  in  his  little  cell  was  stretched  on 
the  ground,  and  he  was  laid  upon  it.  The  end  was  now  at 
hand.  He  gave  his  last  blessing  to  the  brethren,  and  asked 
ihem  to  close  the  church,  and  leave  him  alone  with  his  soul's 
friend,  St.  Kevin  of  Glendaloch,  whom  he  had  known  and 
loved  at  Clonard.  Kevin  blessed  holy  water  according  to  the 
Church's  rite,  and  sprinkled  the  little  oratory,  and  the 
couch  of  the  dying  saint.  Then  he  gave  Ciaran  the  holy 
Communion  and  blessed  him  once  more  ere  he  died.  Ciaran 
loved  the  holy  Kevin  much  ;  God  had  sent  him  to  his  bed* 
side  at  the  prayer  of  Ciaran  himself — and  as  a  pledge  of  hig 
love  the  dying  saint  gave  to  Kevin  his  bell — the  symbol  in 
those  days  of  monastic  rule — and  bidding  him  a  tender  fare- 
well, he  gave  up  his  pure  and  gentle  soul  to  God. 

He  was,  indeed,  a  wonderful  man — that  St.  Ciaran.  He 
died  very  young;  it  was  at  the  sacred  age  of  thirty- three,  as  all 
our  Annals  tell.  In  four  months — from  February  to  May  — 
he  built  his  convent ;  for  four  months  more  he  ruled  his 
community  ;  and  then  he  was  called  to  his  reward ;  yet  that 
community  grew  to  be  the  greatest  and  most  learned  of  all 
the  land. 


264  THE  SCHOOL   OV  CI.UNMACNOISE. 

All  our  martyro]()gI<'S  assig-n  the  festival  of  8t.  Ciaraii 
io  the  9tli  of  September ;  and  the  day  has  been  celebrated 
from  that  hour  to  the  present.  St.  yEngus  says  that  it  is  a 
solemnity  that  "  tills  territories  and  impels  fast-^oing  ships  *' 
on  sea  and  river — hurrying  to  ceh  bratc  the  glorious  fest.val 
cf  Citiran  of  Cluain. 

Any  one  who  visits  Clonmacnolp.e  on  the  9i  ii  of  Spptember 
will    see   the    "territory"   of    the     saint    still    filled    witli 
pilgrims,    and  the  *  ships '  ladea    witli   crowds   of  men  an  I 
women    crossing    the   Shannon  to     visit     his   holy    shrin  . 
St.  Cumrnian  of  Clonfert  in  his  Paschal  Epistle,  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken,  ranks  Cinran,  and  most  justly,  amongst 
the    "early   Fathers  of  the  Irish  Church."^     Alcuin,  who 
studied  at  Clonmacnoise.. calls  him  the  glory  of  the  Irish 
nation.^     "  The  three  worst  counsels  that  were  ever  accom- 
plished in  Erin,"  says  the  gloss  on  iEngus,  "  by  the  advice  of 
saints,   were    the   shortening  of  Ciaran's  life,   the  exile  of 
Coluracille,  and  the  expulsion  of  Mochuda  from  Ralian/' 
The   'saints,' it  seems,   were  jealous  because  Diarmaid  had 
conferred  so  many  favours  on  Ciaran — so  they  prayed  to  God 
to  take  him  out  of  the  world  before  any  harm  came  of  it,  and 
lo  !   it  was  done.     A  more  thoughtful  man,  however,  would 
say,  not  without  reason,  that  these  three  counsels  were  gi-eat 
blessings  for  Ireland  and  for  Scotland  too.     It  was  well  that 
Ciaran  was  called  away  so  soon  to  heaven  before  jealousy  or 
rivalry  made  enemies  for  Clonmacnoise;  it  was  well  surely  that 
Molaise  of  Innismurray  sent  Columba  to  i^cotland  to  preach 
the  Gospel ;   and  it  was.well  too  that  Mochuda  left  Hahan  ; 
for  it  was  only  to  found  a  greater  and  more  magnificent 
monastery  at  Eismore.    So  Providence  always  out  of  seeming 
evil  brings  forth  good. 

There  w^as  hardly  time  for  Ciaran  himself  to  do  any 
literary  work  at  Clonmacnoise — he  built  the  house  and  blessed 
it ;  and  was  then  summoned  to  his  Father's  House  in  heaven. 
There  is,  however,  an  old  Gaelic  poem  widely  celebrated, 
which  is  attributed  to  Ciaran.  It  begins  with  the  words 
"  An  rim,  an  ri,  an  richid  rain,"  and  seems  to  have  boon  a 
fruitless  praver  that  God  would  spare  his  life  to  do  greater 
works  for  His  glory.  God  thought,  however,  he  had  done 
enough,  and  called  him  home.  Pie  was,  say  the  ancients, 
like  to  John  the  Apostle  in  his  life  and  habits — pure,  and 
young,  and  loving,  soaring  up  to  God  on  the  wings  of  the 
eagle. 


^  One  of  the  *'  Patres  priores."     *  "  Cheranus  Scottorum  gloria  geutia." 


ST.  CI  ABA  N  OF  CLONMACNOISE.  265 

Like  most  of  the  Apostles  of  the  etirly  Irish  Church, 
Ciaran  led  an  extremely  ascetic  life.  He  never  passed  a  day 
without  manual  labour  for  the  benefit  of  the  brethren.  He 
was  never  idle.  He  slept  on  the  naked  clay  ;  he  had  a  stone 
for  his  pillow  ;  he  never  wore  a  soft  garment  next  his  skin. 
He  was,  as  we  know,  above  all,  humble,  gentle  and  chaste ; 
he  never,  it  is  said,  told  a  lie  and  never  looked  on  the  face  of 
a  woman.  He  never  drank  ale  or  milk,  except  diluted  one- 
third  with  water.  He  never  ate  any  bread  except  one-third, 
sand  was  mixed  with  it.  He  was  thus  a  man  of  humility, 
abstinence,  and  prayer,  and  therefore  God  blessed  the  work 
of  his  hand,  and  exalted  him  both  during  his  life  and  after 
his  death.  There  was  no  saint  more  beloved  by  his  own  con- 
temporaries— by  Enda,  and  Kevin,  and  Finnian,  and 
Columcille.  They  all  loved  him  dearly  whilst  he  was  with 
them  ;  and  their  hearts  were  sore  at  his  departure.  And  to 
this  day,  at  least  by  the  Shannon's  shore,  there  is  no  .^ainr 
whose  name  is  held  in  more  affectionate  remembrance  than 
the  founder  of  Clonmacnoise. 

The  Eclais  Beg,  in  which  St.  Ciaran  died,  became  not 
unnaturally  a  sacred  spot.  It  was  the  very  centre  of  the 
holiness  of  Clonmacnoise.  He  left  several  lelics,  which  the 
piety  of  his  children  deemed  most  holy,  and  not  without  cause. 
The  Imda  Chiarain,  or  cow-skin  couch,  on  which  he  died  was 
deemed  a  most  precious  relic,  and  cured  the  sick  who  were 
allowed  to  stretch  their  feeble  frames  over  it.  His  holy  body 
was  buried  in  the  Eclais  Beg,  or  TempuU  Chiaran,  and  bis 
grave  is  still  venerated  by  the  faithful,  although  the  site  is 
rather  doubtful.  The  "Cemetery  of  noble  Cluain"  was 
deemed  as  sacred  a  burial  place  as  any  in  Rome  itself;  and 
the  noblest  families  in  all  the  land  built  mortuary  chapels 
within  the  sacred  enclosure.  There  were  saints  interred  in 
its  cemetery,  it  was  said,  "  whose  prayers  would  make  even 
hell  a  heaven.''  The  sound  of  its  bell  was  holy,  and 
frightened  away  the  demons.  The  shadow  of  its  round  tower 
sanctified  the  soil  that  it  fell  upon.  Ciaran  brought  to  heaven 
by  his  prayers,  during  their  life  or  after  their  death,  the  souls 
of  all  those  who  were  buried  in  that  holy  ground.  Or,  as  it 
is  quaintly  put  in  the  Registry  of  Clonmacnoise — '^What 
souls  harboured  in  the  bodies  buried  under  that  dust  may 
never  be  adjudged  to  damnation — wherefore  those  of  the 
sume  (royal)  blood  have  divided  the  churchyard  amongst 
themselves  by  the  consent  of  Kyran,  and  of  his  holy  clerks." 

This  is  not  the  imagining  of  later  writers,  for  the  vener- 
able  Adamnan   tells    us    that    when   after   the    Synod    of 


^  This  was  the  hide  of  the  dun  cow  which  Ciaran  brought    to  Cionard 
where  she  gave  milk  to  the  Twelve  Apostle-s  of  Erin. 


2()6  THK  S(;iI()()L  OF  CLONMACNOISE. 

Diumceat  (a.d.  585)  St.  Columcille  cnmc  to  visit  Clonmac- 
noise,  he  teok  ;i  portion  oftlie  same  holy  clay  to  bring  it  home  ; 
but  threw  it  into  the  sea  at  Coryvreckan  to  still  the  raging 
waves,  which  thereupon  became  quite  calm. 

II. — The  E/UIned  Churches  at  Clonmacnoise. 

The  existing  ruins  at  Clonmacnoise,  though  now  so  much 
dilapidated,  are  highly  interesting,  both  from  the  historical 
and  artistic  point  of  view.  They  belong  to  different  periods, 
the  date  of  which  can  be  easily  ascertained,  and  thus  furnish 
many  authentic  specimens  of  the  Irish  Romanesque. 

Of  St.  Ciaran's  original  church  or  oratory — the  Eclais 
Beg — not  a  trace  now  remains.  The  grave  of  the  saint  is 
pointed  out  close  by  the  southern  wall  of  the  ruin  called 
Tempull  Ciaran,  which  is  in  the  very  centre  of  the  church- 
yard, and  in  all  probability  was  built  on  the  site  of  Ciaran's 
original  oratory. 

The  following  are  the  principal  ruined  churches  still  to  be 
seen  at  Clonmacnoise  : — 

(1.)  There  is    the    Daimhlaig,    or   Great  Stone-Church, 

tailed  also  M'Dermott's  Church,  and  sometimes  the  Cathedral. 

We  know  for  certain  that  it  was  built  in  a.d.  009  by  Flann, 

King  of  Ireland,  and  by  Colman,  abbot  of  Clonmacnoise  and 

Clonard  at  that  time.      The  beautiful  stone  cross  which  was 

-  erected  to  commemorate  the  building  of  the  church  itself  is 

still  standing  before  the  great  western  doorway,  and  tells  its 

own  story.      In  two  of  the  compartments  of  the  sculptured 

shaft  a  prayer  is  asked  of  every  one  who  passes  for  the  souls' 

rest  of  the  founders  of  the  church.     In  one  it  is  : — OH  DO 

FLAVNB    MAC    MAELSECHLAIND— '' A  prayer    for 

Fland,  son  of  Maelsechlaind.'*  In  the  other  it  is  : — COLMAN 

DORROINI  IN  CROISSA  AR  IN  HI  FLAND— that  is, 

"  Colman  made  this  cross  f('r  King  Fland."     The  inscriptions 

are   partly  effiiced,    but  not  so  as  to  obliterate   the   words 

completely.       Taken  in   connection   with   the  entry  in   the 

Annals  of  Clonmacnoise,  a.d.  901  [recte  908),  they  are  highly 

interestin":.     *'  King^  Flann  and  Colman  Connellao^h  this  year 

founded  the  church  in  Clonmacnoise  called  the  Church  of  the 

Kings."     Colman  outlived  King  Flann,  who  died  in  a.d.  916, 

by  eight  years,  and  no  doubt  tliis  cross,  as  Petrie  points  out, 

was  erected  for  the  two-fold  purpose  of  commemorating  tho 

foundation  of  the  church,  and  of  nuirking  the  sepulchre  of 

King  Flann,  its  pious  founder.      The  sculptures  on  the  west 

side  of  the  shaft  represent  St.  Ciaran  and  King  Dinrmaid  iu 


THE  RUINED  CHURCHES  AT  CLONMACXOI  xE.  267 

the  act  of  planting  the  first  pole  of  the  Eclais  Bog;  the 
opposite  side  represents  in  high  relief  several  events  in  the 
life  of  our  Saviour,  as  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture.  Hence 
this  great  cross  came  to  be  called  the  Cross  of  the  Scriptures 
— Cros  7ta  Screaptra.  It  is  fifteen  feet  in  height ;  and  is  a 
most  interesting  specimen  of  Celtic  art  in  sculpture  at  that 
early  and  unpropitious  period.  This,  the  Cathedral  Church., 
afterwards  came  to  be  called  M'Derraott's  Church,  be -ause, 
as  the  Registry  of  Clonmacnoise  informs  us,  ''  Tomaltach 
M'Dermott,  chief  of  Moylurg,  repaired  or  rebuilt  the  Great 
Church  upon  his  own  costs ;  audit  was  for  the  cemetery  of  the 
Clanmaolruany  that  he  did  so/'  This  Tomaltach  Mac 
Dermott,  the  King  of  Moylurg,  "  a  most  formidable  and 
triumphant  man  against  his  enemies,  and  a  man  of  the 
greatest  bounty  and  alms-giving,"  died  in  the  year  a.d.  1336,^ 
which  sufficiently  fixes  the  period  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Great  Church.  There  is  an  inscription  over  the  northern 
doorway  in  Latin,  which  tells  that  "  Odo,  Dean  of  Clonmac- 
noise, caused  it  to  bo  made,"  probably  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

(2.)  On  the  western  boundary  of  the  church-yard  is  the 
ruined  chancel  of  the  church  called  Tempull  Fiimian,  which 
probably  dates  back  to  the  ninth  century,  and  was  built  on 
the  sight  of  a  more  ancient  oratory  dedicated  to  St.  Finnian 
of  Clonard,  if  not  actually  built  by  that  saint.  He  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  *  tutor '  of  Ciaran,  and  loved  him  much  ;  so 
that  doubtless  he  came  to  visit  his  former  disciple  at 
Clonmacnoise.  Close  at  hand  on  the  river's  bank  is  Finnian 's 
Well ;  and  tradition  still  points  out  the  grave  in  which  he  is 
said  to  be  buried.  The  chancel  arch  of  this  church  in  three 
orders  is  highly  ornamented,  and  is  considered  an  excellent 
specimen  of  the  Celtic  Romanesque.  The  round  tower,  which 
adjoins  this  church,  appears  to  be  coeval  with  the  building  ; 
and  doubtless  both  were  erected  during  the  Danish  wars.  It 
is  only  56  feet  high,  but  it  is  49  ieet  in  circumference.  The 
material  is  a  fine  sandstone  probably  carrier]  thither  on  the 
river,  for  there  is  none  in  the  neighbourhood.  Lord 
Dunraven  considered  it  to  be  the  most  interesting  monument 
at  Clonmacnoise,  and  Petri e  describes  it  as  wholly  built  of 
ashlar  masonry  with  a  hue  sandstone  laid  in  horizontal 
"onr^'^s.  Its  conical  roof  is  built  in  a  peculiar  herring-bon  • 
ashlar,  such  as  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  Ireland. 

This  tower  is  commonly  called  McCarthy's  Tower  ;  and  the 
church   is   frequently   called    McCarthy's    Church,  from    a 


Annals  of  Loch  C9. 


268  TllK  SCHOOL  OF  CLONM ACNOISK. 

mistaken  notion  that  it  was  built  by  Finneen  McCarthy  of 
Desmond  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century. 
M'Carthy  certainly  gave  some  land  to  the  community  of 
Clonmacnoise  to  secure  their  prayers,  and  what  he  valued 
even  more,  a  burial-place  in  its  holy  soil  for  his  own  royal 
race.  TerapuU  Finnian  was  assigned  to  him  for  the  purpose  ; 
and  it  was  doubtless  repaired  by  M'Carthj^ ;  but  it  was  built 
long  before  any  of  his  name  was  known  at  Clonmacnoi.>e. 

(o.)  The  O'Conors,  Kings  of  Connaught,  also  gave  a  grant 
of  many  townlands  to  secure  a  mortuary  chapel  at  Clonmac- 
noise. It  was  known  as  Tenipull  Conor,  andw^as  founded  by 
Cathal,  King  of  Connaught,  who  died  a.d.  1010;  he 'was  son 
of  that  Conor  (Conchobhar)  who  gave  his  name  to  their  royal 
race. 

(4.)  Another  kinglj^  family  of  Connaught — the  O'Kellys 
of  Hy-Many — built  themselves  a  sepulchral  chapel  within  the 
sacred  enclosure,  which  they  paid  for  with  many  a  broad 
acre.  It  was  founded  by  Conor  O'Kelly  of  Moenmoy,  in  the 
year  a.d.  Il(i7,  as  the  Four  Masters  inform  us.  He  was  a 
great  chief,  famed  for  his  royal  bounty,  and  rultd  over  Hy- 
Many  for  fort}^  years. 

(5.)  King  Diarmaid,  who  helped  St.  Cinr;!n  to  fix  the 
first  stake  enclosing  the  sacred  boundary  of  Clonmacnoise, 
belonged  to  the  southern  Hy-Niall  race.  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  his  royal  descendants  had  their  chapel  there. 
It  was  called  Tempull  High — the  King's  Church — nnd  some- 
times Tempull  Ua  Maelshechlainii,  irom  the  family  name, 
which  the  southern  Hy-Niall  afterwards  assumed.  It  stands 
south-east  of  the  cathedral,  and  measures  40  feet  in  length 
by  17  feet  in  breadth. 

(6.)  The  beautiful  round  tower  at  the  north-western 
corner  of  the  cemetery  is  commonly  called  O'Horke's  Tower, 
because,  as  the  Rcgist7'y  of  Clonmacnoise  tells  us,  it  was  I  uilt 
by  Fergal  O'Eorke,  King  of  Connaught,  towards  the  middh- 
of  the  tenth  century.  This  prince,  tor  his  soul's  sake,  and 
as  the  price  of  his  family  sepulchre,  undertook  to  keep  all  the 
churches  in  repair  during  his  own  life  ;  and  he  also  built  tlu 
causeway  still  in  part  existing  from  the  Yew  Tree  to  the 
Ijough.  The  portion  of  the  tower  built  by  O'Horke's  men  in 
the  tenth  century  is  of  fine- join  ted  ashlar  masonry ;  but 
the  upper  portion,  executed  two  centuries  later  in  a.d.  11o5, 
is  of  ruder  and  ver}^  inferior  workmanship.^  At  that  datt* 
lightning  struck  the  tower,  overthrowing  its  roof  and  twenty 


^  See  Lord  Dunniven's  Notes. 


THE   RUINED  CHURCHES  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  269 

feet  of  wall.  The  coarser  masonry  represents  the  restoration 
then  efTected  by  Turlogh  O'Conor  and  O'Maloiie,  Abbot  of 
Clonmacnoise.  This  tower  is  now  sixty-two  feet  high,  and 
fifty-six  feet  in  circumference.  There  were  other  chapels  and 
sepulchral  oratories  at  Clonmacnoise,  which  have  now  com- 
pletely disappeared,  and  to  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to 
make  further  reference.  The  nunnery  whose  foundations 
have  only  recently  been  brought  to  light,  was  about  1,000 
paces  to  the  east  of  the  monastery. 

On  the  western  border  beyond  the  cemetery  are  the  ruins 
of  a  very  striking  IS^orman  Keep,  commonly  called  .De  Lacy's 
Castle.  It  was  built,  however,  in  a.d.  1214,  not  by  De  Lacy, 
who  was  then  dead,  but  by  John  de  Grray,^  Bishop  of  Nor- 
wich, an  able  and  vigorous  justiciary,  who  built  this  strong 
keep  to  protect  the  monastery  and  defend  the  passes  of  the 
Shannon  against  the  turbulent  Connaught  men.  Like  all 
the  Norman  work  of  that  period  in  Ireland,  it  is  as  solid  and 
massive  as  if  it  were  built  of  solid  rock,  not  ])j  man  but  by 
nature. 

The  churchyard  has  many  inscribed  tombstones,  which 
are  fully  described  by  Petrie  and  by  Miss  Stokes  in  her  inter 
esting  work  on  Christian  Inscriptions.  These  were  the 
tombstones  placed  over  the  graves  of  the  abbots  of  Clonmac- 
noise, for  the  humble  brothers  of  the  monastery  were  interred 
beneath  '  noteless  burial  stones.'  The  most  striking  feature 
exhibited  in  these  monuments  is  their  wonderful  variety  of 
design  and  the  delicacy  of  execution. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  tombstones  is  that  placed 
over  ''  Suibine,  son  of  Mailae  Humai,''  who,  in  the  Chronicon 
Scotormn,  is  described  as  an  anchorite  and  choice  scribe,  and 
whose  death  is  marked  at  the  year  a.d.  890  or  891.  He  is 
beyond  doubt  the  person  who,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  is 
described  by  Florence  of  Worcester  as  the  "most  learned 
Doctor  of  the  Scots" — Doctor  Scotorum  peritissimus — truly 
a  high  eulogy  of  Suibine,  whose  name  is  inscribed  on  this 
stone,  and  whose  dust  lies  beneath  it. 

There  is  another  stone  on  which  is  incised  a  cross  of  very 
peculiar  form  with  the  simple  legend  Blaimac,  who,  as  we 
learn  from  the  same  Chronicon  Scotorum,  was  princeps,  or 
ruling  Abbot  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  died  in  a.d.  896. 

There  were  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  forty  of  these 
inscribed  stones  at  Clonmacnoise,  when  it  was  first  visited  by 
Petrie  in  early  life.     Many  of  them  have  since  disappeared, 


1  See  Professor  Stokes'  Lectures, 


-70  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONMACNOISK 

but  a  few  new  oiu^s  have  been  discovered  during  more  recent 
excavations,  so  that  the  place  is  still  a  perfect  treasury  of  the 
monuments  of  our  ancient  art.  There  is  an  ancient  Gaedhlic 
poem  in  the  Burgundian  Library  at  Brussels  which  gives  an 
account  of  the  kings  and  warriors  who  are  buried  in  *' the 
city  of  Ciaran,  the  prayerful,  the  pious  and  the  wise.'*^  A 
somewhat  similar  poeu),  written  by  Conaing  Buidhe  O'Mul- 
conry,  is  in  Trinity  College,  and  has  been  translated  by  the 
late  Mr.  Hennessy.^  The  second  stanza  tells  how  Turlough 
O'Oonor  and  his  ill-starred  son,  Roderick,  the  last  King  of 
Ireland,  sleep  on  either  side  of  the  high  altar  in  Temple  Mor, 
which  the  Four  Masters  identify  with  Temple-Ciaran.  The 
independence  of  Erin  sleeps  with  them  in  their  tomb. 

III. — The  Scholars  of  Clonmacnoise. 

Tiit,re  was  one  feature  in  the  government  of  the  monastery 
of  Clonmacnoise  which  served  to  make  it  more  than  any  other 
school  in  Ireland  a  kind  of  national  seminary — it  belonged  to 
no  tribe.  Its  monks  and  its  scholars  came  from  all  parts  of 
the  country  ;  and  its  abbots  were  chosen  not  from  any  family, 
or  from  any  tribe,  but  from  all  the  provinces  without  distinc- 
tion. Its  founder  was  a  Connaughtman  of  half-northern  and 
half-southern  extraction.  His  successor,  St.  Oena,  was  from 
the  territor}^  of  Laegbis  (Leix)in  Leinster.  The  third  abbot, 
MacNisse,  was  of  the  Ultonians  ;  and  the  fourth,  Alithir,  who 
died  in  a.d.  599,  was  a  Munsterman.  This  wise  policy  tended 
to  develop  a  generous  and  large-minded  spirit  in  the  commu- 
nity, which  must  have  been  productive  of  the  happiest  efiects. 

The  influence  of  Clonmacnoise  as  a  great  school  was  first 
displayed  during  the  discussions  on  the  Easter  question.  The 
Columbian  houses  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  following  the 
example  of  the  mother  house  at  Hy,  adhered  to  the  ancient 
method  of  fixing  the  date  of  Easter.  On  the  other  hand  the 
religious  houses  of  the  south  and  south-eastern  parts  of 
Ireland,  in  obedience  to  the  directions  of  Pope  Honorius, 
convoked  a  Synod  at  Magh  Lene  in  King's  County  to  discuss 
this  most  important  question.  Magh  Lene  was  near  Durrow, 
and  not  far  from  Clonmacnoise ;  but  Durrow  was  Columbian, 
and  its  abbot  remained  away.  Cummian,  however,  expressly 
tells  us  that  Ciaran's  successor  was  present  at  that  great 
assembly  and  sanctioned  its  decrees.  Though  belonging  to 
the   northern    half — for    Clonmacnoise  was  in    the   ancient 

*  It  has  been  translated  for  Miss  Stokes  by  Mr.  O'Looney. 

*  See  Christian  Inscriptions,  page  79. 


THE  SCHOLARS  OF  CLONMACXOISE.  '271 

Meath — the  abbot  bad  learning  and  courage  enoiigb  to  see 
that  the  Irisli  practice  was  opposed  to  that  of  the  universal 
Church,  and  ought  to  be  given  up  in  favour  of  the  Roman 
discipline. 

It  is  from  this  time  forward  that  Clonmacnoise  begins  to 
rank  as  the  first  of  our  Irish  Schools.  It  was  already  largely 
endowed  by  the  kings  of  Meath  and  of  Hy-Many,  to  both 
of  whom,  so  to  speak,  it  belonged,  for  the  river  was  the  only 
boundary.  These  possessions  were  constantly  growing  larger. 
In  A.D.  648  or  649,  Diarmaid,  King  of  Meath,  crossed  the 
Shannon  to  fight  Guaire,  King  of  Connaught,  and  his  Munster 
allies.  Diarmaid  on  his  way  to  battle  stopped  at  Clonmac- 
noise, and  begged  the  congregation  of  Ciaran  to  pray  to  Grod 
that  he  would  return  safe  home  ''  through  the  merits  of  their 
guarantee.'^  Then  the  King,  full  of  courage,  continued  his 
march,  and  fought  the  great  battle  of  Carn  Conaile,  near 
Gort,  in  wkich  he  was  completely  victorious.  On  his  return 
he  granted  the  territory  of  Tuaim-n-Eirc,  now  Lemanaghan, 
in  King's  County;  with  all  its  sub-divisions  as  an  altar  sod, 
i.e.,  church  land,  to  God  and  St.  Ciaran  for  ever,  so  that  no 
king  of  Meath  might  take  so  much  as  a  *  drink  of  water  from 
its  well  without  paying  for  it/  For  this  grant  King  Diar- 
maid also  secured  the  right  of  sepulchre  at  Clonmacnoise,  and 
was  himself  buried  there.  "What  is  stranger  still,  his  rival, 
Guaire,  towards  the  close  of  his  life  came  to  do  penance  at 
Clonmacnoise  ;  and  he,  too,  the  Generous  and  Hospitable,  was 
buried  there  in  a.d.  663,  and  no  doubt  did  not  forget  the 
monks  when  he  was  dying.  Just  at  this  time  the  plague 
wrought  great  havoc  amongst  the  saints  and  students  of  Clon- 
macnoise. Two  or  three  abbots  died  in  rapid  succession,  and 
doubtless  the  family  of  the  monastery  suffered  severely,  for 
the  frightened  students  fled  far  away.  In  a.d.  719  the  mon- 
astery was  burned.  Most  of  the  buildings  up  to  this  time 
were  probabty  of  wood,  for  it  was  not  easy  to  procure  stone 
at  Clonmacnoise.  But  the  schools  were  soon  again  at  work. 
In  A.D.  724  we  hear  of  the  death  of  Mac  Concumba,  a  learned 
scribe  of  this  monastery.  His  duty  was  to  multiply  copies  of 
valuable  works,  and  record  in  the  annals  of  the  monastery 
from  j^ear  to  year  entries  of  all  those  noteworthy  events 
which  happened  throughout  the  kingdom.  It  was  these 
scribes  who  prepared  the  materials  afterwards  so  admirably 
compiled  by  Tighernach  and  his  associates.  Another  *  choice 
scribe '  died  in  a.d.  768  ;  and  we  are  told  that  the  monaster)^ 
was  burned  again  in  a.d.  751,  and  a  third  time  in  a.d.  773- — 
on  both  occasions  probably  by  accident. 


272  TliK  SCHOOL  OF  Cl.ONMACNOISE. 

At  this  time  Clonmacnoise  was  at  the  height  of  its  literary 
glorv.  The  Danes  had  not  yet  arrived  on  the  coasts  of 
Irehmd.  Great  scholars  flourished  there,  the  fame  of  whose 
Learning  attracted  students  from  many  lands.  Fortunately 
here  we  are  not  left  to  vague  conjecture ;  we  have  definite 
historical  proofs  both  native  and  foreign.  In  the  very  year 
the  Danes  first  landed  at  Rathlin — ^in  a.d.  794  or  795 — we 
find  recorded  the  death  of  Colgan  (or  Colgu  or  Colcu),  a  pro- 
fessor of  Clonmacnoise,  who  was  probably  the  teacher  of  the 
greatest  scholar  of  that  age.  He  was  a  Munster-man  by 
birth,  but  seems  to  have  lived  and  died  at  Clonmacnoise. 
His  fame  was  very  great  amongst^his  contemporaries,  who 
called  him  Colgu  the  Wise.  He  was  lecturer  in  Theology, 
and  seems  also  to  have  been  Rector  of  the  Monastic  College. 
That  he  was  a  diligent  student  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  we 
may  infer  from  a  story  told  in  his  life.  One  day  returning 
from  his  class  hall  with  his  leathern  book-satchel  on  his 
shoulder,  he  sat  down  to  rest  at  the  place  called  Mointireanir. 
As  he  sat  a  stranger  came  up  and  began  to  converse  in  the 
kindest  and  most  aflable  way  with  the  professor,  and  even 
ventured  to  give  him  counsel  and  instruction.  Nay,  more, 
he  took  up  the  book- satchel,  and  carried  it  on  his  own 
shoulders,  letting  the  tired  master  walk  on  b}^  his  side.  The 
kind  stranger  turned  out  to  be  the  Apostle  Paul  himself.  On 
another  occasion  when  public  disputation  was  being  held  at 
the  college,  it  seems  certain  scholars  were  objecting  vigorously 
to  Colgu's  views,  when  St.  Paul  once  more  appeared  as  a 
learned  stranger,  and  was  invited  to  take  part  in  the  discus- 
sion. The  unknown  scholar  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
reasoned  so  convincingly  that  in  a  very  short  time  he  clearly 
showed  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  present  that  Colgu's  view  of 
the  question  at  issue  was  the  correct  one. 

The  celebrated  Alcuin  was  the  most  distinguished  scholar 
of  his  own  time  in  Europe.  There  is  fortunately  a  letter  of 
his  still  preserved,  which  shows  quite  clearly  that  he  was  a, 
student  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  a  pupil  of  Colgu,  and  which 
also  exhibits  the  affectionate  veneration  that  he  retained 
through  life  for  his  Alma  Mater  at  Clonmacnoise.  It  is 
addressed  to  **  Colgu,  Professor  {lectorem)  in  Ireland — the 
blessed  Master  and  Pious  Father  of  Albinus,"^  the  more 
usual  name  given  to  Alcuin  in  France,  by  Charlemagne  and 
his  courtiers.  The  writer  complains  that  for  some  time  past 
he  was  not  deemed  worthy  to  receive  any  of  those  letters  *  so 

*  Epistola  Albini  Magistri  ad  Coloum  Lectorera  in  Scotia — 
Beuedicto  Magistro,  et  Pio  Fatri  Colcuo  Alcuine  humilis  leviU  nalutera. 


THE  SCHOLARS  OF   OLONMACNOISE.  273 

precious  in  my  sight  from  your  Fatherlioocl,'  but  he  daily 
feels  the  benefit  of  his  absent  Father's  prayers.  He  adds 
that  he  sends  by  the  same  messenger  an  ahns  of  fifty  sides 
of  silver  from  the  bounty  of  King  Charles,  and  fifty  more 
from  bis  own  resources  for  tho  brotherliood.  He  also  sends 
a  quantity  of  (olive)  oil  which  it  was  then  very  difficult  to 
procure  in  Ireland,  and  asks  that  it  may  be  distributed 
amongst  the  Bishops  in  God's  honour  for  sacramental  pur- 
pose-!.  This  shows  the  thoughtful  piety  of  Alcuin,  who 
doubtless  noticed,  when  he  was  a  student  of  Clonmacnoise, 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  pure  olive  oil  for  the  holy  Chrism 
and  Extreme  Unction.  This  letter  breathes  the  most  beauti- 
ful spirit  of  piety,  and  shows  the  affectionate  gratitude  of 
Alcuin  for  the  home  jnd  the  teachers  of  his  youth. 

Colgu,  or  Colgan,  of  Clonmacnoise,  is  the  earliest 
/^^r/^^/;/(^/ who  is  nuiiced  in  our  Annals.  During  the  course 
of  the  ninth  century  the  Ferlegind  appe.irs  by  name  in  the 
School  of  Armagh,  and  during  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries  we  find  reference  made  to  these '  Readers'  in  several 
of  our  Irish  monasteries.  We  may  infer  the  nature  of  his 
office,  not  only  from  his  name — the  'reading-man'  or 
lecturer — but  also  from  the  position,  which  he  appears  to 
have  held  in  the  monastery.  He  is  different  from  the 
abbot,  and  subject  to  him,  but  he  appears  superior  to  all  the 
other  teachers  and  officials,  so  that  he  may  be  described  not 
only  as  chief  professor,  but  also  as  the  Rector  of  the  Monastic 
School  under  the  abbot.  His  position  corresponded  to  that 
of  the  scholasticus  in  the  early  Continental  schools.  Pie 
arranged  the  programme  of  study,  superintended  the  classes, 
kept  the  other  officials,  like  the  scribneoir  and  aeconomus,  to 
their  duties,  and  lectured  himself  in  the  most  important 
subjects — especially  in  Scripture  and  theology.  To  be  an 
accomplished  *  scribe,'  however,  required  very  special  gifts  not 
merely  of  beautiful  penmanship,  but  also  a  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  which  would  prevent  the  writer  from  making  grave 
mistakes  in  transcription,  thus  destroying  the  value  of  his 
manuscript.  Hence  we  find  the  samtj  person  is  frequently 
described  as  '  scribe  and  bishop ;'  and  sometimes  *  scribe, 
abbot  and  bishop.' 

Colgu  has  been  called  a  saint,  aud  justly  ;  his  piety  seems 
to  have  been  quite  equal  to  his  learning.  The  *' Prayer  of 
St.  Colgu,"  written  by  the  saint  in  Latin,  has  been  rendered 
into  English  from  the  copy  in  the  ancient  Book  of  Clonmac- 
noise, called  Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre.  It  is  a  jjrayer,  full  of 
the  deepest  and  most  ardent  devotion,  in  which  the  holy  man 

s 


274  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONMACNOltSK. 

irojjlorcs,  "  With  Thee,  0  holy  Jesus,"  the  intercession  of  all 
the  licavenly  liost  atid  of  all  the  saints,  apostles, and  martyrs, 
and  bislu)i)s,  and  viro-ins  of  the  Old  and  New  Law,  tliat, 
"  Thou,  O  Jloly  Trinity,  may  take  me  tliis  night  under  'I'hy 
protection  and  shelter,  and  defend  me  from  the  demons.  .  .  . 
and  from  desires,  from  sins,  from  transgressions,  from  dis- 
obediences .  .  .  from  the  fire  of  hell  and  eternity  .  .  .  and 
that  God  may  light  up  in  their  souls  meekness  and  charity, 
and  gratitude  and  mercy,  and  forgivene-s  in  their  hearts, 
and  in  their  thoughts,  and  in  their  souls,  and  in  their  minds, 
and  in  their  bowels/^ 

Colgan  also  wrote  another  celebrated  work  in  Irish, 
called  Scuap  ChrabJiaigJi^  or  the  "  Besom  of  ])evotion," 
which  his  namesake,  the  renowned  Franciscan,  also  a  lector 
in  theology,  pronounces  to  be  a  "  book  of  most  fervent 
prayers,  after  the  manner  of  a  litany  ;  a  book,  moreover,  of 
most  ardent  devotion  and  elevation  of  ihe  soul  to  God."^ 
Some  think  that  the  "  Besom  of  Devotion"  referred  to  by 
Colgan,  is  only  the  Litany  or  Prayer  of  St.  Colgan,  under 
another  name. 

In  spite  of  the  devastations  both  of  the  Danes  and  native 
princes  during  the  ninth  century,  learning  still  flourished  at 
Clonmacnoise.  That  Suibhne,  son  of  Maeluma,  whose  grave- 
stone may  still  be  seen  at  Clonmacnoise,  died  in  a.d.  891. 
His  fame  was  great,  not  only  in  Ireland,  but  in  England 
also.  The  Saxon  Chronicle  and  the  Annals  of  Cambria,  as  well 
as  Florence  of  Worcester,  all  notice  his  death  and  desciibe 
him  as  the  wisest  and  the  greatest  Doctor  of  the  Scots  or 
Irish,  and  the  A  finals  of  Ulster  call  him  a  "most  excellent 
scribe."  Unlortunately  we  have  none  of  his  writings  extant 
to  confirm  the  judgment  of  his  cotemporaries. 

Yet  during  this  and  the  following  century,  which  pro- 
duced these  great  scholars,  we  read  a  shameful  record  of  the 
burnings,  pillage,  and  slaughter  wrought  both  by  native  and 
foreigner  in  this  peaceful  liome  of  sanctity  and  learning. 

It  was  plundered  or  burned — genei-ally  both — on  at  least 
ten  different  occasions  by  the  Danes.  But  the  Irish  them- 
selves exceeded  even  that  bloody  record,  and  laid  sacrilegious 
hands  on  these  holy  shrines  and  their  inmates  no  less  than 
fourteen  or  fiitcen  times.  The  Danes  began  this  foul  work  ; 
both  Danes  and  Irish  continued  it  at  short  intervals  ;  the 
English  of  Athlone  completed  the  job.  Nothing  more 
shameful,  or  so  shameful,  can  be  found  in  the  annals  of  any 


*  Acta  Sanctorum^  page  379. 


THE  SCHOLARS  OF   CLONMACNOISE.  275 

even  half -civilized  country.  There  were  many  accidental 
fires  that  destroyed  the  monastic  buildings  during  tlie  first 
three  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  but  no  pillage,  no 
slaughter  is  recorded  during  that  period.  The  Danes  set  the 
bad  example,  and  several  of  the  native  princes  were  not  slow 
to  follow  it.  The  worst  of  them  was  Felim  Mac  Criffan 
(Fedhlimidh  Mac  Crimthann),  King  of  Cashel.  He  plun- 
dered Clonmacnoise  and  its  termon  lands  three  times,  at  one 
of  which,  A.D.  833,  he  spoiled  and  pillaged  up  to  the  church 
doors,  and  butchered  the  monks  like  sheep — -jugulatio  is  the 
word  in  the  Annals.  He  did  the  same  to  Durrow  and  several 
other  religious  houses.  He  broke  into  the  oratory  of  Kildare 
in  A.D.  836,  and  took  Forannan,  the  Primate  of  Armagh  and 
his  attendants  prisoners,  forcing  the  Primate  to  give  a  re- 
luctant consent  to  his  claim  to  be  recofrnised  as  Hi^rh  Kins: 
of  all  Erin.  Ten  years  later  he  died  after  a  stormy  life,  and 
the  Annals  of  Ulster  describe  him  as  the  best  of  the  Scots — 
optinius  Scotorum — a  scribe  and  an  anchorite  !  There  is  no 
foundation  tor  Dr.  Todd's  assertion  that  he  was  an  *  abbot 
and  bishop,'^  except  a  poetic  reference  to  his  bachall^  which 
the  poet  mockingly  says  he  left  in  the  shrubbery,^  and  which 
was  carried  off  by  his  rival,  Niall  Caille,  King  of  the  North. 
Neither  is  there  any  ground  for  O'Donovan's  assertion  in  the 
note  that  "  he  was  Abbot  and  Bishop  of  Cashel  in  right  of 
his  crown  of  Munster."  There  was  neither  an  abbot  nor 
bishop  of  Ca>hel  at  the  time,  nor  for  many  years  after ;  and 
although  Cormac  Mac  CuUinan  was  certamly  a  bishop,  he  is 
not  described  as  Bishop  of  Cashel  either  in  our  Annals  or  our 
Martyrologies.^  The  warlike  Felim  Mac  Criifan  retired  to  a 
hermita^i^e  a  short  time  before  his  death  to  do  penance  for  his 
many  crimes  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  employed  his  leisure 
in  copying  MSS.  Hence  the  Marty rology  of  Do7iegal  com.- 
memorates  him  simply  as  an  'anchorite'*  who  retired  into 
solitude  to  bewail  his  sins,  and  as  his  penance  seems  to  have 
been  sincere,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  him  becoming  a  saint. 
The  Chronicon  Scotorum^  whilst  recording  his  death,  as  that 
of  *a  scribe  and  anchorite,  and  the  best  of  the  Scots,'  records 
a  little  before  that  Ciaran  followed  him  to  Munster  after  the 
last  violation  of  his  monastery,  and  gave  him  a  thrust  of  his 


^  Wiirs  of  the  G.  G.     Introduction,  xiv. 

2  Four  Masters,  a.d.  840. 

3  Professor  Stokes  repeats  these  mistakes  in  his  Lectures — Celtic  Church, 
page  '200.  Keating',  however  calls  Cormac  Archbishop  of  Cashel,  which  he 
certainly  was  not. 

*  At  his  conference  with  Niall  at  Clonfert,  Felim  sat  in  the  seat  of  the 
ftbbots  as  a  token  of  his  superiority  over  Niall,  not  as  a  bishop. 


276  THE  SCHOOL  OF   C'LO**AIACN0ISK. 

crozior,  causing*  an  internal  wounrl,  wliich,  no  doubt,  hasten  eel 
his  death,  and  perhaps  prompted  him  to  do  penance.  The 
true  date  of  liis  death  is  a.h.  847. 

We  cannot  stay  to  record  the  many  similar  deeds  of 
violence  from  which  the  sanctuary  of  Ciaran  suffered  durin"* 
these  lawless  times.  Even  the  relii>ious  communities  them- 
selves weie  infected  with  the  evil  spirit  that  prevailed  around 
them.  The  monks  sometimes  took  vip  arms,  not  merely  to 
protect  themselves  against  murderous  aggression,  which 
would  be  reasonable  enough,  but  to  wage  war  on  their  own 
account  as  well.  It  was  u  woful  time  for  Inisfail.  She  was 
writhing  in  the  grasp  of  the  invader ;  and  no  sooner  did  that 
grasp  begin  to  relax  than  her  own  false  princes  drew  their 
aimless  swords  in  fratricidal  strife.  Even  the  salt  of  the  e^irrh 
lust  its  savour — lay  usurpers  called  themselves  the  Heirs  of 
Patrick  in  Armagh,  and  the  monks  of  St.  Ciaran  forgot  to 
pray,  and  put  their  trust  in  sword  and  shield,  like  the  lawless 
chieftains  around  them  : — 

"  Sure  it  was  a  maddening  prospect  thus  to  see  this  storied  land, 
Like  some  wretched  culprit,  writhing  in  the  strong  avenger's  hand — 
Kneeling, foaming,  weeping,  shrieking,  woman- weakand  woman-loud — 
Better,  better,  Mother  Erin  !  they  had  wrapped  thee  in  thy  shroud.*' 

IV. — Annalists  of  Clonmacnoish;. 

During  the  eleventh  century  Clonmacnoise  produced 
several  most  distinguished  scholars.  This  was  the  earliest 
era  for  prose  chroniclers  in  Ireland.  Hitherto  the  chronicles  of 
the  kingdom  were  written  in  verse,  which  greatly  facilitated 
Ihe  work  of  the  professional  sheanachies.  It  was  the  safest 
way  to  preserve  historj?"  in  those  turbulent  day.«.  The  monas- 
tery might  be  burned,  and  the  parchments  all  destroyed  ; 
but  so  Ion 2^  as  the  rhvuiin":  chronicler,  or  even  one  of  his 
disciples  survived,  the  historical  poem  committed  to  their 
faithful  memory  could  not  perish.  Amongst  these  rhyming 
chroniclers  there  are  several  whose  pi)ems  are  still  extant, 
although  unpublished.  Such,  for  instance,  were  Eochy 
O'Flinn  and  Kennett  O'llartigan,  and  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury Gilla  Caemhain,  who  died  in  a.d.  1072.  But  during 
that  century  a  new  race  of  prose  chroniclers  arose  for  the 
first  time  in  Ireland.  Of  these  the  two  most  distinsfuishod 
were  Flann  of  Monasterboice,  who  died  in  a.d,  1056,  and  his 
illustrious  contemporary  Tighernach,  the  greatest  glory  of 
the  School  of  Clonmacnoise. 

Of  the   personal   history  of  Tighernach  we  unl'ortuuatelv 


ANNALISTS    OF    CLONMACNOISE.  277 

know  little.  He  belonged  to  the  Sil  Muiredhaigh  of  Magh 
Aei — the  royal  race  of  Connaught — of  which  the  O'Conors 
were  the  cljiefs.  His  family  name  was  O'Braoin/  and  we  are 
merely  told  that  he  was  Erenach  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  else- 
where, that  he  was  Coinarb  of  Ciaran  and  Comari  of 
Roscommon.  Like  St.  Ciaran  himself,  he  was  a  native  of  the 
CO.  Rosrommon,  which  bordered  on  Clonmacnoise ;  and  he 
was  doubtless  educated  in  that  monastery.  Plis  death  is 
recorded  under  date  of  a.d.  1088,  in  all  our  Annals  ;  and  he 
is  described  as  a  Saoi  or  Chief  Doctor,  in  Wisdom,  Learning, 
and  Oratory.  His  bones  repose  in  the  holy  clay  of  Clonmac- 
noise, but  the  exact  place  is  not  known. 

Tighernach  truly  was  one  of  the  greatest  Doctors  of  the 
Grael.  His  Annals  are  yet  extant,  and  prove  him  to  have 
been  a  man  of  great  and  various  learning.  Unfortunately 
we  have  no  perfect  copy  of  his  Annals.  There  are  many 
gaps  in  the  entries,  and  the  original  text  has  been  greatly 
defaced  by  the  errors  of  ignorant  copyists.  Dr.  O'Conor's 
edition  in  the  Rerum  Hibernicartmi  Scriptores  is  by  no 
means  faultless,  and  the  book  is  so  rare  and  expensive,  that 
although  Tighernach  is  much  talked  about  he  is  very  little 
read. 

Both  Flann  of  the  Monastery  and  Tighernach  have  done 
much  to  fix  the  true  chronology  of  Irish  historical  events. 
They  were  men  of  wide  culture,  and  were  familiar  with  the 
great  Ecclesiastical  historians — Eusebius,  Jerome,  Orosius, 
Africanus — and  followed  their  example  in  giving  a  sketch 
of  universal  history  in  the  opening  pages  of  their  Annals. 
They  were  acquainted  not  merely  with  the  chronology  of  the 
Bible,  like  several  of  their  predecessors,  but  also  with  the 
history  and  chronology  of  Greece  and  Rome  and  the  great 
Eastern  Empires.  The  special  value  of  their  work  is  that  for 
the  first  time  in  our  history  they  synchronize  the  leading  facts 
in  Irish  history  with  the  great  events  of  the  general  history 
of  antiquity.  They  were  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the 
use  of  the  Olympian  Era,  the  Era  from  the  Building  of  the 
City,  and  the  Christian  Era,  and  were  thus  enabled  to  fix  the 
true  dates  ot  the  reigns  of  our  early  monarchs.  This  was  no 
easy  task ;  for  hitherto  there  were  confused  lists  of  Kings 
often  handed  down  by  memory  with  the  length  of  their 
reigns ;  but  there  was,  so  to  speak,  no  definite  starting  point. 
Tighernach  himself,  who  was  a  man  of  highly  critical  mind, 


^  It  is  not  unlikely  that  his  family  resided  at  Cluain  Ui  Braoin,  now 
Cloonyhrian,  near  Boyle. 


278  THE  SCHOOL  of  clonmacnoise. 

saw  this  difticulty,  and  made  the  rainous  stutemcnt  that  bo'ore 
the  reign  of  Ciiubacth  and  the  founding  of  Emania  all  the 
historical  monuments  of  the  Scots  were  uncertain.  It  is 
strange  indeed  that  he  dates  our  authentic  history  from  the 
reign  of  a  mere  provincinl  king.  The  real  reason,  however, 
seems  to  be  that  from  Cinibaeth  forward,  he  found  in  the 
poems  of  Eochuidh  O'Flinn  definite  lists  of  the  Ulster  Kings, 
and  of  the  Higli  Kings  nlso,  which  enabled  him  to  trace  their 
genealogy,  and  fix  the  dates.  But  he  could  find  no  such 
accurate  lists  of  the  earlier  kings,  and  hence  he  pronounces 
the  bardic  histories  of  the  earlier  period  to  be  uncertain. 

Tighernach  was  piobably  the  hrst  Irish  historian  who  used 
the  common  era — that  of  the  Incarnation.  But  in  the  earlier 
entries  he  dates  Irora  the  Creation,  giving  also  the  Lunar 
Epact,  and  the  Day  of  the  Week  for  the  Kalends  of  January. 
There  are  certainly  some  errors  in  these  dates  ;  but  they  have 
arisen  probably  from  the  ignorance  of  the  transcribers.  The 
Annals  written  by  himself  came  down  to  the  date  of  his  death 
in  A.D.  1088 ;  and  the  scribe  continued  them  to  a.d.  1178. 
Various  subsequent  additions  were  made  by  different  writers 
down  to  A.D.  1407,  where  the  entire  chronicle  ends. 

These  Annals  undoubtedly  furnish  the  earliest  and  most 
authentic  record  that  we  possess  of  our  national  history. 
Their  author  was  a  man  of  judgment,  learning,  and  candour. 
Hence  the  statements  of  Tighernach,  supported  as  they 
are  by  collateral  evidence  in  very  many  cases,  may  always 
be  accepted  as  authentic  history.  It  is  very  probable  the 
work  was  left  in  an  unfinished  state  ;  and  this  is  all  the  more 
lo  be  regretted,  because  he  had  materials  at  hand,  very  many 
of  which  have  since  unfortunately  perished.  The  Irish  of 
Tighernach  is  considered  very  pure,  like  that  of  Cormac  Mac 
Cullinan,  for  it  was  the  classic  era  of  the  Gaedhlic  language. 
The  Annals,  however,  are  too  often  half-Latin,  half-Gaedhlic, 
although  the  writer  could  have  done  the  work  much  better 
by  adopting  either  language  exclusively. 

To  Clonmacnoise  we  also  owe  the  Chronicon  Scotonim^ 
which  has  been  very  ably  edited  by  the  late  lamented  W.  M. 
Hennessy,  and  is  published  in  the  Rolls  Series.  The  text  is 
mainly  taken  from  a  transcript  made  by  the  celebrated 
Duald  M'Firbis,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Ubrar}^  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.  O'Curry  thought  it  was  a  compilation 
made  by  M'Firbis^  from  different  sources,  but  in  this  opinion 
that  eminent  scholar  was  mistaken.     The  work  produi'CHl  by 

^  See  Lectuiea,  page  lii7. 


ANNALISTS  Of  CLONMACNOISti.  279 

M'Fii'bis  IS  a  mere  copy  of  the  original  work,  which  was 
undoubtedly  composed  and  preserved  at  Clonraacnoise.  This 
is  quite  evident,  as  Heunessy  remarks,  from  an  entry  made 
under  date  of  the  year  a.d.  718  by  M'Firbis  himself.  ''A 
front  of  two  leaves  of  the  old  book  out  of  which  1  copy  this 
is  wanting",  and  I  leave  what  is  before  me  of  this  page  for 
them.     I  am  Dubhaltach  Firbisigh.'^ 

The  entries  in  this  Chronicle  of  the  Scots  are  very  brief 
and  condensed  ;  but  contain  scraps  of  most  valuable  infor- 
mation not  to  be  found  in  other  authorities.  They  are 
particularly  valuable  in  all  that  refers  to  Clonmacnoise  as 
well  as  to  its  neighbouring  territories  and  monastic  houses. 
In  the  MS.  of  the  Koyal  Irish  Academy  there  is  prefixed  a 
note  written  in  Gaedblic,  which  attributes  the  composition  of 
the  Chronicle  to  Gilla-Christ  O'Maeileoin — that  is  O'Malone — 
abbot  of  Clonmacnoise,  who  flourished  in  the  twelfth  century. 
This  is  highly  probable.  O'Malone  was  a  very  distinguished 
scholar  of  Clonraacnoise,  and  was  present  at  the  Synod  of 
Uisneach  held  in  the  year  a.d.  1111,  of  which  Synod  this 
Chronicle  alone  gives  original  and  detailed  information.  The 
writer  takes  care  to  add  that  Gillachrist  Ua  Maeileoin, 
abbot  of  Cluain,  with  the  congregation  of  Ciaran  were 
present  at  the  Synod.  The  death  of  this  learned  abbot  is 
noticed  at  a.d.  1123,  where  he  is  described  as  "  the  fountain 
of  knowledge  and  charity,  the  head  of  the  prosperity  and 
afiiuence  of  Erin.''  In  its  present  form  the  Chronicle  has 
been  continued  by  another  hand  down  to  the  year  a.d.  1150. 
It  is,  therefore,  a  later,  but  hardly  less  important  Chronicle, 
than  that  of  Tighernach  himself. 

The  Four  Masters  had  before  them  when  compiling  their 
own  immortal  work  a  book  which  they  call  the  Annals  of 
Clonmacnoise,  coming  down  to  the  year  a.d.  1227.  It  has 
been  conjectured  that  the  Four  Masters  in  that  statement 
refer  to  the  Chronicon  Scotonnn,  which  they  do  not  mention 
under  that  name,  and  which  doubtless  must  have  come  into 
their  hands.  But  the  Chronicon  Scotoruin,  although  it 
might  properly  be  called  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise ^  as 
having  been  compiled  in  that  monastery,  does  not  in  its 
present  form  come  down  beyond  the  year  a.d.  1150.  Neither 
can  the  work  referred  to  by  the  Four  Masters  be  the  Book 
of  Clonmacnoise,  translated  by  MacGeoghegan  in  a.d.  1627, 
for  that  work  comes  down  to  a.d.  1407,  and,  moreover,  does 
net  contain  important  passages,  which  we  know  were  in  the 
work  used  by  the  Four  Masters.  Our  own  opinion  is  that 
the  Book  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise, 


280  THE    SCHOOL    OF    CLONMACNOISE* 

to  whioli  ilie  Four  Musters  frcqu  ntly  refer,  are  identical  with 
the  CJironicon  Scotorum^  and  tliat  the  work  in  their  time 
did  come  down  to  a.d.  1227,  but  the  folios  containing  the 
years  from  a.d.  1050  to  that  date  liave  perished  from  mere 
careless  use,  if  not  from  accident. 

Y. — The  Leabiiau-na-u-Uidhre. 

Another  celebrated  work,  undoubtedly  composed  at  Clon- 
macnoise,  is  the  LeabJiar-na-Ji-Uidhre^  now  in  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy.  A  great  part  of  tlie  work  has  unfortunately 
perished,  so  that  the  lo8  folio  pages  still  remaining  can  only 
be  regarded  as  a  fragment.  The  history  of  the  book  is  very 
strange.  The  author,  or  rather  compiler,  was  Maelmuire — 
that  is,  Servant  of  Mary — a  grandson  of  the  celebrated 
Conn-na-inBocht,  or  Conn  of  the  Poor.  Conn  himself  was  a 
holy  and  learned  man,  but  seems  to  have  never  taken  Orders. 
He  was  greatly  esteemed  at  Cloiimacnoise  ;  and  founded  an 
hospital  or  refuge  for  poor  hiymen,  of  which  he  himself 
seems  to  have  been  the  head.  He  had  at  least  t^o  sons, 

one  called  Grellananaeve,  arch-priest  of  Clonmacnoise,  and 
another  called  Ceileachair,  probably  the  father  of  this 
Maelmuire.  Both  were  distinguished  scholars  and  writers, 
whose  books  Conal  MacGeoghegan  quotes  as  sources  for  his 
own  Annals  of  Clonmacnoise.  Conn's  grandson  MaeJmuire, 
-must  have  been  a  very  distinguished  scholar,  and  was  also  in 
all  probability  a  lay  brother  of  the  community  of  Clonmac- 
noise. The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  mq^qy^  the  tragic 
end  of  the  industrious  scribe.  In  a.d.  1106  he  was  slain  by 
a  party  of  robbers  in  the  midst  of  the  great  stone  church  of 
Clonmacnoise.  His  work  was  written  therefore  during  the 
last  years  of  the  eleventh,  and  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth 
century  ;  and  with  the  exception  of  the  Book  of  Armagh  is, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  the  oldest  transcript  now  existing  of  our 
great  historical  works. 

From  Clonmacnoise  the  Book  was  carried,  we  know  not 
when  or  by  whom,  all  the  way  to  Donegal.  About  the  year 
a.d.  1340  it  was  given  to  O'Connor  Sligo,  so  an  entry  in  the 
Book  itself  informs  us,  as  a  ransom  lor  O'Donnell's  chief 
historian,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  Cathal  Oge 
O'Conor.  Donnell  O'Conor,  a  chieftain  of  the  same  race, 
ordered  his  own  historian,  8igraidh  O'Cuirnin,  to  make  an 
entry  of  the  name  of  the  author,  who  composed  '•  this 
beautiful  book,"  and  he  made  that  entry  a  week  before  Good 
Friday  in  the  year  a.d.  1345.     It  seenis  that  even  then  the 


CICUIL  THE  GEOGKArilKR.  281 

opening  pages  were  lost,  and  it  is  to  Doui.ell  O'Conor  we 
owe  our  knowledge  of  the  writer,  small  as  it  is.  The  book 
remained  in  Sligo,  where  it  was  highly  prized,  for  about 
130  years,  when  the  fortune  of  war  brought  it  back  again  to 
Donegal.  In  a.d.  1470,  Hugh  Eoe  O'Donnell  took  the 
Castle  of  Sligo  Irom  the  O'Conors ;  and  amongst  other 
trophies  carried  oiF  this  book  again  to  Donegal,  as  the  Four 
Masters  proudly  record  under  date  of  that  year.  How  it 
came  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  we  are  not  informed, 
but  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  work  was  just  as  highly 
prized  in  Sligo  and  in  Donegal,  as  it  is  in  the  Academy  ;  and 
what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  the  O'Clerys  and  O'Cuirnins 
knew  much  better  how  to  interpret  its  contents  than  any  of 
the  members  of  that  learned  body. 

The  contents  of  the  fragment  are  of  a  very  varied  char- 
acter, paj?tly  biblical,  partly  historical,  partly  old  romantic 
tales.  One  of  the  most  important  documents  contained  in 
the  Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre  is  the  ancient  eleoy  on  Columcille, 
composed  by  another  bard,  the  celebrated  Dalian  Forgaill  so 
early  as  the  end  of  the  sixth  century.  This  poem  is  un- 
doubtedly genuine.  The  language  is  so  ancient  that  even 
the  great  scholars  of  Clonmacnoise  in  the  eleventh  century 
found  it  necessary  to  write  an  interlinear  gloss  in  order  to 
render  it  intelligible  to  ordinary  readers  at  that  early  date. 

VI. — DrcuiL  THE  Geographer. 

In  connection  with  the  School  of  Clonmacnoise  an  account 
of  Dicuil,  the  celebrated  Geographer,  as  he  is  called,  will  not 
be  deemed  out  of  place.  For  there  is  very  good  reason  to 
believe  that  he  was  trained  at  Clonmacnoise  ;  and  if  not 
trained  there,  he  was  certainly  a  pupil  of  some  of  the 
Columbian  Schools,  of  which  we  shall  treat  in  our  next 
chapter.  A  sketch  of  his  history  and  his  writings,  therefore, 
is  most  appropriate  in  this  place. 

Dicuil's  treatise,  De  Mensura  Orbis  Terrarum^  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  monuments  of  ancient  Irish  .scholarship, 
and  furnishes  most  conclusive  proof  that  the  culture  of  our 
writers  and  the  learning  of  our  schools  in  the  ninth  century 
were  superior  to  almost  anything  yet  exhibited  in  Western 
Europe  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  This  work  has 
been  published  in  Paris,  but  it  is  now  very  rare,  and  hence 
«Fe  purpose  giving  a  fuller  account  of  its  contents  than  might 
otherwise  be  deemed  necessary.  It  is  not  to  the  credit  of  Insh 
learning  in  the  present  day  that  no  attempt  has  been  made 


282  THE  SCHOOL  of  clonmacnoise. 

ovon  by  any  of  our  learned  Societies  to  print  this  treatise  in 
Ireland.  It  is  to  French  scholarship  wo  are  indebted  for 
editino-  and  annotatin":  Dicuil's  treatise.^ 

Unfortunately  we  know  nothing  whatsoever  of  the  per- 
sonal history  of  Dicuil  except  what  can  be  gathered  from  a 
few  incidental  references  which  he  makes  to  himself  in  this 
treatise ;  but  these,  though  very  brief,  are  clear  and  definite. 
He  tells  us  first  of  all  that  his  name  was  Dicuil,  and  that  he 
finished  his  task  in  the  spring  of  the  year  a.d.  825.  Like 
most  of  his  countrymen  at  that  time,  he  was  fond  of  poetry, 
and  gives  us  this  information  in  a  neat  poem,  written  in  Latin 
hexameters  at  the  end  of  the  MS.,  to  which  we  shall  refer 
again.  He  also  implies  in  his  opening  statement,  or  prologue, 
that  he  had  already  written  an  Epistola  de  qiiestionibus  decern 
Artis  Grammaticae,  which  was  probably  intended  to  be  copied 
and  circulated  amongst  the  Irish  monastic  schools  of  the 
time,  but  of  which  we  know  nothing  more.  He  tells  us  that 
a  certain  Suibneus  (Suibhne),  or  Sweeney,  was  his  master 
to  whom  under  God  he  owed  whatever  knowledge  he 
possessed.  His  native  country  was  Ireland,  which  he  des- 
cribes in  affectionate  language  as  '' nostra  Plibernia," — our 
own  Ireland — in  opposition  to  the  foreign  countries  of  which 
he  had  been  speaking.  Elsewhere  he  calls  it  in  accordance 
with  the  usage  of  the  time  nostra  Scottia.  He  also  adds  when 
referring  to  the  islands  in  the  north  and  north-west  of  Scot* 
land,  that  he  had  dwelt  in  some  of  them,  he  had  visited 
others,  more  of  them  he  had  merely  seen,  and  some  of  them 
he  had  only  read  of. 

This  is  really  all  the  information  we  have  about  Dicuil, 
and  from  data  so  meagre,  it  is  very  difficult  to  identify 
Dicuil  the  Geographer,  amongst  the  many  Irish  monks  who 
bore  that  name. 

By  a  careful  examination,  however,  of  these  and  some 
other  facts  to  which  ho  refers,  we  can  conjecture  with  some 
probability  where  and  by  whom  he  was  educated. 

When  speaking  of  Iceland  Dicuil  refers  to  information 
communicated  to  him  thirty  years  before  by  certain  Irish 
clerics,  who  had  spent  some  months  in  that  island.  This 
brings  us  back  to  a.d.  795,  so  that  when   Dicuil  wrote  in 

1  It  was  first  published  in  1807  by  M.  Walckenaer  from  two  MSS.  in  the 
Imperial  Library  of  Paris.  In  IS  14,  M.  Ijotroune  produced  a  still  more 
learned  and  accurate  edition,  in  which  he  slows  the  advantages  that 
scholars  may  derive  from  a  carefid  study  of  Dicuil's  work.  It  is  entitled  : 
Jlccherches  Georjraphiqties,  et  Critujues  sur  Le  Livrc  '' De  Mcnsuru  Orbts  Ttr- 
ranun,"  coinpuse eic  Irlande  au  Coinnuncement  du  NcavLetnc  suv'e  yat-  IhcuiL 


DICIJIL  THE  G"E@GKAPHER.  283 

A.D.  825,  he  must  have  been  a  man  considerably  advanced  in 
years.  We  may  infer,  too,  that  his  master,  Suibhne,  to  whom 
he  owed  so  much,  flourished  as  a  teacher  at  a  still  earlier 
period  than  a.d.  795.  There  were  several  abbots  who  bore 
that  name  between  a.d.  750  and  a.d.  850;  but  it  appears  to 
us  that  the  master  of  Dicuil  must  have  been  either  Suibhne, 
Abbot  of  lona,  who  died  in  a.d.  772,  or  Suibhne,  son  of 
Cuana,  Abbot  of  Clonmacnoise,  who  died  in  a.d.  816.  If 
Dicuil  were,  suppose,  seventy-five  when  he  wrote  his  book, 
he  must  have  been  born  in  a.d.  750.  He  would  then  be  about 
sixteen  years  of  age  when  Suibhne,  Vice-Abbot  of  lona, 
came  over  to  his  native  Ireland  in  a.d.  766,  where  he  remained 
some  time.  Suppose  that  Dicuil  returned  with  him  as  a 
novice  in  that  year,  he  could  have  been  six  years  under  the 
instruction  of  Suibhne  before  that  abbot's  death  in  a.d.  772. 
It  is  likely  that  Dicuil  remained  in  lona  for  several  year^j 
after  the  death  of  his  beloved  master.  It  was,  doubtless, 
during  these  years  that  he  visited  the  Scottish  islands,  and 
dwelt  with  some  of  the  communities  whom  St.  Columba 
had  established  there.  On  this  point  his  own  statement  is 
clear  and  explicit. 

The  founder  of  lona,  Columcille,  with  his  kinsmen,  origin- 
ally came  from  Donegal,  and  the  monastery  seems  to  have 
been  principally  recruited  at  all  times  by  members  of  the 
Cenel-conal  race.  Amongst  the  saints  who  were  called  Dicuil, 
or  Diucholl,  were  two  who  were  venerated  in  Donegal;  one  the 
son  of  Neman,  whose  memory  was  venerated  at  Kilmacrenan 
on  December  25th  ;  the  other  was  Dicuil  of  Inishowen,  whose 
feast-day  is  December  18th.  The  latter  is  described  as  a 
hermit ;  and  it  may  be  that  our  geographer,  after  his  return 
from  lona,  retired  to  a  life  of  solitude  in  Inishowen,  and  there, 
towards  the  close  of  his  life,  composed  this  treatise,  of  which 
the  most  valuable  portion  is  that  containing  the  reminiscences 
of  his  early  life  in  the  Scottish  islands. 

The  chief  difficulty  against  this  hypothesis,  that  Suibhne, 
Dicuil's  master,  was  the  Abbot  of  lona  who  died  in  a.d.  772, 
is  the  great  age  at  which,  in  that  case,  the  pupil  must  have 
written  his  book,  in  a.d.  825.  The  monks  of  those  days, 
however,  were  often  intellectually  and  physically  vigorous  at 
the  age  of  eighty,  and  even  of  ninety  years. 

The  other  hypothesis  certainly  fits  in  better  with  the 
dates  ;  so  we  must  assume  that  Dicuil  was  trained  at  the  great 
College  of  Clonmacnoise,  which  at  this  period  was  certainly 
the  most  celebrated  school  in  Ireland,  if  not  in  Europe. 
Suibhne,  we  are  told,  was  abbot  for  two  years  before  his  death, 


284  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONMACNOISE. 

in  A.i).  816  ;  but  bad  been,  no  doubt,  for  many  years  pre- 
viously, a  fer-legindy  or  professor  in  Clonrnacnoise.  It  was 
nothing  new  fur  the  youn^^^er  monks  to  travel  to  other  religious 
houses  in  pursuit  of  knowledge  and  sanctity  ;  and  in  this  way 
Dicuil,  like  so  numy  of  his  countrymen,  would  visit  loua  and 
the  Scottish  islands. 

The  treatise  De  Moisiira  Orbis  Terrarnin  is  very  valu- 
able as  affording  evidence  of  the  varied  classical  culture  that 
existed  in  our  Irish  monastic  schools  at  this  period.  In  the 
prologue  the  author  tells  us  that  he  derived  his  information 
mainly  from  two  sources  ;  first,  from  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
missioners whom  the  divine  Emperor  Theodosius  had  sent  to 
survey  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire ;  and  secondly, 
iiom  the  excellent  work  of  Plinius  Secundus — that  is,  the 
Natural  History  which  is  so  well  known  to  scholars.  Dicuil 
complains  that  the  manuscripts  of  the  Report  in  his  posses- 
sion were  very  faulty;  but  still,  being  of  more  recent  date 
than  Pliny's  work,  he  values  it  more  highly.  He  adds  that 
he  leaves  vacant  places  in  his  own  manuscript  for  the  num- 
bers, in  order  to  be  able  to  fill  them  in  afterwards  when  he 
can  verify  or  correct  them  by  collating  his  own  with  other 
manuscripts  of  the  Report.  He  also  quotes  numerous  pas- 
sages from  other  ^writers,  who,  we  are  afraid,  are  not  very 
familiar  to  the  classical  scholars  of  our  own  times.  The  first 
of  these  works  is  that  of  Caius  Julius  Solinus,  known  as  the 
Polyhistor.  Of  his  personal  history  we  know  as  little  as  we 
do  of  Dicuil  himself.  He  flourished  about  the  middle  of  the 
third  century,  and  appears  to  have  borrowed  his  matter,  and 
sometimes  even  his  language,  from  Pliny's  Natural  History. 
The  contents  of  this  work  of  Solinus  may  be  inferred  from 
the  title  of  an  English  translation,  published  in  a.d.  1587  : 
"  The  Excellent  and  Pleasant  Work  of  Julius  Solinus^  Poly- 
histor, containing  the  Noble  Actions  of  Humaine  Creatures ^ 
the  Secretes  and  Providence  of  Nature,  the  Description  of 
Countries,  tJie  Manners  of  the  People,  &€.,  &c.  Translated 
out  of  the  Latin  by  Arthur  Golding,  Gent."  Another  work, 
equally  unknown  to  the  present  generation,  but  frequently 
quoted  by  Dicuil,  is  the  Periegesis  of  Priscian.  It  is  a  metri- 
cal translation  into  Latin  hexameters  of  a  Greek  work  bearing 
the  same  title,  which  was  originally  composed  by  Dionysius, 
surnamed  from  that  fact  Periegetes,  or  the  *' Traveller,"  in 
Goldsmith's  sense.  He  appears  to  have  flourished  in  the 
second  half  of  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

Such  are  the  principal  authorities  whom   Dicuil  follows ; 
and  as  he  knew  nothin^:  of  foreisfu  countries  himself,  ho  cites 


DICUIL  THE  GEOGRATHER.  285 

his  authorities  textually  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  country- 
men. It  is  surely  a  singular  and  interesting  tact  that  we 
should  find  an  Irish  monk,  in  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
century,  collating  and  criticising  various  manuscripts  of  those 
writers  either  in  some  Irish  monastic  school  at  home,  or  in 
the  equally  Irish  school  of  lona,  though  surrounded  by 
Scottish  waters  and  in  view  of  the  Scottish  hills. 

For  us,  however,  the  information  which  Dicuil  gives  us 
of  his  own  knowledge,  or  gathered  from  his  own  countrymen, 
is  far  more  valuable  ;  and  to  this  we  would  especially  invite 
the  reader's  attention. 

In  the  sixth  chapter,  when  speaking  of  the  Nile,  he  says : 

"Although  we  never  read  in  any  book  that  any  branch  of  the 
Nile  flows  into  the  E-ed  Sea,  yet  Brother  Fidelis^  told  in  my  presence, 
to  my  master  Suibhne  (to  whom,  under  God,  I  owe  whatever  know- 
ledge I  possess),  that  certain  clerics  and  laymen  from  Ireland,  who 
went  to  Jerusalem  on  pilgrimage,  sailed  up  the  Nile  for  a  long  way." 

— and  thence  continued  their  voyage  by  canal  to  the  entrance 
of  the  Ked  Sea. 

This  Irish  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  is  worthy  of  notice, 
for  many  of  our  critics  where  they  find  mention  of  such  pil- 
gimages  to  Home  and  to  Jerusalem  in  the  Lives  of  our  early 
Saints,  seem  to  regard  it  as  an  exaggeration,  if  not  a  kind  of 
pious  fraud.  But  here  we  have  the  testimony  of  one  in  every 
way  worthy  of  credit,  who  himself  spoke  to  such  pilgrims 
after  their  return  from  the  Holy  Land. 

Then  their  testimony  is  peculiarly  valuable  in  reference 
to  a  vexed  geographical  question  regarding  the  existence  of 
a  navigable  canal  in  those  days  from  the  Nile  to  the  Red 
Sea.  A  canal  called  the  ''  River  of  Ptolemy  "  and  afterwards 
"  The  River  of  Trajan,''  was  certainly  cut  from  the  Pelusiac 
branch  of  the  Nile  to  the  Red  Sea  at  Arisnoe.  It  was  cer- 
tainl}^  open  for  commerce  in  the  time  of  Trajan,  but  during 
the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire  became  partially  filled  with 
sand.  Trajan,  it  seems,  ho\\'ever,  when  re-opening  the  canal 
connected  it  with  the  Nile  at  a  point  higher  up  the  river 
than  the  old  route,  opposite  Memphis,  near  Babylon,  in  order 
that  the  fresh  water  might  flow  through  the  canal  and  help 
to  keep  it  open.  Under  the  Arabians  this  canal  of  Trajan 
was  re-opened,  but  geographers  have  asserted  that  it  became 
choked  shortl}^  afterwards  and  remained  so  ever  since.  The 
testimony  of  the  Irish  pilgrims  quoted  by  Dicuil  is  the  only 
satisfactory  evidence  that  we  now  possess  to  prove  that  this 

^  It  might  be  rendered  a  trustworthy  brother. 


28C  thp:  school  ok  ci.onm  \('noise. 

canal  was  open  at  the  end  of  the  eightli  century  for  the  pur- 
poses of  commerco  and  navigation.^ 

The  pilgrims  also  give  some  interesting  information  with 
reference  to  the  Pja^imids,  which  they  call  the  ''  I  Jams  of 
Joseph."  "The  pilgrims,"  he  says,  "saw  them  from  the 
river  rising  like  mountains  four  in  one  place  and  three  in 
another.*'  Then  thej^  landed  to  view  these  wonders  close  at 
hand  and  coming  to  one  of  the  three  greater  pyramids,  they 
saw  eight  men  and  one  woman  and  a  great  lion  stretched 
dead  heside  it.  The  lion  had  attacked  them,  and  the  men  in 
turn  had  attacked  the  lion  with  their  spears,  with  the  result 
that  all  perished  in  the  mutual  slaughter,  for  the  place  was  a 
desert  and  there  was  no  one  at  hand  to  help  then.  From  top 
to  bottom  the  pyramids  were  all  built  of  stone,  square  at  thc> 
base,  but  rounded  towards  the  summit,  and  ta.nciing  to  a 
point.  The  aforesaid  brother  Fidelis  measured  one  of  them, 
and  found  that  the  square  face  was  400  i'eet  in  length. 
Going  thence  by  the  canal  to  the  Red  Sea,  they  found  the 
passage  across  to  the  eastern  shore  at  the  Road  of  Moses  to 
be  only  a  short  distance.  The  brother  who  had  measured 
the  base  of  the  pyramid  wished  to  examine  the  exact  point 
where  Moses  had  entered  the  Red  Sea,  in  order  to  try  if  he 
could  find  any  traces  of  the  Chariots  of  Pharaoh,  or  the  wheel 
tracks  ;  but  the  sailors  were  in  a  hurry  and  would  not  allow 
him  to  go  on  this  excursion.  The  breadth  of  the  sea  at  this 
point  appeared  to  him  to  be  about  six  miles.  Then  they  sailed 
up  this  narrow  bay  which  once  kept  the  murmuring  Israelites 
from  returning  to  Egypt. 

This  is  a  ver}^  interesting  and  manifestly  authentic  narra- 
tive. Another  interesting  chapter  is  that  in  which  Dicuil 
describes  Iceland  and  the  Faroe  Islands.  "It  is  now  thirty 
years,"  he  says,  "  since  certain  clerics,  who  remained  in  that 
island  (Ultima  Thule)  from  the  1st  of  February  to  the  1st 
of  August,  told  me  that  not  only  at  the  Summer  solstice, 
(as  Solinus  said),  but  also  for  several  days  about  the  solstice, 
the  setting  sun  at  eventide  merely  hid  himself,  as  it  were, 
for  a  little  behind  a  hill,  so  that  there  was  no  darkness  even 
for  a  moment,  and  whatever  a  man  wished  to  do,  if  it  were 
only  to  pick  vermin  off  his  shirt — vel  pediculos  de  camisiu 
abstrahere — he  could  do  as  it  were  in  the  light  of  the  sun, 
and  if  he  were  on  a  mountain  of  any  lieight,  he  could  doubt- 
less see  the  sun  all  through."  This  way  of  putting  it  is 
certaiidy  more   graphic   than  elegant,   but  it  is  at  the  sumo 

*  See  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Geajraphtf, 


DICUIL  THE  GEOGRAPHER.  287 

time  strictly  accurate,  and  shows  that  the  Irish  monks  had 
really  spent  the  summer  in  Iceland.  For  the  arctic  circle 
just  touches  the  extreme  north  of  Iceland,  and  therefore  in 
any  part  of  that  country  the  sun  would  even  at  the  solstice 
set  for  a  short  time,  but  it  would  be  only,  as  it  were,  going 
behind  a  hill  to  reappear  in  an  hour  or  in  half  an  hour.  So 
that  by  the  aid  of  refraction  and  twilight  a  man  would 
always  have  light  enough  to  perform  even  those  delicate 
operations  to  which  Dicuil  refers. 

He  then  observes  with  much  acuteness  that  at  the  middle 
point  of  this  brief  twilight  it  is  midnight  at  the  equator,  or 
middle  of  the  earth  ;  and  in  like  manner  he  infers  that  about 
the  Winter  solstice  there  must  be  da^dight  for  a  very  short 
time  in  Thule,  when  it  is  noonday  at  the  equator.  These 
observations  show  a  keen  observant  mind,  and  would  lead  us 
to  infer  that  Dicuil,  like  his  countryman  Virgilius,  who 
flourished  a  little  earlier,  had  been  taught  the  sphericity  of 
the  earth  in  the  schools  of  his  native  country.  He  says  also 
in  this  same  chapter,  what  is  certainly  true,  that  those  writers 
are  greatly  mistaken  who  describe  the  Icelandic  Sea  as  always 
frozen,  and  who  sa}^  that  there  is  a  perpetual  day  from  Spring 
to  Autumn,  and  perpetual  night  from  Autumn  to  Spring. 
For  the  Irish  monks  sailed  thither,  he  says,  through  an  open 
sea  in  a  month  of  great  natural  cold,  and  whilst  they  were 
there  enjoyed  alternate  day  and  night  except  about  the  Sum- 
mer solstice,  as  already  explained.  But  one  day's  sail  further 
north  brought  them  to  the  frozen  sea. 

Dicuil's  reference  to  Iceland  is  interesting  from  another 
point  of  view.  In  almost  all  our  books  of  popular  instruc- 
tion, and  even  in  many  standard  works  on  geography,  it  is 
stated  that  the  Danes,  or  Norwegians,  "discovered'''  Iceland 
about  the  year  a.d.  860,  and  shortly  afterward  colonized  it 
during  the  reign  of  Harold  Harfager.  But  Dicuil  clearly 
shows  that  it  was  well  known  to  Irish  monks  at  least  more 
than  half  a  century  before  Dane  or  Norwegian  ever  set  foot 
on  the  island,  as  is  now  generally  admitted  by  scholars  who 
are  familiar  with  Icelandic  literature  and  history. 

The  following  interesting  passage  which  shows  the  roving 
spirit  that  animated  some  of  the  Irish  monks  at  that  period 
is  contained  in  the  third  section  of  the  same  seventh  chapter. 
"There  are  several  other  islands  in  the  ocean  to  the  north  of 
Britain,  which  can  be  reached  in  a  voyage  of  two  days  and 
two  nights  with  a  favourable  breeze.  A  certain  trustworthy 
monk  (religiosus)  told  me  that  he  reached  one  of  them  bv 
sailing  for  two  summer  days  and  one  night  in  a  vessel  with 


'2S,S  TlIK  SCHOOL  OF  (I.ONMAL'NOISK. 

two  benches  of  rowers  (duorum  naviculii  transtroruin).  Some 
of  these  isLmds  are  very  small  and  separated  by  narrow 
straits  In  these  islands  for  almost  a  hundred  years  there 
dwelt  hermits,  who  sailed  there  from  our  own  Ireland  (nostra 
Scottia).  But  now  they  are  once  more  deserted,  as  they 
were  from  the  beginnini^-,  on  account  of  the  ravages  of  the 
Norman  pirates.  They  are,  however,  still  full  of  sheep,  and 
of  various  kinds  of  sea  birds.  We  have  never  found  these 
islands  mentioned  by  any  author." 

It  is  quite  evident  that  Dicuil  here  refers  to  the  Faroe 
Islands,  which  are  about  250  miles  north  of  the  Scottish 
coast.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  they  are  rather 
small,  nnd  separated  from  each  other  by  very  narrow 
channels,  and  in  this  respect  differing  from  the  Shetland 
Islands,  to  which  this  de-cription  could  not  therefore  applj^ 
Besides,  the  Shetlandsare  ouIn  50  miles  from  the  Orkneys, 
and  about  100  f :  oni  the  mainland  ;  hence  they  could  easily  be 
reached  in  a  single  day  by  an  open  boat  sailing  before  a 
favourable  wind  ;  whereas  ihe  islands  occupied  by  the  Irish 
hermits  could  only  be  reached  after  a  voyage  of  two  days 
and  a  night,  even  in  the  most  favourable  circumstances. 
The  word  ''  nostra  Scoitia  "  of  course  refers  to  Ireland ;  for  up 
to  the  time  that  Dicuil  wrote,  that  word  had  never  been 
applied  to  North  Britain.  8kene,  himself  a  learned  Scot,  has 
shown  by  numerous  citations  from  ancient  authors  that  beyond 
all  doubt  the  name  "  Scottia  ''  was  applied  to  Ireland,  and  to 
Ireland  alone,  prior  to  the  tenth  century.^  Up  to  that  time 
the  name  of  Scotland  was  Alban  or  Albania. 

The  love  of  the  ancient  Irish  monks  for  island  solitudes  is  ' 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  their  character.  There 
is  hardly  an  islund  round  our  coasts,  which  does  not  contain 
the  remains  of  some  ancient  orator}^  or  monastic  cells.  But 
they  did  not  always  remain  in  sight  of  land.  Inspired  partly 
with  the  hope  of  finding  a  "  desert'*  in  the  ocean,  partly,  no 
doubt,  also  with  a  love  of  adventure  and  a  vague  hope  of 
discovering  the  "  Land  of  Promise,"  they  sailed  out  into  the 
Atlantic  in  their  currachs  in  search  of  these  lonely  islands. 
Every  one  has  heard  of  the  seven  years'  voyage  of  St.  Brendan 
in  the  western  ocean.  St.  Ailbeof  Emly  had  resolved  to  find 
out  the  island  of  Thule,  which  the  Roman  geographers  placed 
somewhere  in  the  northern  sea.  He  was,  however,  prevented 
from  going  himself,  but  '*he  sent  twenty  men  into  exile  over 
the  sea  in  his  stead."^     St.  Cormac  the  Navigator,  made  threo 

^  See  Tnirid.  to  Celtic  Scotland,  pasjo  3,  vol.  i. 
'See  lieeves'  yhlainnan,  pftg'C'  1^'^.  iH)to. 


DTCUIL  THE  GEOGRAPHER.  289 

voyages  in  the  pathless  ocean  seeking  some  desert  island 
where  he  might  devote  himself  to  an  eremitic  life.  It  is 
highly  probable  he  went  as  far  north  as  Iceland ;  for  Adam- 
nan  tells  us  that  he  sailed  northwards  for  fourteen  days,  until 
he  was  frightened  by  the  sight  of  the  monsters  of  the  deep, 
when  he  returned  home  touching  on  his  way  at  the  Orkney 
islands. 

When  the  Norwegians  first  discovered  Iceland  in  a.d.  860, 
they  found  Irish  books,  and  bells,  and  pilgrims'  staffs,  or 
croziers,  which  were  left  there  by  men  who  professed  the 
Christian  religion  and  whom  the  Norwegians  called  "  papas  " 
or  "  fathers."  Dicuil,  however,  gives  us  the  earliest  authentic 
testimony  that  Iceland  and  the  Faroe  Isles  had  been  dis- 
covered and  occupied  by  Irish  monks  long  before  the  Danes 
or  Norwegians  discovered  these  islands.  Of  Ireland  itself, 
Dicuil  unfortunately  gives  us  no  information.  He  was 
writing  for  his  own  countrymen,  and  he  assumed  that  they 
knew  as  much  about  Ireland — "  our  own  Ireland '' — as  he  did. 
The  only  observation  he  makes  in  reference  to  Ireland  is  that 
there  were  islands  round  the  coast,  and  that  some  were  small, 
and  others  very  small.  But  he  takes  one  quotation  from 
Solinus,  who  says  that — 

**  Britain  is  surrounded  by  many  important  islands,  one  of  which, 
Ireland,  approaches  to  Britain  itself  in  size.  It  abounds  in  pastures 
so  rich,  that  if  the  cattle  are  not  sometimes  driven  away  from  them 
they  run  the  risk  of  bursting.  The  sea  between  Britain  and  Ireland 
is  so  wide  and  stormy  throughout  the  entire  year  that  it  is  only 
navigable  on  a  very  few  days.     The  channel  is  about  1 20  miles  broad." 

Dicuil,  however,  good  Irishman  as  he  was,  does  not  quote 
two  other  statements  which  Solinus  made  about  the  pre- 
Christian  Scots — for  he  wrote  before  the  time  of  St.  Patrick  — 
first,  that  the  Irish  recognised  no  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  at  all  ;  and,  secondly,  that  they  fed  their  children 
from  the  point  of  the  sword — a  rather  inconvenient  kind  of 
spoon  we  should  think.  In  fact  the  Romans  of  those  days 
knew  as  little,  and  wrote  as  confidently,  about  Ireland  as 
most  Englishmen  do  at  present,  and  that  is  saying  a  good 
de.l. 

There  is  one  incidental  reference  in  Dicuil — chapter  v., 
section  ii. — which  is  of  the  highest  importance,  because  it 
settles  the  question  as  to  the  nationality  of  the  celebrated 
Irish  poet,  Sedulius,  the  author  of  the  hymns  Crudelis  Herodes 
and  A  solis  ortus  Car  dine,  in  the  Roman  Breviary.  Dicuil 
quoting  twelve  lines  of  poetry  from  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Theodosius,  observes,  that  the  fiust  foot  of  the 

T 


21)0  THE  SCHOOT.  OF  CLONMACNOISE. 

seventh  and  eighth  of  these  hexameter  Hues  isan  amphiniacriis. 
J  fere  are  the  lines  : — 

**  Confici  ter  qiiinis  aporit  cum  fastibus  annnin. 

Supplices  hoc  famuli,  dum  ecribit,  pingit  ct  alter." 

'*  At  the  same  time,"  says  Dicuil,  **  I  do  not  think  it  was  from 
ignorance  of  prosody  these  lines  were  so  written,  for  the 
writers  had  the  authority  of  other  poets  in  their  favour,  and 
especially  of  Virgil,  whom  in  simihir  cases  o?ir  own  Sedulius 
imitated,  and  he,  in  his  heroic  stanzas,  rarely  uses  feet 
different  from  those  of  Yirgil  and  the  classical  poets."  "  Noster 
Sedulius,"  here  applied  to  the  great  religious  poet  by  his 
own  countryman,  in  the  ninth  century,  settles  the  question 
of  his  Irish  birth.  The  reader  will  observe  also,  what  a  keen 
critic  Dicuil  was  of  Latin  poetry,  and  will  probably  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  knew  Prosody  better  in  the  Irish 
schools  of  the  ninth  than  they  do  in  those  of  the  nineteenth 
centur3^ 

In  the  closing  stanzas  of  his  own  short  poem  on  the 
classic  mountains,  Dicuil  implies  that  he  finished  his  work  in 
the  Spring  of  a.d.  825,  when  night  gives  grateful  rest  to  the 
wearied  oxen  who  had  covered  the  seed-wheat  in  the  dusty 
soil. 

"  Post  octingentos  viginti  quinque  peractos 

Summi  annos  Domini  terrae,  aethrae,  carceris  atri. 
Semine  triticeo  sub  ruris  pulvere  tecto 
Nocte  bobus  requies  largitur  fine  laboris." 


CHAPTEH    XIIL 

THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND, 
I. — St.  Columba's  Education. 

"  I  hold  it  truth  with  him  who  sings 
To  one  clear  harp  in  divers  tones, 
That  men  may  rise  on  stepping  stones 
Of  their  dead  selves  to  higher  things." 

—  Tennys<i'a. 

CoLUMBV  was  the  greatest  saint  of  the  Celtic  race  ;  and  after 
St.  Patrick,  he  is  the  most  striking  figure  in  our  Celtic 
history.  He  was  a  poet,  a  statesman,  and  a  scholar,  as  well 
as  a  great  missionary  saint — the  apostle  of  many  tribes,  and 
the  founder  of  many  churches.  Plis  name  is  dear  to  every 
child  of  the  Scottic  race  both  in  Erin  and  Alba  ;  and  what  is 
stranger  still,  monk  and  priest  though  he  was,  his  memory  is 
cherished  not  only  by  Catholics  but  by  Protestants  and  even 
by  Presbyterians  also. 

His  adventurous  career  has  a  strange  dramatic  interest  of 
its  own.  He  was  fortunate  too  in  finding  a  biographer,  who 
has  written  his  Life  in  a  spirit  of  loving  sympathy  ;  and  in 
our  own  times  the  biographer  has  found  an  editor  to  publish 
and  illustrate  his  work  with  great  learning  and  complete 
impartiality.^ 

Columba  was  a  typical  Celt,  and  seems  to  have  been 
endowed  by  nature  with  all  the  virtues  and  many  of  the 
failings  of  the  Celtic  race.  He  was  generous,  warm-hearted, 
imaginative ;  he  hated  injustice  and  oppression ;  he  was 
capable  of  the  tenderest  friendship,  passionately  fond  of  his 
native  land,  and  filled  with  enthusiastic  zeal  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  Grospel.  Yet  he  had  his  faults.  He  was  fiery 
and  impetuous,  impatient  of  contradiction,  and  too  easilv 
prone  to  anger  and  revenge.  But  this  is  his  glory  that  with 
God's  help  he  conquered  his  faults  ;  and  therefore  it  is  we 
love  him  because  he  is  so  human,  so  like  ourselves  in  all 
things.     It  gives  us  greater  confidence  in  the  struggle,  when 

'See  Bishop  Reeves'  excellent  edition  of  Adamnan's  Life  of  Columba. 


292  1  irr  roi,rMRTAN  schools  in  Ireland. 

we  have  a  patron  saint  who  can  have  compassion  on  our 
inlirnuties  because  he  was  tried  like  us  in  all  things  ;  and,  if 
we  are  to  believe  the  story  of  his  life,  not  altogether  without 
sin.  It  is  well  too  that  he  should  be  for  us  an  example  of 
perfect  penance  ;  even  as  he  schooled  himself  in  patient 
endurance,  and  all  other  noble  virtues. 

We,  however,  have  to  deal  with  Columba  mainly  as  a 
scholar,  a  teacher,  and  a  writer — the  founder  of  many  schools, 
the  patron  of  learning,  the  protector  and  the  idol  of  all  the 
Bards  of  Erin.  It  is  perhaps  best  in  sketching  the  literary 
history  of  St.  Columba  to  make  separate  reference  to  each  of 
the  great  schools  which  he  established,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  give  an  account  of  those  events  which  brought  him  into 
connection  with  the  various  scenes  in  which  he  played  si> 
striking  a  part.  We  shall  therefore  begin  with  the  8chool  of 
Derry,  which  was  the  first  he  founded  in  his  own  native 
territory.  First  of  all,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  know 
something  of  his  own  early  history. 

St.  Columba  v/as  born  at  Gartan,  in  the  barony  of 
Kilmacrenan,  co.  Donegal,  on  the  7th  of  December,  in  the 
year  a.d.  521.^  It  is  a  very  wild  but  beautiful  district, 
surrounded  by  dark  rugged  mountains,  which  cast  their 
shadows  over  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  stretched  at  their 
base,  sometimes  called  Lough  Yeagh,  but  more  properh' 
Lough  Gartan.  IIih  father,  Felim  (Fedhlimidh)  was  prince 
of  the  surrounding  district,  and  a  scion  of  the  royal  race  of 
'Niall  the  Great,  or  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  his 
mother  was  Eithne,  the  daughter  of  a  Leinster  Chief,  who 
came  of  the  equally  royal  line  of  Cathaeir  Mor,  a  famous 
High  King  of  Erin  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  Most  justly,  therefore,  does  his  biographer,  Adamnan,  say 
that  Columba  was  sprung  from  noble  parentage,  for  he  was, 
through  CoLal  Gulban,  the  great-grandson  of  Niall  the  Great. 
The  reigning  king  at  his  birth,  Muircertach  (Murtoi>h) 
Mac  Erca,  was  his  uncle,  of  the  half  blood  ;  and  he  himself 
might  one  day  be  qualified  not  onl}'  to  rule  oA'er  the  Cenel- 
Conal,  but  even  to  be  elected  High  King  of  all  Ireland.^ 

There  is  no  trace  at  present  of  any  royal  rath  or  ancient 
fort  at  Gartan,  so  far  as  we  could  ascertain.  The  land  around 
is  naked  and  barren,  and  the  cabins  of  the  cottagers  are 
even  poorer  and  blacker  than  may  be  seen  elsewhere  in 
Donegal.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  place  of  the 
saint's  birth,  there  is  an  old  ruined  church  andchurch-yurd ;  but 

*  See  Reoves'  Adamnan,  pag-e  Ixix. 

*  **  By  geneiilog-y  }io  liad  a  natural  ripfht  to  the  kingship  of  Ireland,  and 
't  would  have  booti  offi^red  to  liiiiv  had  he  nut  put  it  from  him  for  Ovni's 
>ake.'' — Life  in  tho  I{oo{-  of  Liamoye. 


ST.  OOLUMBA  S  EDUCATION.  293 

although  certainly  anciont,  the  church  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  coeval  with  Coluraba  himself.  It  was  probably  founded 
some  years  after  his  death,  when  the  place  began  to  obtain 
some  celebrity  as  the  birth-place  of  so  great  a  saint. 

But  the  flag,  on  which  he  was  born,  is  pointed  out  to  every 
visitor  ;  and  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  that  the  tradition 
fixing  the  spot  is  continuous  and  trustworthy.  It  is  worn 
quite  bare  by  the  hands  and  feet  of  pious  pilgrims  ;  and  what 
is  stranger  still,  the  poor  emigrants,  who  are  about  to  quit 
Donegal  for  ever,  come  and  sleep  on  that  flag  the  night  before 
their  departure  from  Derry.  Columba  himself  was  an  exile, 
and  they  fondly  hope  that  sleeping  on  the  spot  where  he  was 
born  will  help  them  to  bear  with  lighter  heart  the  heavy 
burden  of  the  exile's  sorrows. 

Shortly  after  his  birth  the  child  was  brought  from 
Gartan  to  Tulach  Dubhglaisse  to  be  baptized  by  an  old 
priest  named  Cruithnechan,  who  dwelt  there.  It  is  now 
called  Temple-Douglas,  and  the  old  church  and  church-yard 
beside  the  dark  stream  is  still  there  about  mid-way  between 
Gartan  and  Letterkenny.  There  is  a  parish  called  Kilcro- 
naghan  in  the  Co.  Derry,  which  is  supposed  to  take  its  name 
from  the  'illustrious  priest,'  who  had  the  privilege  of  baptizing 
Columcille,  and  who  was  also  his  tutor  and  foster-father. 

The  boy,  however,  seems  to  have  spent  the  years  of  his 
early  youth  mostly  at  Kil-mac-nenain — now  corrupted  into 
Kilmacrenan — which  was  in  all  probability,  even  at  that 
early  period,  a  place  of  note  in  Tir-connell.  In  after  times 
it  became  celebrated  as  the  place  where  the  0*Donnells  were 
inaugurated  as  princes  of  Tir-conneil.  It  is  about  three  miles 
north  of  Temple-Douglas,  and  about  the  same  distance  to  the 
north-east  of  Gartan.  The  place  is  supposed  to  have  got  its 
name  from  the  '  Son  of  Enan,'  whose  mother  was  Columba's 
sister. 

We  need  not  specially  refer  to  the  visions  and  prophecies 
concerning  Columba,  which  are  given  in  his  various  Lives. 
The  authentic  facts  of  his  history  are  quite  as  strange  and 
marvellous  as  any  one  can  desire — in  fact  his  whole  life  was 
a  miracle  of  grace.  From  the  fact  that  the  '  illustrious 
priest,'  who  baptized  Columba,  is  also  described  by  Adamnan 
as  his  fosterer — pueri  nutritor — we  may  fairly  infer  that  he 
was  trained  by  that  holy  man  in  the  rudiments  of  learning, 
both  in  his  native  tongue  and  in  the  Latin  language.  It 
illustratrs  what  was  quite  a  common  custom  in  days  when 
schools  were  few  and  far  between.  The  boy  designed  for  the 
Church  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  priest  or  bishop,  and 


-1'4  THE  COI.UMHIAN  SCHOOLS  TTs^  IREI.WD. 

was  thus  traiiud  in  virtue  and  loarning  from  his  earliest 
years  under  the  eyes  of  one  whose  duty  and  interest  it  was 
10  watch  over  him  with  the  most  zealous  care. 

AVe  know  little,  however,  of  Columba's  history  until  he 
« ame  from  Kihnacrenan  to  the  more  famous  School  of 
St.  Finnian  at  Moville,  near  the  head  of  Strangford  Lough. 
We  have  already  given  an  account  of  the  seminary  founded 
there  by  that  great  saint.  At  Moville  Columba  was  ordained 
a  deacon  ;  and  here  also,  according  to  one  account,  his 
baptismal  name  of  Crimthann  was  changed  by  his  young 
companions  into  that  other  name  the  "  Dove  of  the  Church  " 
— Colum-cille — by  which  he  is  best  known  to  history.  Dr. 
Reeves,  however,seeiJis  to  think  that  he  was  called  Colum  at  his 
baptism,  and  that  cille  was  merely  added  bv  his  companions 
because  he  so  loved  to  haunt  the  church,  when  they  would 
have  him  play.  We  learn  from  Adamnan  that  whilst  he  was 
at  Moville,  the  young  saint  devoted  his  attention  chiefly  to 
the  study  of  Sacred  Scripture,  of  which  Finnian  was  a 
most  distinguished  professor.  We  have  the  sober  testimony 
of  the  same  Adamnan  that  whilst  the  saint  was  a  deacon  at 
Moville  no  wine  could  be  found  on  a  certain  festival  day  for 
the  "Sacrificial  Mystery."  Whilst  the  ministers  at  the  altar 
were  complaining  of  the  want  of  the  wine,  the  deacon  took  a 
cruet  to  the  well, as  it  was  his  duty  to  procure  and  taste  the 
water  for  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  Knowing  that  the  wine  was 
wanting,  he  invoked  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  lo !  the 
water  in  his  hands  was  changed  into  wine,  as  it  once  was  at 
Cana  of  Galilee  ;  and  he  brought  it  to  Bishop  Finnian  for  the 
Sacrifice,  who  gave  thanks  to  God  on  account  of  this  wondrous 
miracle. 

It  is  not  certain  whether  it  was  at  this  period  or  later  on 
that  Columba  made  that  furtive  copy  of  Finnian's  Gospel, 
which  subsequently  begot  so  much  trouble,  and  appears  to 
have  been  the  main  cause  of  the  bloody  battle  of  Cuil-dreimhne 
in  Carberry,  co.  Sligo.  We  have  referred  to  this  incident 
before,  and  we  may  have  to  refer  to  it  again,  when  we  come 
to  explain  the  causes  of  Columba's  departure  from  Erin. 

From  Moville  Columba,  still  a  deacon,  went  southward  to 
the  plains  of  Leinster,  and  placed  himself  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  an  aged  bard  called  Gemman.  The  young  deacon  had 
a  soul  for  music  ;  and  he  greatly  lovtd  the  Bards,  who  sang 
of  the  brave  deeds  of  warrior  kin^s  and  ancient  heroes.  He 
wished,  also,  to  perfect  himself  in  his  own  native  tongue, 
and  to  become  a  pupil  in  the  School  of  the  Ba''ds  was  the 
recognised  way  to  study  the  langua^ie  and  literature  of  Erin, 


ST.  COLUMBA  S    EDUCATION.  295 

such  as  it  was  at  that  tiaie.  But  he  was  also  learning  *  divine 
wisdom'  in  Leinster  at  the  same  time,  probably  at  the 
School  of  St.  Finnian  of  Clonard,  which  was  on  the  borders 
of  Meath  and  Leinster. 

There  a  very  striking  incident  took  place,  wbich  is  in 
itself  evidence  of  the  lawless  character  of  the  times,  and  the 
necessity  of  the  presence  of  some  moral  power  with  a  divine 
sanction  to  hold  that  savagery  in  check.  It  happened  one 
day  that  whilst  Gemman,  the  Bard,  was  sitting  in  the  open 
field  reading  his  book,  he  saw  a  young  girl  flying  to  him  for 
protection  from  the  attacks  of  a  ruffian,  who  pursued  her 
closely  as  she  fled.  Gemman  called  to  his  disciple  Columba 
who  was  close  at  hand,  and  both  of  them  sought  to  protect  the 
maiden  from  the  violence  of  her  assailant.  But  he,  heedles*^ 
of  the  reverence  due  both  to  the  deacon  and  the  bard,  pierced 
the  maiden  with  his  lance,  even  as  she  sought  shelter  in  vain 
behind  their  cloaks.  She  fell  dead  at  their  feet,  but  Columba, 
divinely  inspired,  cried  out  that  her  soul  would  fly  to  heaven, 
and  the  murderer's  soul  would  fly  as  quickly  to  hell.  No 
sooner  was  the  word  spoken,  than  the  wretch  fell  dead  before 
them,  and  the  name  of  God  and  of  Columba  was  greatly 
magnified  through  all  the  neighbouring  country. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  great  College  of  Clonard 
founded  by  St.  Finnian,  who  is  quite  distinct  from  his  name- 
sake of  Moville.     We    have  seen    that  Columba  was  there, 
and  was  recognised  as  one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  of  Erin, 
who  were  trained  up  together  at  that   great  seminary  in  all 
sacred  learning.     He  was  about  twenty -two  years  of  age  at 
this  period,  for  he  was  not  yet  ordained  a  priest,  so  that  we 
may  fix  the  period  of  his  sojourn  at  Clonard  about  the  year 
A.D.  543-     The  immediate  purpose  ot  Columba's  studies  at 
Clonard  was  to  prepare  himself  for  the  priesthood.     There 
he  was  trained  by  the  most  celebrated  master  of  Erin  in  all 
the  virtue  and  learning  necessary  for  that  holy  state.     He 
built  his  little  cell  close  to  the  church,  and  when  he  was  not 
engaged  in  study,  or  attending  his  lectures,  he  was  nearly 
always  to  be  found  before  the  altar  in  prayer.     ThouQ:h  of 
the  royal  blood  of  Tara's  kings,  he  was  humble,  and  took  his 
turn  at  the  quern,  or  hand-mill,  grinding  the  corn  that  was 
necessary  for  himself  and  his  companions.     Their  chief  food 
was  bread  and  water,  or  a  little  milk,  when  it  could  be  had. 
No  doubt  from  time  to  time  they  might  succeed  in  catching 
some    fish    in    the  River  Boyne,   which  flows   through  the 
meadows  around  Clonard.     It  was  a  simple  life,  but  a  happy 
and  a  heavenly  one,  when    the   youthful    Apostles   of  Erin 


296  VHF.  COLTTMIil  \N  SCHOOLS  IN  IRKLAND. 

wauderod  togbtlier  by  the  banks  of  that  historic  htr(\'im,  or 
gathered  round  their  venerable  master  to  hear  his  lectures, 
as  he  sat  on  the  old  moat  of  Clonard,  or  to  listen  to  his  burn- 
ing words  in  his  little  church,  when  ho  exhorted  them  to  the 
love  of  God  and  the  contempt  of  all  worldly  things  for  God's 
sake. 

It  was  the  custom  in  those  days  for  the  students  to  visit 
the  various  saints  of  Erin,  who  were  celebrated  for  holiness 
and  learning ;  and  so  we  find  that  Columba,  when  he  had 
tinished  his  studies  under  Finnian  of  Clonard,  directed  his 
steps  to  the  school  of  another  great  master  of  the  spiritual 
life,  St.  Mobhi  Clarainech  of  Glasnevin.  Before  his  departure, 
however,  from  Clonard,  according  to  ofie  account,  the  saint 
was  ordained  a  priest,^not  by  Finnian,  for  he  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  bishop,  but  by  Etchen  of  Clonfad,  which  is 
situated  a  little  west  of  Clonard,  and  who  doubtless  exercised 
at  that  time  the  episcopal  jurisdiction,  which  was  afterwards 
exercised  by  the  prelates  of  Clonard.  It  is  said  that  it  was 
Finnian's  purpose  to  have  Columba  ordained  a  bishop  on  this 
occasion,  but  through  some  mistake  on  the  part  of  Bishop 
Etchen,  he  was  only  ordained  a  priest.  Deeming  it  provi- 
dential, Columba  in  his  humility  would  never  afterwards 
consent  to  be  raised  to  the  episcopal  dignity.^ 

The  students'  cells  at  Glasnevin  were  situated  on  one  side 
of  the  River  Tolka,  and  Mobhi' s  church  was  on  the  other,  at 
or  near  the  spot  where  the  Protestant  church  now  stands. 
The  light-footed  youngsters  of  those  days,  however,  found  no 
difficulty  in  crossing  the  rapid  and  shallow  stream  at  ordinary 
times.  But  when  the  river  was  swollen  with  heavy  rains,  it 
was  no  easy  task  to  breast  the  flood ;  yet  such  was  Columba' s 
zeal  in  the  service  of  God  that  on  one  such  occasion,  to  his 
master's  admiration  and  surprise,  he  crossed  the  angry  torrent, 
that  he  Kiight  be  present  as  usual  at  the  exercises  in  the 
church.  '*  May  God  be  praised,"  said  Columba,  when  he  had 
crossed  safely  over,  "and  deliver  us  from  these  perils  in 
future."      It  is  said  that  his  prayer  was  heard  ;   and  that  all 


*  It  is  more  likely  that  his  ordination  took  place  after  he  left  Glasnevin 
on  his  homeward  journey. 

^This  mistake  led  to  important  consequences.  Columba  not  beiui?  him- 
self a  bishop  found  it  necessai-y  to  have  a  bishop,  subject  to  his  jurisdiction, 
to  perform  episcopal  functions  in  his  monasteries.  It  was  an  unusual 
arrangement,  as  Bede  declares,  '*  Habere  solet  ipsa  insula  (Hy)  rertorom 
semper  abbatem  presbyter um,  cujus  juri  et  omnis  provincia,  etetiam  epiM'i>pi, 
ordine  inusitato,  debeanX  esse  subjecti,  ji»ita  exemplura  primi  doctoris  illius, 
cui  non  episcopus  sed  j  lesbyter  extitit  et  monachua." — Bede,  H.E.  III.  4. 


ST.  columba's  education.  297 

the  cells,  with  their  occupants,  were  suddenly  transferred  to 
the  other  side  of  the  stream,  and  remained  there  ever  after. 

It  was  doubtless  during  his  leisure  hours,  while  under 
Mobhi's  care  at  Glasnevin,  that  Columba  used  to  i  amble  out 
to  tbe  Hill  of  Howth,  and  sitting  on  the  brow  of  its  lofty 
cliffs,  gaze  in  pensive  mood  over  the  wide  spreading  sea,  and 
contemplate,  with  a  poet's  eye,  all  the  stern  grandeur  of  that 
iron-bound  coast.  He  fed  his  soul  on  the  glorious  vision,  and 
in  after  years,  when  surrounded  by  the  sterile  rocks  of  lona, 
his  sad  thoughts  often  turned  to  those  scenes  of  his  youth, 
and  found  expression  in  words  that  cannot  fail  to  touch  a 
sympathetic  chord  in  every  heart. 

**  Delightful  to  be  on  Benn-Edar 
Before  crossing  o'er  the  white  sea, 
(To  see)  the  dashing  of  the  waves  against  its  brow, 
The  bareness  of  its  shore,  and  its  border. 

Delightful  to  be  (once  more)  on  Benn-Edar 
After  crossing  the  white- bosomed  sea; 
To  row  one's  little  coracle, 
Ochone  !  on  its  swift- waved  shore. 

Ah,  rapid  the  speed  of  my  coracle; 
And  its  stern  turned  on  Derry ; 
I  grieve  at  my  errand  o'er  the  noble  sea, 
Travelling  to  Alba  of  the  ravens. 

My  foot  in  my  sweet  little  coracle  ; 

My  sad  heart  still  bleeding  ; 

Weak  is  the  man  that  cannot  lead, 

Totally  blind  are  the  ignorant  (of  God's  will.)' 

Columba  had  for  companions  at  Glasnevin  St.  Cannech, 
St.  Ciaran,  and  St.  Comgall — and  during  their  entire  lives  a 
tender  and  ardent  friendship  united  these  holy  men  together. 
A  pestilence  which  broke  out  in  a.d.  544,  and  of  which 
St.  Ciaran  appears  to  have  died,  scattered  the  holy  disciples 
of  St.  Mobhi's  School ;  so  Columba  resolved  to  return  home 
to  his  native  territory. 

When  he  crossed  the  stream  then  called  the  Bior,  but 
now  called  the  Moyola  Water,  which  flows  into  Lough 
Neagh  at  its  north-western  extremity,  he  earnestly  prayed 
to  God  to  stay  the  ravages  of  the  terrible  **  Buidhe 
Chonnaill "  on  the  southern  banks  of  that  stream,  so  that  it 
might  not  invade  the  territories  of  his  kinsmen.  His  earnest 
prayer  was  heard,  and  thus  Tir-Owen  and  Tir-Connell 
escaped  the  dreadful  plague. 


298  THE  CULUMUIAN  SCHOOLS  IN   IRKl.AND. 


IT. CoLUMBA    FOUNDS    DeRUY. 

Columba  was  now  a  priest  twenty- five  years  of  age  ;  and 
he  began  to  think  of  fonnding  a  chnrch  in  his  native  territory. 
The   Annals  of   Ulster   record   the  founding  of   Derry  b)^ 
Columba  in  the  year  a.d.  545  -}  and  it  was  brought  about  in  this 
way.     The  first  cousin  of  St.  Columba,  Ainmire,  son  of  ISetnu, 
who  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Tara  later  on,  was  in  A.u.  545 
prince  of  Ailech  and  the  neighbouring  territory.     His  eldest 
son  Aedb,  was  then  a  boy  of  ten  years  ;  but  it  seems,  according 
to  O'Donneirs  Life  of  Columba^  the  king  in  the  name  of 
his  son  Aedh,  offered  the  fort  in   which  he  then   dwelt  on 
the  site  ot*  the  present  city  of  Derry  to  his  cousin  in  order 
to  found   his   church    and   monastery.     Columba,  however, 
was  at  first  unwilling  to  accept  the  gift,  because  his  master 
Mobhi  had  not  yet  given  him,  as  was  customnry,  permission 
to  found  a  church — doubtless  thinking  him   too  young  and 
inexperienced.     But  Mobhi  himself  was  taken  sick,  and  died 
of  the  phigue  in  a.d.  o44,  shortly  after   Columba  had  left 
him  ;  and  before  he  died  he  retracted  his  prohibition,  and 
sent  two  of  his  disciples  to  Columba  with  his   girdle  as  a 
sign  to  give  him  full  permission  to  act  as  he  pleased.     These 
messengers  had  just  then  arrived;   and  so  Columba  gladly 
accepted  the  gift  of  hi»  cousin,  and  founded  his  church  on, 
what  was  called  then  and  long  after,  the  Island  of  Derry. 
It  was  a  rising  ground  oval  in  shape  containing  200  acres  of 
land,  surrounded  on  two  sides  by  the  Foyle,  and  on  the  third 
by  low  marshy  ground  since  known  as  the  '  bog.'     The  slopes 
of  the  hill  were  covered  with  a  beautiful  grove  of  oak  trees, 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  place.     In  ancient  times  it  was 
called  Daire  Calgaich,  but  after  the  tenth  centur}^  it  came  to 
be  more  commonly  known  as  Daire  Columcille. 

Columcille's  original  church,  called  the  Dubh-Regles, 
was  built  close  to  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Cathedral  ;  and  hence  it  was  outside  the  walls  of 
the  modern  city.  Nigli  to  it  were  three  wells  anciently 
known  as  Adamnan's  Well,  and  Martin's  Well,  and  Columba's 
Well.  One  of  them  is,  it  appears,  now  dry  ;  and  the  others 
are  called  simply  *'  St.  Columb's  Wells."  Near  to  the  church 
there  was  also  erected  a  round  tower,  which  in  like  manner 
has  completely  disappeared.  So  anxious  was  Columba  to 
spare  the  beautiful  oak-grove  which  covered  the  hill,  that  he 
would  not  even  build  his  church  with  the  chancel  towards 


^  A.D.  o-lo — '•  Daire  Culum  Cille  fuudata  est  "  (r€c(«,  646). 


COLUMBA  FOUNDS  DERRY.  299 

the  east  according  to  custom,  because  in  that  case  some  of 
his  beloved  oaks  should  be  cut  down  to  make  room  for  the 
church.  It  was  probably  for  the  same  reason  he  built  on  the 
low  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  instead  of  on  its  slope  or 
summit,  where  the  modern  city  stands.  He  strictly  enjoined 
his  successors  to  spare  the  sacred  grove,  and  even  directed 
in  case  anj^  of  the  trees  were  blown  down  by  the  storm  to 
give  a  part  to  the  poor,  a  part  to  the  citizens,  and  to  reserve 
another  part  as  fuel  for  the  guest-house.  In  later  ages  a 
cathedral  called  Tempi emore  was  built  on  the  slope  of  the 
hill ;  and  the  Dominicans,  Augustiuians,  and  Franciscans  had 
each  a  church  and  a  monastery  in  the  city  of  St.  Columba. 
It  also  seems  that  a  Cistercian  convent  was  founded  there, 
but  not  a  trace  of  any  of  them  now  remains  ;  so  effectually 
did  the  imported  colonists  change  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
religious  aspect  of  the  city. 

"We  know  very  little  of  the  historv  of  Derry  during  the 
period  that  Columba  ruled  over  his  monastery  in  person. 
He  always  loved  it  dearly,  and  many  a  time  his  heart  turned 
fondly  from  his  lonely  island  in  the  Scottish  main  to  his 
beloved  Derry. 

'*  The  reason  I  love  Derry  is 
For  its  peace,  for  its  purity, 
And  for  its  crowds  of  white  angels 
From  one  end  to  the  other. 

My  Derry  !  mine  own  little  grove ! 
My  dwelling,  my  dear  little  cell ; 
O  eternal  God,  in  heaven  above, 
Woe  be  to  him,  who  violates  it  I" 

From  all  the  highlands  and  valleys  of  Tir-connell  his  kith 
and  kin  rallied  round  the  young  monk  in  his  infant  monas- 
tery. It  was  built  on  the  border-land  between  the  territories 
of  Eoghan  and  Conal ;  and  in  after  ages  every  acre  of  its* 
term  on  lands  was  stained  with  blood,  shed  in  fratricidal  strife 
by  the  two  great  clans  of  the  north.  It  stood,  too,  under  the 
shadow  of  that  ancient  keep,  the  Grianan  of  Ailech,  which,  it 
is  said,  was  the  abode  of  the  northern  kings  long  before  the 
Christian  era.  It  was  certainly  the  Koyal  Fortress  of  the 
Hy-Niall  in  their  proudest  days,  and  still  rears  its  stately 
walls,  that  overlook  at  once  the  Foyle  and  the  S willy,  as  if 
in  silent  scorn  of  time  and  storm  and  man. 

It  will  help  us  to  understand  better  the  subsequent  history 
of  Columcille,  if  we  try  now  to  realize  what  manner  of  man 


300  THE  COLUMBIAN  KCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

he  was.  He  came  of  a  fierce  and  haughty  race,  and  seems  to 
have  been  himself  by  nature,  notwithstanding  his  name,  a 
man  of  ardent  temperament  and  strong  passions.  He  was, 
says  an  ancient  commentator,^  quoting  from  a  still  more 
ancient  poet,  '^  a  man  of  well-formed  and  powerful  irame  ; 
his  skin  was  white,  his  face  was  broad  and  fair  and  radiant, 
lit  up  with  large  grey  luminous  eyes  ;  his  large  and  well- 
shaped  head  was  crowned  (except  where  he  wore  his  frontal 
tonsure)  with  close  and  curling  hair.  His  voice  was  clear 
and  resonant,  so  that  he  could  be  heard  at  the  distance  of 
fifteen  hundred  paces,  yet  sweet  with  more  than  the  sweetness 
of  the  bards."  Truly  a  great  and  striking  man  to  hear  and 
to  look  at ;  one  to  admire  but  also  to  fear,  and  moreover, 
MiiLiiated  with  lofty  purpose,  and  inspired  with  all  the 
dauntless  courag-^  of  his  race.  In  many  respects  his  char- 
acter appears  to  cs  to  bear  a  very  striking  resemblance  to  the 
character  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  both  in  its  strength 
and  in  its  weakness. 

Doubtless  such  a  man  as  we  have  described,  found  it  not 
only  useful,  but  necessary  to  chastise  his  body  and  bring  it 
under  subjection.  "  Though  my  devotion  is  delightful,'*  he 
is  represented  as  saying  of  himself,  "  I  sit  in  a  chair  of  glass, 
for  I  am  fleshly  and  often  frail. ''^  We  are  told  that  he 
practised  the  most  extreme  austerities.  He  barely  took  food 
enough  to  sustain  nature,  and  that  was  of  the  simplest  kind. 
"  He  did  not,"  says  the  Felirey  "  take  as  much  in  a  week 
as  would  serve  for  one  meal  of  a  pauper.''  He  abstained 
from  meat  and  wine,  living  exclusively  on  bread  and  water, 
and  vegetables — sometimes  contenting  himself  with  nettles. 
He  slept  on  the  bare  ground  with  a  stone  for  a  pillow,  and  a 
skin  for  a  coverlid.  Three  times  at  night  he  rose  to  pray  ; 
and  often  scored  his  flesh  with  the  discipline  in  atonement 
for  his  sins.  By  day  he  read,  or  preached  to  the  brethren, 
or  recited  the  divine  office  ;  and  not  unfrequently  he  took  a 
share  in  the  manual  labour  of  the  monks — carrying  on  his 
own  broad  bare  shoulders  the  sacks  of  meal  from  the  mill  to 
the  kitchen. 

No  wonder  with  such  an  example  before  their  eyes 
that  the  young  nobles  of  Tirconnell  strove  with  generous 
emulation  to  excel  each  other  in  the  service  of  God.  What 
marvel  if  the  white-robed  brethren  under  such  a  master 
became  angels  in  the  flesh  ;  and  what  wonder  if  God's  angels 
came  down  from  heaven,  and   "  crowded  every  leaf  on  the 


^  See  the  Fdirt  of  uEnyus.       '■'Notes  to  the  Feiire. 


THE   SCHOOLS  OF  DURROW  AND  KELLS.  301 

oaks  of  Deny,"  to  listen  to  such  a  brotherhood  chanting  at 
midnight's  hour  and  at  morning's  dawn  the  inspired  strains 
jf  the  Hebrew  Bard  ? 

III. — The  Schools  of  Durrow  and  Kells. 

We  know  from  the  express  statement  of  Venerable  Bede 
that    Columba    founded    the   noble    monastery   of    Durrow 
before  he  left  Ireland  for  lona.^     Like  Derry,  it   takes  its 
name   from  an  oak- grove  ;  for  it  means  the  Plain  of  the 
Oaks — in  Irish  Dair-magh.     It  was  anciently  called  Ros- 
grencha — the  oak  plain   of   the    far  famed    E-os-grencha — 
and   also   Druim-Cain,    or   the    Beautiful   Hill ;    and    even 
to-day    whoever   wanders    through   the   rich    pastures   and 
the    stately   groves   of   Durrow   will  readily  admit  that   it 
well  deserves  its  ancient  name.     It  is  situated  not  far  from 
Clara  in  the  barony  of  Ballycowan,  in  the  King's  County  ; 
but  in  the  time  of  Columcille  it  formed  part  of  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  TeiBa.    Aedh,  son  of  Brendan,  prince  of  the  terri- 
tory, gave  it  to  Columcille  for  the   purpose  of  founding  a 
monastery.     It  is  true  that  Brendan  himself  was  alive  until 
A.D.  576  ;  but,  as  not  unfrequently   happened  in   Erin,  after 
the  death  of  Crimthann  in  a.d.  533  the  lordship  passed  not 
to   his   brother,  but   to   his   nephew,    Brendan's   son,    who 
doubtless  had  been  previously  recognised  as  the  tanist.     If, 
as  Bede  says,  the  monastery  was  founded  before  Columba 
set  out  for  Britain  in  a.d.  5()3,  it  certainly  was  not  com- 
pletely founded ;  for  several  years  after  Columba's  arrival  in 
Britain  we  read  of  the  building  of  the  Great  House  of  the 
monastery — whether  that  was,  as  Petrie  thinks,  the  round 
tower,   or   what  is  more  likely,  a  larger  church   than    the 
original  one  designed  to  accommodate  the   enlarged  com- 
munity. 

We  may  assume  then  that  Durrow  was  founded  about 
A.D,  553,  that  is  seven  years  after  the  foundation  of  Derry. 
By  this  time  the  reputation  of  Columba  had  spread  far  and 
wide  over  the  entire  kingdom.  His  *  cousins'  too  of  the 
Southern  Hy-Niall  then  reigned  at  Tara,  and  at  this  period 
the  saint  seems  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  that  branch  of 
his  family.  Being  so  famous  and  so  influential,  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  Columba  was  invited  to  found  monas- 
teries through  almost  all  the  northern  half  of  Ireland  to 
which  even  Durrow  at  that  period  belonged. 

^  Fecerat  autem  priusquam  Brittaniam  veniret  inonasterium  nobile  in 
Ilibernia,  quod  a  copia  roborum  Dearmach  lingua  Scottorum,  ».«.  Oampu 
roborum  cognominatur. — Book  iii.  4, 


302  THE  COLiriMHlAN  SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

Several  interesting  incidents  are  recorded  by  Adamnan 
in  his  Life  of  Columba  having  reference  to  I) arrow.  The 
monks,  it  seems,  had  an  orcliard  near  the  monastery  on  its 
southern  border,  and  in  the  orchard  there  was  one  tree  thai, 
produced  a  great  abundance  of  apples  ;  but  they  were  so 
bitter  that  no  one  would  eat  them.  The  saint  hearing  everv 
one  complaining  of  the  sour  apples,  raised  bis  hand  and 
blessed  the  tree  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  and  lo ! 
at  once  every  apple  on  the  tree  became  sweet  and  good  to 
eat. 

Even  when  he  was  in  lona  Columba  was  policitous  about 
his  beloved  monks  of  Durrow.  One  cold  vrinter's  day  the 
saint  in  lona  was  very  sad,  and  shed  silent  tears.  Diarmait, 
his  attendant,  asked  what  troubled  him  ;  and  Columba  replied, 
that  he  was  sore  grieved  because  he  saw  in  spirit  how  Laisren, 
the  prior  of  Durrow,  kept  his  poor  monks  working  on  that 
bitter  day  in  building  the  Great  House.^  At  the  very  same 
moment  Laisren  in  Durrow  found  himself  moved  by  some 
internal  suggestion,  and  bade  the  monks,  as  the  weather  was 
so  severe,  to  get  their  dinner,  and  take  rest  for  the  remainder 
of  the  day.  This  too  was  made  known  in  spirit  to  Columba, 
and  he  greatl}^  rejoiced. 

On  another  occasion  during  the  building  of  the  same 
Great  House,  Columba  in  spirit  saw  one  of  the  monks  falling 
from  the  very  top  of  the  roof.  ''  Help  !  help  !  "  cried  the 
saint — and  Jo  !  the  e:uardian  angfel  of  lona  flew  to  the  monk's 
aid  at  the  prayer  ot  Columba,  and  caught  him  up  belore  he 
fell  to  the  ground.  Such  is  the  speed  of  an  angel's  flight, 
and  the  virtue  of  a  saint's  prayer  ;  for  it  is  written,  *'He  hath 
given  His  angels  charge  over  thee  ;  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy 
ways.  In  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up ;  lest  thou 
dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone."  ^ 

When  Columba  was  leaving  Durrow,  he  was  very  anxious 
to  secure  the  future  well-being  of  that  dear  monastery,  which 
next  to  Derry  appears  to  have  held  the  highest  place  in  his 
affection.  There  is  an  ancient  poem  attributed  to  the  saint 
in  which  he  describes  with  loving  minuteness  the  various 
charms  of  Durrow.  There  the  wind  sings  through  the  elms, 
as  well  as  through  the  oaks  ;  the  blackbird's  joyous  note  ie 
heard  at  early  dawn ;  and  the  cuckoo  chants  from  tree  tc 
tree  in  that  noble  angelic  land — "  all  but  its  govern  men  I 
was  indeed  delightful."     Elsewhere  the  saint  speaks  with 


^  The  *  Great  House  '  was  perhaps  the  abbot's  reaidouoe.     See  Potrie**" 
Round  Towers,  pa/jfo  431. 
•''  Pm.  xc.  ver8e  11. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DURROW  AN])  KKJ.LS.  503 

tenderest  feeling  of  the  toll  of  its  soft-toned  bell ;  and  the 
glories  of  the  woods  in  beautiful  many-coloured  Dair-magh. 

••  O  Cormac,  beautiful  is  that  church  of  thine, 
With  its  books,  with  its  learning ; 
A  city  devout  with  its  hundred  crosses, 
Without  blemish,  and  without  transgression.*' 

The  reference  here  is  to  Cormac  Ua  Liathain,  who  seems 
to  have  been  left  in  charge  at  Durrow,  when  Columba  himself 
retired  to  lona.  .But  Cormac  was  aMomonian,  as  he  is  called 
in  the  dialogue  with  Columba,  and  hereditary  jealousy 
between  North  and  South  soon  showed  itself  at  Durrow  after 
Columba's  departure.  The  princes  of  the  Clan-Colman,  or 
Southern  Hy-Kiall,  objected  to  have  a  Momonian  the  ruler  in 
Durrow,  and  made  it  so  unpleasant  for  Cormac  that  the  latter, 
without  waiting  for  Columba's  permission,  resolved  to  leave 
the  government  of  Durrow  to  Laisren,  the  first  cousin  of 
Columba,  and  srek  for  himself  a  desert  isle  in  the  ocean  to 
be  the  place  of  his  rest  and  resurrection. 

With  a  few  companions  he  set  out  from  Killala,  and  sailed 
the  northern  seas  for  two  long  years,  but  yet  could  find  no 
island  home  in  the  northern  main.  Aftei-  perils  and  hard- 
ships untold,  he  and  his  famished  crew  succeeded  in  reaching 
lona,  where  they  were  kindly  welcomed  b}^  Columba.  But 
when  Columba  discovered  why  it  was  that  Cormac  had  sailed 
so  long  *  over  the  all- teeming  sea,  from  port  to  port  and  from 
wave  to  wave,'  his  brow  grew  stern  ;  and  he  felt  much  inclined 
to  rebuke  Cormac  severly  for  his  disobedience.  "  Thou  art 
uelcome,"  he  said  ;  "  since  the  sea  bath  sent  thee  hither — 
else  thou  hath  merited  satire  and  reproach."^ 

Columba  then  urges  on  Cormac  to  return  back  again  to 
his  monastery  in  Durrow  ;  he  enlarges  on  the  beauty  of  that 
devout  city  with  its  books,  and  its  learning,  and  its  hundred 
crosses  ;  he  describes  how  sweet  is  the  blickbird's  .-on!^:  and 
the  music  of  the  wind,  as  it  murmurs  through  the  elms  on  the 
Oak-p]ain  of  far-famed  Ros-grencha  ;  he  promises  Cormac 
that  he  will  cause  the  Clann-Colman  of  the  reddened  swords 
to  protect  the  monastery  of  Durrow  ;  **  and  I  pledge  thee  my 
unerring  word,"  he  said,  *'  which  may  not  be  impugned, 
that  death  is  better  in  repronchless  Erin  than  life  for  ever  in 
Alba."2 

Still  Cormac  was  unwilling  to  return — "  How  can  I  go 
there  amongst  the  powerful  northern   tribes  in  that  border 


^  See  Reeves'  Ailainnan,  page  276.         "  Ibid,  page  269 


804  THE  COLUMBIAN  ftCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

land,  O  Colum  ?  and  if  it  is  better  to  be  in  noble  Erin  than  in 
inviolate  Alba,  do  tbou  return  to  Erin  and  leave  me  at  least 
by  turns  in  Alba."  The  discussion  grew  warm  between  the 
two  saints  ;  but  it  appears  to  have  ended  amicably.  Cor  mac 
was  allowed  to  remain  for  a  time  in  lona,  and  afterwards  to 
found  a  monastery  of  his  own  in  Tyrawley,  on  condition  that 
he  used  his  influence  with  his  southern  kinsmen  to  make  them 
pay  their  alms  and  dues  to  the  mon aster v  of  Durrow. 

The  two  Irish  poems  printed  by  Colgan  and  Bishop 
Beeves  giving  an  account  of  these  events,  can  scarcelj'  in  their 
present  form  be  regarded  as  the  composition  of  Columcille. 
There  can  hardly  be  any  doubt,  however,  that  they  convey  a 
truthful  narratiTe  of  the  facts,  and  were  in  their  original 
form  the  work  of  Columcille  himself. 

Whilst  Columba  was  at  Durrow  he  wrote,  as  far  as  we 
can  judge  with  his  own  hands,  the  celebrated  copy  of  the 
Gospels,  known  as  the  Book  of  Durrow.  That  the  saint  was 
an  accomplished  scribe  is  certain ;  we  know  from  many 
passages  in  his  life  that  he  spent  much  time  in  copying  parts 
of  the  sacred  volume ;  and  he  was  engaged  in  the  same  pious 
labour  when  he  felt  the  call  of  death,  and  asked  Baithen  "  to 
write  the  rest."  We  shall  see  later  on  how  he  copied  stealthily 
Fiunian's  MS.  of  the  Gospels,  which  afterwards  led  to  serious 
trouble  and  much  bloodshed  in  Erin. 

The  Book  of  Durrow  is  a  highly  ornamental  copy  of  the 
Four  Gospels  according  to  Jerome's  version,  then  recently 
introduced  in  Ireland.  It  is  written  across  the  page  in  single 
(•olumns,  and  the  MS.  also  contains  the  Epistle  of  St.  Jerome 
to  Pope  Damasus,  an  explanation  of  certain  Hebrew  names, 
with  the  Eusebian  Canons  and  synoptical  tables.  It  has  also 
symbolical  representations  of  the  Evangelists,  and  many 
pages  of  coloured  ornamentation — spiral,  interlaced,  and 
tesselated.^  There  is  a  partly  obliterated  entry  on  the  back 
of  fol.  12,  praying  for  "a  remembrance  of  the  scribe,  Columba, 
who  wrote  this  evangel  in  the  space  of  twelve  days."  That 
Columba  was  indeed  the  scribe  who  wrote  this  manuscript  is 
rendered  still  more  probable  from  the  old  tradition  that  he 
with  his  own  hands  wrote  a  copy  of  the  Gospels  for  each  of 
the  monasteries  which  he  had  founded.  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  Book  of  Derry  was  lost,  but  fortunately  the  Book 
of  Durrow  and  the  Book  of  Kells  are  still  in  existence.  It  is 
referred  to  by  O'Clery  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal ,  "as 
having  gems  and  silver  on  its  cover,"  and  was  seen  by  Connell 


1  Gilbert,  National  MSS.,  page  10. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DURROW  AND  KELLS.  305 

Mac  Geoguegan,  the  translator  o£  the  A  7ina/s  of  Clonmacnoise^ 
who  made  an  entry  at  the  foot  of  folio  116  in  the  year 
A..D.  1623.  It  Mas  then  at  Durrow,  but  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  Henry  Jones,  Vice- Chancellor  of  Trinity  College 
in  the  time  of  Cromwell.  O'Flaherty  saw  it  in  a.d.  1677,  and 
fortunately  then  deciphered  the  inscription  on  the  cover,  and 
entered  it  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  manuscript.  The  cover  has 
since  disappeared  with  its  gems  and  its  silver  cross — but 
thanks  to  O'Flaherty  we  know  the  inscription,  which  it 
bore  in  Irish — Oroith  agus  be:iedacht  Coluimcille  do  Fland 
Mace  Mailshechnaill  do  righ  Erenn  las  a  ndernad  a  cum- 
dach  SO. 

"The  prayer  and  benediction  of  Columcille  for  Mail- 
shechnaill, King  of  Erin,  for  whom  this  cover  was  made/' 

"  I  have  seen,''  says  O'Flaherty,  referring  to  this  MS. 
and  its  cover,  ''  handwritings  of  St.  Columba  in  Irish 
characters,  as  straight  and  as  fair  as  any  prints  of  above  1,000 
years  standing,  and  Irish  letters  engraved  in  the  time  of 
Flann,  King  of  Ireland,  deceased  in  a.d.  916."  O'Flaherty 
saw  the  Book  in  Trinity  College  in  a.d.  1677  ;  and  it  is  there 
still.  Jones,  the  Vice-Chancellor,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Meath, 
gave  it  to  the  College. 

At  present  there  is  no  trace  of  any  of  the  ancient  build- 
ings at  Durrow.     There  is  a  holy  well — St.  Columba's  well — 
still  flowing,  which  is  greatly  veneratei  for  the  virtue  of  ita 
waters,  and  is  kept  in  good  order  by  the  present  noble  pro- 
prietor of  these  lands.  Lord  Norbury,  whose  mansion  is  close 
at  hand.     There  is  an  old  church -yard,  too,  which  doubtless 
marks  the  site  of  the  ancient  churches ;  it  is  still  much  used 
for  burials,   although   already  overcrowded'  with  the  dead. 
The  most  interesting  memorial,  however,  at  present  in  Dur- 
row is  a  beautiful  sculptured  cross  which  stands  on  a  low 
stone  pedestal  close  to  the  church-yard.      It  is  like  the  Cross 
of  Monasterboicp.  Tnere  are  also  two  ancient  inscribed  stones, 
one    unfortunately    broken,    but    the   inscription    remains, 
>i^  OR  DO   Chathalan — (pray  for  little  Cathal) — tho  proper 
name  being  a  diminutive  of  Cathal.  This  fragment  is  now  only 
six  inches  long.     The  other  stone  asks  a  prayer  for  Aigide. 
The  inscribed  cross  on  this  stone,  now  half  buried  in  the  grass, 
is  of  the  most  chaste  and  beautiful  design,  richly  adorned 
with  spirals,  knots,  and  frets,  which  point  to  the  most  flour- 
ishing period   of  Celtic  art.     Nowhere  else  has  a  cross  of 
similar  design  been  discovered.     Two  of  the  outer  arch-stones 
of  an  ancient  and  once  very  beautiful  window  are  built  into 
a  wall  near  the  High  Cross.      No  other  remains  of  antiquitv 

u 


306  TUT.  COlAUniA'S   SCHOOLS  IN   IRELAND. 

nre  now  to  be  found  on  the  site  of  the  once  celebrated  monas- 
tery of  Duvrow. 

Huf^h  do  Lacy  completely  desolated  Durrow  and  uprootcu 
its  ancient  slirines.  In  the  ycLir  a.d.  .11S()  that  stern  warrior 
set  about  building  a  castle  at  Durrow.  For  this  purpose  he 
seized  the  abbev-lands,  drove  out  the  neighbouring  Celtic 
proprietor,  whose  name  was  Fox,  and  proceeded  to  build  his 
ca<^ft<3  with  the  stones  of  Columba's  monastery  and  churches. 
But  this  was  the  close  of  his  evil  career.  A  workman,  sent 
it  is  said  by  Fox  for  the  purpose,  was  watching  for  his  oppor- 
tunity, and  when  De  Lacy,  who  superintended  the  work  in 
person,  was  stooping  forward,  he  struck  off  his  head  with  one 
blow  of  his  keen  axe.  The  body  fell  into  the  ditch  of  the 
castle ;  and  at  the  same  moment  the  assassin  burst  through 
the  astonished  workmen^and  fled  into  the  neighbouring  woods. 
"It  was  in  revenge  of  Columcille'*  that  this  was  done,  say 
the  Four  Masters,  and  certainly  it  seems  as  if  the  fate  that 
oV'Crtook  this  "prof an er  and  destroyer  of  many  churches" 
was*thc  not  unnatural  outcome  of  his  own  evil  deeds.  In 
1839  the  Earl  of  Norbury,  a  worthy  successor  of  De  Lacy, 
was  assassinated  in  the  same  spot,  after  he  had  erected  a 
castle  on  the  site  of  De  Lacy's. 

Pallas  te  hoc  vulnere,  Pallas 

Immolat,  et  poenam  scelerato  de  sanguine  suniit. —  Virgil. 

lY. — The  Foundation  of  Kells. 

The  foundation  of  Kells  took  place  soon  after  that  of 
Durrow,  but  the  exact  date  cannot  be  assigned — all  vre  know 
is  that  it  was  founded  during  the  reign  of  King  Diarmait, 
the  son  of  Fergus  Cearbhaill.  It  is  necessary  to  know  some- 
thing of  this  King  Diarmait,  w'hose  history  is  intimately 
connected  with  that  of  Columcille.  He  was  great  grandson 
of  JNiall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  and  therefore  a  second  cousin 
once  removed  of  Columcille  himself.  But  Columcille  belonged 
to  the  northern  or  Ulster  Hy-Niall,  who  derived  their  descent 
from  Eoghan  and  Conal  Gulban;  while  the  southern,  or  Meath 
Hj-Niall,  were  descended  from  Conal  Crimthann,  another 
son  of  Niall  the  Great,  who  fixed  his  residence  in  Meath. 
Considerable  jealousy  existed  between  these  two  branches  of 
the  Hy -Niall  stock,  especially  when  Diarmait  succeeded  to 
the  throne  of  Tara  alter  the  murder  of  his  predecessor, 
Tuathal  Maelgarbh  in  a.d.  544 ;  for  he  was  supposed  to  have 
instigated  the  commission  of  tluit  crime.  The  princes  of  thr 
North,  especially  the  sons  of  the  gallant  and  ill-fttted  Muir- 


'  !Sue   J.'rtiii>s8or  ^5tokcls'  very  iutorostin;.:  Ltftuio. 


TFTE   FOl'NDATION  OF  KELLS.  307 

ceartach  Mac  Earca,  considered  that  they  themselves  had  a 
better  title  to  the  throne  than  Diarmait,  and  indeed  during 
his  reign  of  twenty  years  they  were  often  in  rebellion  against 
him,  and  not  unfrequently  were  victorious  in  the  strife.  Still 
Diarmait  contrived  to  maintain  his  hold  of  Tara,  and  governed 
the  kingdom  with  vigour  and  wisdom,  until  he  fell  out  with 
the  '  Saints/  whom  he  foimd  more  difficult  to  control  than 
the  princes  of  the  rival  line.  In  consequence  of  his  dispute 
with  St.  Ruadhan  of  Lorrha,  Tara  was  cursed  and  abandoned ; 
and  because  of  another  outrage  which  he  offered  to  Colura- 
^7Ae  the  great  battle  of  Cuil-dreimhne  was  fought  in  which 
his  army  was  utterly  routed,  and  he  himself  escaped  with 
much  difficult3\  Shortly  afterwards  he,  in  his  turn,  was 
slain  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin. 

The  only  authority  we  have  in  reference  to  the  foundation 
of  Kells  during  the  reign  of  this  Diarmait  is  O'Donnell's 
Life  of  Cohnnba.  It  is  not  noticed  in  our  Annals^  nor,  at 
least  explicitly,  in  the  other  Lives  of  the  Saint.  According 
CO  O'Donnell's  Life,  Colurnba,  after  founding  Durrow,  went 
to  Kells^ — in  Irish  Cenannus — where  it  seems  the  king  then 
lived,  although  he  happened  to  be  absent  at  this  time.  The  saint 
when  entering  the  place  was  very  rudely  received  by  certain 
soldiers  of  the  lioyal  Guard,  to  whom  he  was  most  probablv 
unknown.  But  when  the  king  returned  home  and  heard  that 
his  soldiers  had  insulted  the  greatest  saint  in  Erin  at  the  time, 
and  moreover  one  of  his  own  royal  blood,  he  resolved  to  make 
over  the  city  itself  to  Colurnba  for  a  monastery^  as  an  atone- 
ment for  the  rudeness  of  his  soldiers.  Columba  could  expect 
no  more,  and  thankfully  accepted  the  gift.  '  The  donation 
was  also  ratified  by  the  sanction  of  Aedh  Slaine,  the  eldest  son 
of  the  king,  and  heir  apparent  to  the  throne.  In  return 
Columba  predicted  that  Aedh  would  mount  the  throne  of 
Erin,  and  that  his  reign  would  be  prosperous  so  long  as  he 
abstained  from  shedding  innocent  blood — a  condition  how- 
ever^ which  he  afterwards  did  not  observe. 

Kells  was  thus  founded  about  the  year  a.d.  554,  althouo-h 
its  ibundation  is  sometimes  set  down  so  early  as  the  year  a,d. 
550.  It  does  not,  however,  seem  to  have  aitained  great  emi- 
nence during  the  lifetime  of  St.  Columba  himself ;  for  its  fame 
was  eclipsed  by  other  more  celebrated  houses  founded  by  the 
saint.  It  was  only  after  the  decline  of  lona  in  the  nintli 
century,  consequent  on  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  that  Kells 
became  the  chief  monastery  of  the  Columbian  order  both  in 
Erin  and  Alba,  as  we  shall  see  further  on. 

It  may  be  useful,  however,  at  present  to  make  reference  to 


'  The  Irish  Life  in  the  Book  of  Lismore  indirertly  implies  that  Kella 
^as  founded  by  St.  Columba,  as  well  as  inany  other  chnrohes  in  Bregia. 


308  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN   IRKLAND. 

the  chief  memorials  of  Colutnba,  wliich  point  to  his  own 
intimate  connection  with  that  establishment.  St.  Cohunba'a 
*  House  '  is  the  most  interesting  of  the  existing  antiquities 
at  Kells.  We  may  safely  accept  the  opinion  of  the  learned 
and  accurate  Petrie,  that  St.  Columba's  House  at  Kells  and 
St,  Kevin's  at  Ghaidalough  were  erected  by  ihe  persons 
whose  names  they  bear,  and  that  they  both  served  tlie  double 
purpose  of  a  htjbitation  and  an  oratory.^  The  building  is  a 
plain  oblong,  twenty-four  feet  long  by  twenty-one  broad, 
having  a  very  high-pitched  pyramidal  stone  roof,  which  is 
now  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  ivy.  The  original 
door  was  in  the  west  end,  but  for  the  purpose  of  greater 
security  was  placed  about  eight  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
must  have  been  reached  by  a  ladder  which  could  easily  be 
drawn  up  by  tlie  inmates  in  case  of  alarm  or  danger.  The 
building  contains  two  apartments  ;  the  lower,  which  was  the 
oratory,  is  covered  with  a  semicircular  stone  arching,  and  was 
lighted  liy  tw^o  sm.all  windows — a  slender  semicircular  one  in 
the  east  gable,  and  a  triangular  headed  one  in  the  south  side- 
wall.  The  chamber  or  sleeping  apartment  of  the  saint  was 
in  the  croft  between  the  convex  arching  and  the  roof.  It  is 
about  six  feet  high,  and  is  lighted  by  a  small  window  in  the 
gable.  It  appears  originally  to  have  contained  three  apart- 
ments, in  one  of  which  is  a  large  flat  stone  six  feet  in  length, 
which  is  traditionally  said  to  have  been  Columba*s  bed.  If 
we  suppose  a  somewhat  similar  house  to  have  been  at  Durrow, 
it  will  help  to  explain  Adamnan's  reference  to  the  Great 
House,  and  the  danger  of  falling  from  the  ridge  of  the  roof, 
for  in  Kells  it  is  thirty-eight  feet  from  the  ground. 

There  is  a  sculptured  cross  standing  in  the  market-place 
of  the  same  character  as  that  of  Durrow ;  there  is  another 
fine  ancient  cross  in  the  churchyard  having  on  the  plinth 
in  Irish  characters  the  words — 

"  Patricii  et  Colurabae  (Crux)." 

which  show  that  it  was  erected  to  commemorate  these  two 
great  saints,  and  probably  at  the  time  when  Kells  was  the 
recognised  head  of  all  the  Columbian  foundations.  There  is 
a  third  cross,  which  Miss  Stokes  declares  to  have  been  the 
finest  of  the  three,  now  lying  mutilated  in  the  church.  These 
crosses  show  that  ecclesiastical  art  was  carefully  and  success- 
fully cultivated  at  Kells,  and  that  the  city  well  deserved  the 
appellation  of  "  Kells  of  the  Crosses." 

The  fine  round  tower  of  Kells,  which  is  still  ninety  feet 


*  Hound  Towers,  payo  437. 


THE  FOUiNDATION  OF  KEJ.LS.  SOU 

high,  marks  the  itnpurtance  of  the  place  during  the  Danish 
wars,  and  fixes  also  the  site  of  the  great  church,  for  the 
towers  were  almost  always  built  within  ten  or  twelve  paces  of 
the  great  western  door  of  the  church  towards  the  left  or 
southern  side,  looking  from  the  doorway.  No  trace,  how- 
ever, of  the  great  church  now  remains  at  Kells,  from  the 
sacristy  of  which  we  are  told  the  Great  Gospel  of  Columcille 
was  stolen  at  nii^ht  in  the  year  a.d.  1006.^ 

This  Great  Gospel  of  Columcille  was  without  any  doubt  the 
celebrated  MS., known  as  the  Book  of  Kells,  which  is  now  pre- 
served in  the  Library  of  Trinity  College,  JJublin.  It  is  highly 
probable  both  from  intrinsic  and  extrinsic  evidence,  that  like 
the  Book  of  Durrow,  this  celebrated  codex  was  written  by 
Columcille  himself,  although,  doubtless  the  ornamentation 
was,  at  least  to  some  extent,  wrought  by  other,  if  not  by 
later  hands.  The  tradition  of  the  church  itself,  as  shown 
from  the  entry  in  the  Annals  quoted  above,  shows  that  so 
early  as  the  year  a.d.  1006  it  was  regarded  as  a  copy  of  th^ 
Gospels,  if  not  written,  certainly  used  by  the  saint  himself. 
It  is  called  the  Great  Gospel  of  Columcille,  and  truly  well 
deserves  that  name,  for  it  has  been  pronounced  by  Professor 
J.  0.  Westvvood,  of  Oxford,  to  be  ''unquestionably  the  most 
elaborately  executed  MS.  of  so  early  a  date  now  in  existence, 
far  excelling  in  the  gigantic  size  of  the  letters  at  the  beginning 
of  each  Gospel,  the  excessive  minuteness  of  the  ornamental 
details  crowded  into  whole  pages,  the  number  of  its  very 
peculiar  decorations,  the  fineness  of  the  writing,  and  the 
endless  variety  of  its  initial  capitals,  the  famous  Gospels  of 
Lindisfarne  in  the  Cottonian  library.''  We  may  add  that  the 
Gospel  of  Lindisfarne  was  also  a  work  of  Irish  art,  as 
Lindisfarne  itself  was  originally  a  monastery  founded  and 
peopled  by  Irish  monks  from  lona. 

No  description  can  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  Book  of 
Kells — it  must  be  seen  and  studied  to  be  duly  appreciated. 

It  has  had,  too,  a  strange  history.  It  was  stolen,  as  we 
have  seen,  by  some  sacrilegious  wretch  in  a.d.  1006 ;  and  at 
that  time  it  was  regarded  as  the  chief  relic  of  the  western 
world.  Fortunately  it  was  found  after  forty  days  and  two 
months,  covered  with  sods  in  a  bog,  but  its  gold  had  been 
stripped  ofP.  Some  few  leaves  at  the  beginning  have  been  lost, 
and  certain  deeds  and  ^Tants  of  land  made  to  the  churches  of 
Kells  are  recorded  in  Irish  on  some  of  the  blank  pages  pro- 
bably left  there  for  that  purpose.  In  the  time  ot  Usher  it 
was  still  preserved  at  Kells  ;  but  he  secured  it  when  Bishop 
of  Meath,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  to  collate  the  readings  with 

'  Four  Mu'^ters. 


310  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS   IN  IRELAND 

the  Vulgate;  whether  it  was  by  purchase  or  otherwise  we 
cannot  say.^  It  passed  to  Trinity  College  with  Usher's 
collection,  an  1,  like  many  of  the  other  ancient  treasures  of 
Celtic  Ireland,  is  preserved  there  at  present. 

We  have  already  referred  to  another  manuscript  written 
by  Columbii,  which  has  had  a  far  more  momentous  history 
than  either  the  Book  of  Dtirrow  or  the  Book  of  Kells,  that  is 
the  i\lS.  which  caused  the  battle  of  Cuil-Dreimhne,  and 
which  was  indirectly,  at  least  according  to  the  common 
account,  the  means  of  sending  Colurnba  to  preach  tlie  Gospel 
in  Alba.    It  was  brought  about  in  this  way  according  to  Keating. 

That  Diarmait,  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken,  made  a 
great  feast  at  Tara,  and  many  princes  and  nobles  were 
present  at  the  feast.  There  were  also  games  on  the  green  of 
Tara,  and  during  a  game  of  hurling  Curnan,  son  of  Hugh, 
son  of  Eochaidh  Tirmcharna,  struck  the  son  of  the  king's 
steward  with  his  hurley  and  killed  him  with  the  blow. 
Brawling  at  the  games  of  Tara  was  strictty  forbidden ;  so 
the  young  Prince  of  Connaught  knowing  the  consequences  of 
his  rash  act,  fled  for  refuge  to  Columcille,  who  was  in  Tara 
at  the  time.  But  Diarmait  seized  the  fugitive,  tore  him  from 
the  embrace  of  the  saint,  andhad  him  put  to  death  on  the  spot. 

But  this  was  not  all.  It  seems  that  on  this  occasion 
Colurnba  came  to  Tara  to  claim  in  the  court  of  the  king  that 
copy  of  the  Psalms  which  he  had  stealthily  made  from  the 
copy  which  St.  Finnian  had  brought  from  Ronoe,  and  which 
he  very  highly  prized.  Finnian  waited  until  Colurnba,  who 
was  a  choice  scribe,  had  completed  the  copy,  and  then 
claimed  it  as  his  own.  We  have  already  spoken  of  Diarmait's 
decision,  and  Columba's  appeal  to  his  kinsmen  iu  the  North. 

They  flew  to  arms,  and  called  to  their  aid  all  those  who 
had  sufiered  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  King  Diarmait.  Very 
soon  they  assembled  a  great  army  in  the  heart  of  the  North. 
It  was  led  by  the  two  sons  of  Muircheartach  Mac  Earca, 
Fergus  and  Domhnall,  the  rival  claimants  of  the  crown,  and 
by  Ainmire,  son  of  Sedna,  flrst  cousin  of  Columba,  and  by 
Nainnidh.  son  of  Duach,  another  first  cousin,  and  by  Aedh,the 
Prince  of  Connau^^ht,  whose  son  had  been  put  to  death  by  the 
King  at  Tara.  This  was  a  formidable  alliance,  but  King 
Diarmait  lost  no  time  in  raising  troops  to  meet  his  foes.  The 
two  armies  came  into  collision  on  the  ridge  of  Cuil-Dremihne, 
now  Cooladrummon,  between  Benbulbin   mountain  and  the 

^  At  tho  Dissolution  in  a.d.  1o39  the  Bhi'k  camH  mtt)  the  hnuds  of  Gerald 
Plujiket  of  Dublin,  but  he  appciirs  to  have  restored  it  to  tho  uionks  ot 
KeUa. 


THE  FOU.NOATION   OF   KKLlS.  311 

sea,  in  the  county  Sligo.  It  is  said  the  rival  saints  supported 
rhe  rival  armies— that  Columuille  prayed  for  the  men  of  the 
North,  and  that  St,  Finnian  was  behind  the  lines  of  King 
Diarmait.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  men  of  the  North  were 
completely  victorious;  three  thousayid  of  their  foes  were 
slain,  while  only  one  man  fell  on  their  side,  who  had  trans- 
gressed the  precept  of  Columba  lorbiddingthem  to  go  bejond 
a  certain  point  on  the  held,  called  the  Druid's  fence. 

Then  it  seems  his  conscience  sorely  smote  Columcille.  Was 
he  justified  m  urging  his  kinsmen  to  fight  this  bloody  battle 
which  caused  the  loss  of  three  thousand  lives?  He  went  straight 
to  his  conl'essor,  St.  Molaise  of  Innismurray  Island,  who  at 
the  time  was  in  his  own  Church  of  Ahamlish,  not  more  than 
two  miles  from  the  scene  of  the  battle.  Molaise  declared  that 
Columcille  had  sinned,  and  that  he  must  do  penance  ;  and 
his  penance  must  be  proportionate  to  his  fault.  He  bade 
him  leave  Ireland,  and  go  to  preach  the  Gospel,  where  he 
would  gain  as  many  souls  for  Christ  as  lives  were  lost  in  the 
battle,  and  never  look  upon  his  native  land  again. 

It  has  been  said  that  this  stor}?-  is  the  invention  of  a  later 
age  ;^  that  it  is  in  itself  improbable  ;  and  above  all,  that 
Adamnan  is  silent  in  reference  to  it.  It  is,  however,  the 
expression  of  a  very  ancient  tradition,  and  it  is  assumed  as 
true  by  O'Donnell  in  his  Life  of  Columba^  by  Keating,  and 
l)y  the  Four  Masters.  The  silence  of  Adamnan,  too,  is  very 
significant.  He  refers  in  more  than  one  place  to  the  battle 
of  Cuil-Dreimhne,  as  if  it  were  an  era  in  the  life-history  of 
(Jolumba.  He  plainly  does  not  want  to  say  anything 
derogatory  to  the  Saint  of  lona  ;  but  in  our  opinion  he  also 
plainly  implies  that  he  had  some  connection  with  the  battle 
of  Cuil-Dreimhne  ;  to  which  he  either  thinks  it  inexpedient 
or  unnecessary  for  him  to  make  more  explicit  reference.  We, 
therefore,  cannot  reject  the  story  as  either  improbable  iu 
itself,  or  unsupported  by  authority.  His  connection  with 
this  battle  may  have  been  a  fault,  or  even  a  crime,  on  the 
part  of  Columba  ;  but  in  itself  it  is  so  natural,  and  in  its 
consequences  so  edifying,  and  so  encouraging  to  our  frail 
human  nature,  that  we  cannot  help  saying  nom  our  hearts — 
O  felix  culpa — O  blessed  fault  which  produced  so  much  good 
both  for  Erin  anel  for  Alba.  The  j)oem^  in  which  Columba 
declares  that  the  voyage  to  Alba  was  enjoined  on  him  for  his 
own  share  in  this  battle,  if  not  his  composition,  is  certainlv 

1  Such  is  the  opinioa   of  the  learned  Cardinal  Moran  expressed  to  the 
writer  in  person. 

-  See  Keevetj'  Adamnan,  page  275. 


312  TIIK  COLUMBIAN  ^CllO()LS  IN   UIKI.ANI). 

of  very  uiicicnt  origin,  and  furnislies  a  distinct  [iroof  of  tho 
existence  of  tlie  tradition  at  the  time  it  was  written. 

Tlie  site  of  tlie  battle  is  a  remarkable  spot.  The  tdwnkmd 
of  Coohulrnmmon  is  situuted  on  the  very  crest  of  the  hill,  in  a 
line  with  the  nose  of  Beubulben  mountain,  about  six  miles 
north  of  Slio'O.  It  commands  a  view  of  unrivalled  beauty 
both  by  land  and  sea.  The  tourist  travelling  from  Sligo  to 
Bundoi'an  will  be  on  the  very  battle  field  of  Cuil-Dreimhne 
as  soon  as  he  readies  that  point  of  the  road  on  the  very  crest 
of  the  ridge,  where  the  Bay  of  Donegal  at  once  bursts  full 
upon  his  view.  Let  him  pause  and  admire  it  at  his  leisure, 
for  rarely,  if  ever,  will  he  see  again  such  an  expanse  of  sea, 
backed  by  noble  mountains,  and  waving  woods,  and  fertile 
fields,  and,  especially  in  Columba's  own  DrumclifP,  many  a 
neat  but  frugal  happy  homestead. 

The  battle  of  Cuil-.Dreimhne  was  fought  a.d.  561  ;  but 
Columba  and  his  associates  did  not  set  out  for  Alba  untd 
nearly  two  years  later,  in  a.d.  563.  The  traditional  accounts 
of  his  departure  from  Derry,  and  his  arrival  in  Zona,  are 
exceedingly  touching. 

Having  made  up  his  mind  to  perform  the  bitter  penance 
enjoined  on  him  by  Molaise  at  the  Cross  of  Ahamlish  (Ath- 
Imk^isi),  his  first  object  would  naturally  be  to  seek  companions 
for  his  voyage.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  perilous  and  laborious 
enterprise  ;  but  he  lb und  no  difiiculty  in  procuring  associates 
in  his  task.  As  soon  as  he  made  known  his  resolution  to  the 
monks  of  Derry,  he  had  abundance  of  volunteers  who  feared 
no  perils,  and  were  ready  to  accompany  their  beloved  abbot 
to  any  spot  on  earth  where  he  chose  to  dwell.  He  selected 
tw^elve  from  amongst  them — men  of  his  own  blood,  and  monks 
of  his  own  obedience.  Amongst  them  were  his  uncle,  Ernaan, 
who  afterwards  became  superior  of  the  monastery  in  the 
Island  of  Hinba,  and  his  two  first  cousins,  Baithen,  who 
succeeded  him  in  lona,  and  his  brother,  Oobthach,  both  sous 
of  Brenden,  son  of  Fergus,  grandfather  of  the  saint. 

It  appears  the  exiles  set  sail  from  Derry  for  the  north  in 
one  or  two  currachs,  in  the  year  a.d.  563,  when  Columba  was 
in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age.  When  they  came  to  set 
sail,  not  only  the  monks  of  Derry,  but  the  bishops  and  clergy 
and  people, from  all  the  country  round  about,  crowded  to  the^ 
shore  to  bid  farewell  to  their  beloved  saint.  Then  a  great 
wailing  was  borne  on  the  breeze  that  filled  the  light  sails  of 
the  currachs  ;  even  the  wild  sea-birds  hovered  round  their 
bark,  as  if  loth  to  leave  the  blessed  Columba.  His  heart  was 
full,  and  his  eyes  were    dim  with  tears,  as  ho  saw  the  oak- 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  KELLS.  ol3 

woods  of  DeiT}'  and  the  hills  of  Illi^hovven  fading,  ii  might 
be  for  ever,  from  his  view.  In  the  old  Irish  poem  alrendy 
referred  to,  there  are  some  stanzas  which  are  supposed  to 
oive  expression  to  the  feelings  of  the  saint,  whm,  with 
bleeding  heart,  he  vainly  sought  another  glimpse  of  Erin 
timid  the  waste  of  waters  all  around  him.  We  venture  to 
render  a  few  of  these  stanzas  in  verse : — 

"  Ab  !  my  heart  will  never  find  rest, 
There's  a  tear  in  my  soft  grey  eye  ; 
Give  Eri  once  more  to  my  breast, 
And  then  I  am  ready  to  die. 

I  istand  on  the  deck  of  my  bark, 

And  gaze  o'er  the  southern  sea  ; 
Bi  t  alas  !  and  alas  !  my  Eri 

For  ever  is  hidden  from  me. 

How  bright  are  the  eyes  of  my  Eri  , 

Tiike  the  gleam  of  an  angel's  wi'-'g  ; 
All  sweet  is  the  breath  of  my  Eii — 

Her  voice  is  the  music  of  Spring. 

On  !  deep  is  my  burden  of  sorrow  ; 

I  pine  like  the  niateless  dove — 
Will  this  heart  from  the  years  never  borrovi? 

A  balm  for  the  loss  of  my  love  ?" 

Supposing  that  Columba  and  his  twelve  companions  sailed 
straight  for  the  Western  Isles  of  Scotland,  one  day's  pros- 
perous breeze  would  carry  them  past  the  Rhynns  of  Islay, 
and  bring  them  in  sight  of  Colonsay.  It  is  said  that  Columba 
and  his  companions  landed  on  the  southern  extremity  of 
Colonsay,  now  called  Oronsay,  and  mounting  the  clilfs  looked 
along  the  verge  of  the  southern  horizon.  Dimly  in  the 
distance  like  a  cloud,  he  saw  the  hills  of  Inishowen,  and 
once  more  he  bade  his  companions  embark — for  he  might  not 
stay  where  he  could  see  the  distant  hills  of  Erin.  So  they 
re-embarked  and  sailed  further  north,  until  they  landed  on 
lona,  which  is  alout  twenty  miles  north-and-by-west  of 
Colonsay. 

**  To  oars  again  ;  we  may  not  stay, 

For  ah  !  on  ocean's  rim  I  see, 
Where  sunbeams  pierce  the  cloudy  day, 
From  these  rude  hills  of  Oronsay, 

The  isle  so  dear  to  me. 

But  when  once  more  we  set  our  feet 

On  wild  sea- crag  or  islet  fair, 
There  shall  we  make  our  calm  retrtat. 
And  spend  our  lives  as  it  is  meet, 

In  penance  and  in  prayer.  "^ 


^  Gie«n  Leaves^  by  T.  D.  Sullivuii. 


314  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

On  the  southern  shore  of  lona  there  is  a  small  sandy  cove, 
bounded  on  both  sides  by  steep  and  ragged  cliffs  rising  from 
tho  waves.  A  patch  of  green  sward  runs  down  to  the  sandy 
margin  of  this  little  bay,  and  outside  it  is  sheltered  from  the 
fury  of  the  south  and  south-west  winds  by  several  rocky 
islets,  through  which,  however,  a  currach  might  easily  glide 
even  in  broken  weather,  and  reach  the  little  sandy  beach  in 
safely.  This  cove  is  irtill  called  Port  a  Chttrraich^  and  it  is 
the  unfailing  tradition  of  lona  that  it  was  in  this  cove 
Columba  and  his  companions  first  landed,  and  that  the  cove 
takes  its  name  from  his  currach.  '*  The  length  of  the 
curachan  or  ship  is  obvious  to  anyone  who  goes  to  the  place, 
it  being  marked  up  at  the  head  of  the  harbour  upon  the 
grass  between  two  little  pillars  of  stone,  set  up  to  show  forth 
the  same,  between  which  pillars  there  is  three  score  of  foots 
in  length,  which  was  the  exact  length  of  the  curachan  or 
ship.''^  \Ve  must  now  devote  a  separate  chapter  to  lona  and 
its  scholars,  foi-,  during  six  hundred  years,  it  was  an  Irish 
island  in  Scottish  seas. 


^  £'j:oiu  an  account  written  in  ▲.d.  17(>i» 


CHAPTER    XIY. 
THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALBA. 

I. loNA. 

'*  Saint  of  the  seas- 


Whose  days  were  passed  iti  teacher's  toil — 

Whose  evening  soug  still  filled  the  aisle — 

Whose  poet's  heart  fed  the  wild  bird's  brood— 

Whose  fervent  arm  upbore  the  rood — 

Still  from  thy  roofless  rock  so  gray, 

Thou  preachest  to  all,  who  pass  that  way." 

—M'Get. 

When  Coliiinba  landed  on  lona  he  ascended  the  steep  cllfi 
still  called  Cnoc-na-Faire—ih.Q   Hill   of  the   Outlook — ^jusfc 
above  Port-a-Churraich,  and  looking  southward  over  the  sea  to 
the  utmost  vert^e  of  the  horizon,  he  souo^ht  in  vain  for  one 
glimpse* of  the  hills  of  holy  Ireland.      He  could  see,  as  we 
saw  irom  the  same  spot,  the  rugged  peaks  of  Jura,  and  the 
brown  summits  of  Islay  ;  and  further  still  he  might  perceive 
the  bare  blue  mountains  of  Kintyre  mingling  with  the  sky ; 
but  no  trace  of  the  land  of  his  love  to  the  south  or  south-west 
— nothing  but  the  open  shoreless  sea.      Then  Columba  knew 
that  this  was  the  land  which  God  gave  him  to  be  the  place  of 
his  exile,  and  there  he  resolved  to  make  his  monastic  home, 
lona  is  little  more  than  three  miles  long,  and  less  than  a 
mile  in  average  breadth ;  and  its  physical  features  are  unin- 
viting. It  is  separated  from  the  Ross  of  Mull — a  bare  and  bleak 
mountain  district — by  a  strait  less  than  a  mile  wide.      The 
surface  of  the   island  is  very  bare  and  rugged,  especially 
towards  the  south  and  west.       On  the  north-eastern  border 
there  are  a  few  patches  of  tillage,  but  no  trace  of  a  tree.  The 
craggy  rock  crops  up  everywhere,   interspersed  with  moory 
or  sandv  flats ;  and  in  sheltered  corners  there  are  fields  of 
potatoes,  oats,  and  barley,   which,  especially  on  the  north- 
eastern shore,  grow  very  well     The  cattle  are  a  small  woolly 
haired  breed,  easily  fed  and  very  hardy.     Craggy  is  the  only 
epithet  that  will  correctly  describe  the  general  appearance  of 
the  place;    there  are  crags  everywhere,   interspert^ed   with 
patches   of  pasture,  which   furnish  a  scanty  and  precarious 
herbage  to  the  sheep  and  black  cattle.     Dunii  is  the  highest 


r» 


16  THK  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALHa. 


hill  on  the  island ;  it  is  situated  towards  the  northern 
extremity,  not  I'ar  from  the  monastery,  and  rises  to  the  height 
of  more  than  300  feet  above  the  sea.  Like  the  other  hills,  it 
is  almost  all  ntdved  rock.  The  south  and  south-western  portion 
of  the  island  is  entirely  uninliabited  ;  and  is  still  more  wild 
and  barren  than  the  north.  Across  the  middle  of  the  island 
from  east  to  west,  there  stretches  an  extensive  belt  of  low  and 
comparatively  level  land,  called  the  ATachar,  or  Plain.  The 
eastern  portion  of  this  plain,  called  Sliganach,  from  its  shelly 
beach,  is  fairly  cultivated ;  the  western  part  affords  pasturage 
to  a  goodly  number  of  sheep  and  small  hardy  cattle. 

Port  Ronan,  the  usual  landing  place,  is  close  to  the  village 
near  the  centre  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  island.  The  village 
it>elf,  in  which  there  were  some  hovels  as  poor  as  any  in 
Connemara,  contains  about  a  dozen  of  houses  ;  the  whole 
island  has  about.  500  inhabitants,  amongst  whom,  when  we 
visited  it,  there  was  not  a  single  Roman  Catholic.  There  is 
a  fair  hotel;  but  as  the  Duke  of  Argyle  allows  no  spirituous 
drinks  to  be  sold  on  the  island,  of  which  he  is  proprietor 
travellers  w^ho  wish  to  procure  refreshment  of  this  kind  had 
better  take  it  with  them.  Porter  was,  however,  surreptitiously 
sold  in  more  than  one  house  in  the  village. 

When  Columba,  with  his  twelve  companions,  came  to 
Ionn,itwasa  wilderness,  Avithout  inhabitants  and  without 
cultivation.  Fishermen  and  pilgrims  sometimes  landed  there, 
but  none  appear  to  have  settled  permanently  in  the  island. 
Tighernach,  the  accurate  annalist  of  Clonmacnoise,  states 
expressly  that  the  island  of  Hy  was  granted  to  Columcilleby 
Conall,  King  of  the  Dalriada.  On  the  other  hand,  Bede  says 
that  it  was  the  gift  of  Brude,  King  of  the  Picts ;  but  as 
Columcille  was  established  at  lona  before  the  conversion  of 
Brude,  we  must  understand  Bede  to  mean  that  the  King  of 
the  Picts  confirmed  the  grant,  which  the  sub- king  Conall  had 
already  made  to  Columba.  King  Conall  was  the  son  of 
Comgall,  who  w^as  a  grandson  of  Fergus  Mor  Mac  Earc,  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  colony  that  came  from  Dalriada  about 
the  year  a.d.  506  to  establish  themselves  in  Alba.  Kiutyre 
and  Knapdale  was  the  cradle  of  this  gallant  band,  that 
founded  the  kingdom  atterwards  known  as  the  Scottish 
Dalriada,  whose  princes  became  the  stem  of  the  royal  line  of 
Scotland*8  kings.  It  was  from  this  prince  Conall  that 
Columba  received  permission  to  settle  in  lona  in  the  first 
instance,  but  Brude  later  on,  being  a  much  more  powerful 
prince  and  ruler  of  the  outer  islands,  confirmed  the  grant, 
most  probably  at  the  earnest  request  of  Columba  himself. 


ION  A.  51 


OH 


There  is  at  present  no  trace  of  any  of  the  original  build- 
ings founded  by  Coluracille.  They  were  probably,  as  at 
Durrow,  constructed  for  the  most  part  of  perishable  materials; 
but  if  of  stone,  they  were  entirely  destroyed  during  the  oft- 
renewed  ravages  of  the  Danes.  We  do  not  think  it  necessary 
to  make  here  special  reference  to  the  churches  of  a  later  date, 
which  have  no  part  cular  connection  with  our  subject.  They 
are  in  two  groups — the  Cathedral  group  about  200  yards 
from  the  shore,  somewhat  to  tne  north  of  Port  Ronan  ;  and 
a  little  to  the  south  and  nearer  to  the  shore  the  nunnery  group 
with  the  ancient  parish  church  of  Kilronan,  a  portion  of 
whose  walls  are  still  standing.  Near  this  group  of  ruins  is 
an  ancient  cross  standing  by  the  wa^^-side,  andnowcommonW 
called  M'Lean's  Cross.  It  is  a  tall  thin  flag  covered  with 
interlacing  ornaments  of  an  Irish  character.  It  is  fixed  in  a 
kind  of  millstone  ;^  and  is  probably  as  old  as  the  time  of 
Adamnan  himself. 

In  the  cathedral  group  may  be  noticed  the  Reilig  Odhram, 
or  ancient  cemetery  surrounding  the  Church  of  St.  Odhran, 
which  is  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  cathedral.  This  Odhran 
was,  according  to  the  Irish  Life,  one  of  the  twelve  who  came 
with  Columcille,  although  Adamnan  seems  to  imply  that  he 
was  a  Briton.  He  took  sick  and  died  in  the  island,  and  gladly 
met  his  end,  that  the  burial  of  his  body  might,  as  Columcille 
said,  fix  the  roots  of  the  holy  community  in  the  island,  and 
make  it  kindred  earth.  The  cemetery  was  called  by  his  name, 
and  is  to  this  day  the  only  cemetery  in  the  island ;  for 
Columcille  saw  Odhran's  soul  going  to  heaven,  and  he  said 
that  no  request  would  be  granted  to  anyone  at  his  own  tomb 
except  it  were  first  asked  at  the  tomb  of  Odhran. 

There  is  a  large  number  of  sculptured  gravestones  in  this 
cemetery,  and  many  of  them  beautifully  wrought ;  but  none 
are  of  the  most  ancient  time,  and  very  few  of  them  bear 
inscriptions.  Yet  they  are  obviously  the  tombs  of  dis- 
tinguished persons  during  the  middle  ages— of  kings  and 
princes  ;  of  bishops  and  abbots ;  of  knights  in  armour  with 
sword  and  shield — all  resting  side  by  side  in  Reilig  Odhran. 
There  is  a  low  square  tower  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
*'  Cathedral,"  between  the  nave  and  chancel.  It  has  also  two 
transe{3ts,  and  apparently  two  iady-chapels — nearly  opposite 
the    sacristy ;    perhaps  one   was  a  mortuary   chapel.       The 


^  This  cross  'iti  marline  viae  '  is  the  only  cross  now  in  the  island  which 
could  answer  Adamnan's  description  as  that  nigh  to  which  Columba  sat  down 
to  rest  himself  on  his  last  journey  from  the  monastic  farm. — Page  231, 


318  .HE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALT^A. 

cloister  and  other  monastic  buildings  adjoined  the  chnn.'li  on 
the  north-west — so  as  to  enable  the  monks  to  enter  irojn  tlic 
cloister  by  a  door  beneath  the  tower.  There  are  two  crosses  ; 
one  is  still  standing — St.  Martin's — ^^just  before  the  groat 
western  doorway  ;  the  second  cross,  now  broken,  stood  a  little 
more  to  the  north,  and  nearer  to  the  wall  of  the  church.  The 
sculptured  figures  are  much  effaced  by  the  hand  of  time,  the 
severity  of  the  climate,  and  partly,  too,  it  is  to  be  feared,  by 
the  zeal  of  the  *  reformers.'  In  the  little  church  of  St.  Odhran 
there  was  a  beautifully  sculptured  crucifix  just  over  the 
throne  or  abbot's  seat;  but  it  has  been  wantonly  broken  and 
defaced. 

These,  however— except  the  Reilig  OdJiran — are  all  the 
remains  of  the  mediaeval  monastery  and  churches  founded  by 
the  Scottish  Kings  long  after  the  ravages  of  the  Dane--.  It 
is  now  difficult  to  fix  the  exact  sight  of  Columba's  monastery. 
It  was  in  our  opinion  within  the  circular*  enclosure,  a  little 
to  the  north,  just  outside  the  wall  enclosing  the  present 
cathedral  ruins.  The  site  of  the  mill,  to  which  Adamnan 
refers,  can  easily  be  traced  ;  there  is  the  lakelet  that  served  as 
a  mill-pond ;  the  stream  that  turned  the  mill  still  flows  to 
the  sea  ;  and  even  the  place  of  the  sluice  can  be  observed  near 
the  cottage,  that  has  Ijeen  probably  built  on  the  site  of  the 
mill.  Just  on  the  roadside  beyond  the  church  yard  is  the 
craggy  eminence,  which  Adamnan  refers  to  as  themonticulus 
monasterio  eminens  ;  and  Torr  Abb — the  Abbot's  Hock — is 
still  there  within  the  present  enclosure  and  on  the  same  side  of 
the  road.  jS^ature's  land-marks  are  all  ther?,  and  testify  to 
the  truth  and  accuracy  of  Adamnan's  most  minute  details ; 
but  the  woj-ks  of  human  hands  are  gone — by  men  they  were 
raised,  and  by  men  they  were  destroyed. 

It  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  refer  to  Columba's  mis- 
sionary laboui's  amongst  the  Picts  of  the  Highlands,  wliom 
he  converted  to  the  faith  of  Christ.  We  can  only  make  a 
brief  reference  to  his  influence  both  as  a  saint  and  as  a 
scholar  on  the  learning  of  his  own  time,  and  of  subsequent  ages. 

In  all  the  monaslei'ies  which  he  founded,  we  find  that 
Columba  made  ample  provision  for  the  pursuit  of  sacn-d 
learning,  and  the  multiplication  of  books,  witiiout  wh'ch 
these  studies  could  not  bo  successfully  carried  on.  He  was 
himself,  as  we  have  already  seen,  a  colebratod  siribe: — 

"  Tbroo  hundred  gifted,  lasting, 

Illuniumted,  noble  books  be  wrote."* 

'  Jriah  Life.. 


ION  A..  319 

In  lona  there  was  always  one  or  more  scribes  constant!}^ 
at  work  ;  and  it  was  considered  a  most  honoui-able  occupation. 
Bintben,  who  succeeded  Columba  as  Abbot,  was  frequently 
employed  as  scribe,  and  on  one  occasion  be  wrote  rather 
quickly — percurrens  scripsi — a  copy  of  tbe  Psalter,  yet  so 
accurately,  that  there  was  not  a  mistake  of  a  single  letter, 
except  in  one  word  wbere  the  vowel  i  was  omitted.  Some- 
times the  scribe  became  abbot,  but  at  other  times  he  became 
tbe  bishop,  usually  resident  in  the  community,  to  perform 
episcopal  functions  in  lona,  and  its  dependant  houses. 
Dorbene,  abbot  in  a.u.  713,  was  a  ''  choice  scribe.'*  We 
have  one  of  his  manuscripts  still  witb  bis  name  in  it  -}  and 
the  celebrated  Adaranan,  of  wbom  we  shall  speak  more  fully 
liereafter,  also  wrote  a  beautiful  hand.  There  was,  doubtless, 
a  scriptorium  in  lona  ;  and  reference  is  explicitly  made  to 
waxen  tablets  for  writing — tabulae — and  also  to  the  pens 
and  styles — graphia  and  calami — and  to  tbe  ink  horn  — 
cornicula  atramenti. 

The  study  of  the  Holy  Scripture  was  their  primary  concern ; 
the  psaltery  was  generally  got  by  heart ;  tbe  Lives  of  the 
Saints  were  read  for  the  community ;  and  the  works 
especially  of  the  Latin  Fathers,  were  frequently  studied. 
Classical  learning  was  not  neglected  in  lona,  and  the  writings 
of  Adamnan  show  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  best  Latin 
authors,  and  had  some  knowledge  of  Grreek  also.^  Theological 
and  moral  conferences  were  also  held  from  time  to  time  in 
presence  of  the  principal  members  of  the  community.  It  was 
a  monastic  principle  at  lona  as  elsewhere  *'  to  let  not  a  single 
hour  pass  in  which  the  monk  should  not  be  engaged  either 
in  prayer,  or  reading,  or  writing,  or  some  other  useful  work."^ 
Tins  was,  Adamnan  tells  us,  the  invariable  practice  of 
Columba  himself;  and  he  sought  to  make  it  the  rule  of  life 
in  all  the  monasteries  that  he  founded.  A  great  portion  of 
the  time  was  undoubtedly  given  to  manual  labour — but  then 
laborare  est  or  are — whilst  the  hands  laboured,  the  thoughts 
were  with  God  ;  and  besides  labour  is  in  itself  a  prayer,  when 
the  toil  is  necessary  and  the  purpose  holy.^ 

^  Codex  A.  of  Adamnan'8  Vita. 

2  Greek  character.'^  are  found  in  Adamiian's  earliest  MS^. 

2 In  the  Irish  Rule  attributed  to  Columcille  we  find  : — "Three  labours 
in  the  day,  i.e.,  prayers,  work,  and  reading,"  prescribed  for  all.  But 
Adamnan's  statement  is  even  more  authoritative  and  explicit : — ■ 

"Nullum  etiam  unius  horae  intervallum  transire  poterat  (Columba), 
quo  non  aut  orationi,  aut  lectioni,  vel  scriptioni,  vel  etiam  alicui  operation! 
incumberat." — Adamnan'' s  Praefatio  II, 

^  In  the  Life  in  the  Booh  of  Lismore  it  is  said  that  "  Columba  had  thrice 
fifty  monks  for  contemplation,  and  sixty  for  the  active  Uf e  " — that  is  in 
their  turn. 


320  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  AT- HA. 

It  was  also  prescribed  in  t])o  Rule  attributed  to  St.. 
Columba  that  the  monk  shonkl  lielp  his  bretbrea  by  giving 
them  instruction,  or  by  writing  for  them  ;  or  if  he  were  not 
qialified  to  discharge  the-e  iiiiporrnnr.  works  of  charity,  then 
he  was  to  help  tluMu  bv  sowing  tiieir  garments,  or  by  what- 
ever labour  they  might  be  most  in  want  of — the  principle 
being,  never  to  be  idle,  and  to  help  o'h(»r^^  as  far  as  possible.^ 

IT. — Columba  Protects  the  Bards. 

Another  way  in  which  Columba  exercised  great  influence 
on  learning  in  Ireland  was  by  his  successful  efforts  to  pres  ^rve 
the  Bards  from  the  destruction  with  which  they  were 
threatened. 

All  our  histors'"  and  all  our  literature,  even  to  some  extent 
our  laws,  down  to  the  time  of  Tighernach,  were  written  in 
verse.  Some  people  might  think  it  better  if  they  were 
written  in  prose;  but  the  probibility  is — if  we  did  not  have 
them  in  verse,  we  should  not  have  bad  them  at  all.  *'  It 
was  their  duty,'*  says  O'Donnell  in  his  Irish  Life  of  St. 
Columba,  ''  to  record  the  achievements,  wars,  and  triumphs 
of  the  kings,  princes  and  chiefs ;  to  preserve  their  genea- 
logies, and  define  the  rights  of  noble  families  ;  to  ascertain 
and  set  forth  the  limits  and  extent  of  the  sub-kingdoms  and 
territories  ruled  over  by  the  princes  and  chiefs." 

But  the  Bards  did  not  confine  themselves  to  their  official 
duties.  Being  a  highly  privileged  class,  tbey  soon  increased 
in  numbers  by  the  admission  of  their  sons  and  other  relatives 
amongst  their  ranks.  They  became  greedy  of  gain,  impor- 
tunate in  their  demands,  and  oppressive  in  their  exactions. 
They  lived  at  free  quarters,  extolling  their  benefactors 
with  extravagant  praise,  and  satirizing  the  niggardly  with 
unsparing  invective.  Even  their  best  friends  at  length 
became  weary  of  their  importunities.  The  king  nad 
expelled  them  from  his  palace  ;  but  a  party  of  them  soon 
after  reappeared,  and  audaciously  demanded  as  their  fee  the 
royal  brooch — the  Roth  Croi — which  the  king  wore  on  hid 
breast. 

Tired  of  their  eulogies  and  exactions,  he  and  the  whole 

nation  rose  up  against  the  avarice  and  venom  of  the  Bards. 

Their  old  enemies  grew  strong  in  numbers  and  courage,  for 

fiow  the  king  himself  was  on  their  side.     A  great  convention 

vas  to  be  held  forthwith  ;  and  it  was  given  out  as  the  fixed 


'  ^f)  Haddan  and  StiMs,  Vol.  II.,  part  I.,  paj^e  120 


COLUMBA   PROTECTS   THE    BARDS  321 

purpose  of  the  king  and  his  chiefs  to  procure  the  total 
abolition  of  the  Bardic  Order ;  and  thus  get  rid  of  them  and 
their  exactions  for  ever. 

The  Bards  were  now  thoroughly  alarmed.  The  whole 
country  was  against  them,  and  they  probably  felt  that  they 
were  guilty.  In  this  great  emergency  there  was  only  one 
person  powerful  enough  to  help  them  ;  to  him  they  appealed 
to  come  to  their  relief,  and  save  them  from  destruction ;  and 
Columba  listened  to  their  prayer. 

At  this  time  his  influence  was  all-powerful  both  in  Erin 
and  Alba.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the  High  King  of  Erin ;  he 
had  inaugurated  at  lona  the  king  of  the  Scottish  Dalriada, 
who  was  also  his  connection  by  blood.  He  had  founded 
many  monasteries  in  both  countries ;  and  though  he  was  a 
stern  ruler,  he  was  beloved  and  venerated  by  his  disciples. 
He  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  miracles,  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  prophecy,  and  powerful  in  word  and  work.  Every  one  in 
Ireland  had  heard  how  he  converted  Pictland;  how  the 
barred  doors  of  King  Brude's  fort  flew  open  at  his  touch. 
Many  feared  him ;  but  more  loved,  and  all  reverenced  him. 

The  great  Convention  of  Drumceat,  in  which  the  fate  of 
the  Bards,  as  well  as  some  other  imjDortant  questions  were  to 
be  decided,  appears  to  have  been  held  in  a.d.  675.  "The 
precise  spot,"  says  Heeves,  "  where  the  assembly  was  held  is 
the  long  mound  in  Roe  Park,  near  Newtownlimavaddy, 
called  the  Mullaghy  and  sometimes  Daisy  Hill.  Aedli  Mac 
Ainmire  was  king  of  Ireland  at  this  period,  and  was  a  first 
cousin  once  removed  of  Columcille.  The  saint  was  accom- 
panied to  the  meeting  by  Aidan,  king  of  the  Scottish 
Dalriada,  who  was  resolved  to  assert  the  independence  of  his 
kingdom,  and  have  it  formally  recognised  without  blood- 
shed in  this  great  assembly.  Through  the  aid  of  Columcille 
he  was  successful.  The  next  request  made  by  the  saint  was 
the  liberation  of  Scanlan  Mor,  son  of  the  king  of  Ossory, 
who  was  most  unjustly  kept  in  bonds  by  the  High  King.  In 
this  demand  also  Columba,  though  not  without  difficulty, 
succeeded.  The  third  great  question — the  proposed  aboli- 
tion of  the  Bards — was  then  taken  into  consideration. 

King  Aedh  himself  was  their  accuser.  All  the  princes  of 
the  line  of  Conn  were  ranged  around  him.  The  Bards  were 
there,  too,  with  the  illustrious  chief  Bard,  Dalian  Forgaill. 
The  queen  and  her  ladies  were,  it  is  said,  also  present ;  and 
twenty  bishops,  forty  priests,  thirty  deacons,  and  many 
clergy  of  inferior  grade  were  seated  near  Columcille  in  this 
great  parliament  of  the  Irish  nation, 


322  THE   COLUMBIAN   SCHOOL   IN    ALBA. 

The  king  brought  all  those  charges  against  the  Bards,  to 
which  we  nave  already  referred — their  avarice,  their  idle- 
ness, their  exactions,  their  insolence ;  and  he  called  upon  the 
assembly  to  dissolve  the  Order,  and  take  away  all  their 
privileges.  Then  Colunicille  arose ;  and  all  that  vast 
assembly  did  him  reverence.  With  his  clear  and  strong 
melodious  voice,  which  was  borne  to  the  utmost  verge  of  the 
vast  multitude,  he  defended  the  ancient  Order  of  the  Bards 
of  Erin.  He  did  not  deny  the  existence  of  grave  abuses — let 
them  be  corrected ;  and  m  future  let  the  guilty  be  severely 
punished.  But  why  destroy  the  Order  itself  P  Who  would 
then  preserve  the  records  of  the  nation —  celebrate  the  great 
deeds  of  its  kings  and  warriors — or  chant  a  dirge  for  the 
noble  dead?  His  eloquence  carried  the  assembly  with  him. 
The  Order  was  preserved  from  destruction ;  but  it  was  to  be 
refoimed,  and  restrained  by  salutary  laws  from  such  ex- 
cesses in  future. 

It  is  said  that  on  this  occasion  Columba  made  a  formal 
visitation  of  all  the  religious  houses  which  he  or  his  imme- 
diate disciples  had  founded  in  Ireland.  It  was  no  easy  task 
to  accomplish,  for  Dr.  Reeves  in  his  notes  furnishes  a  list  of 
no  less  than  thirty-seven  monasteries  throughout  the  north- 
ern half  of  Ireland,  of  which  Columba  is  the  reputed  founder 
and  patron.  Besides  Durrow,  Derry,  and  Kells,  he  was  also 
the  founder  of  Swords,  Drumcliff,  Screen,  Kilglass,  Drum- 
columb,  and  many  other  celebrated  houses,  to  which  we 
cannot  no^  refer  in  detail.^ 

There  is  a  story  told,  but  without  good  authority,  that 
during  these  visits  to  Ireland  Colunicille  wore  a  cere-cloth 
over  his  eyes,  and  had  clay  from  lona  in  his  sandals ;  so  that 
in  accordance  with  the  penance  imposed  on  him  by  St. 
Molaise,  he  neither  trod  the  soil  of  Ireland,  nor  looked  upon 
his  native  land  again.  If  such  a  penance  were  ever  imposed, 
it  was  too  rigid  to  be  always  binding,  and  even  if  it  were 
binding,  such  a  public  cause  as  attendance  at  the  assembly 
of  Drumceat  would  render  his  presence  there  necessary  and 
lawful,  without  making  any  special  effort  to  observe  his 
obligation  to  the  letter. 

Columba  was  at  this  period  the  most  powerful  man  either 
in  Ireland  or  Scotland.  Large  grants  of  land  were  made  to 
his  monasteries,  and, thousands  of  people  begged  to  be  en- 
rolled amongst  his  disciples.  St.  Patrick  himself  had  not 
greater  influence  than  Columba  possessed  at  this  period  in 
the  North  of  Ireland. 

In  gratitude  to  Columba  for  preserving  the  Bardic  Order 

^  See  the  Irish  Life  in  the  Book  qf  Liamore,  whioh  enumerates  several  of 
these  churches. 


COLTJMBA   PaOTECTS  THE   BARDS.  323 

in  Erin,  Dalian  Forgaill  composed  tke  celebrated  poem  in 
praise  of  Columcille,  known  as  the  Amhra  Choluimcille,  to 
which,  we  shall  refer  again.  But  Dalian  did  more  effective 
service  to  Irish  literature  in  another  way.  By  the  advice 
and  under  the  direction  of  the  saint,  he  reorganized  and 
reformed  the  Bardic  Order,  as  decreed  by  the  assembly  of 
Drumceat,  and  moreover  founded  regular  schools  for  the 
instruction  of  the  young  aspirants  of  the  Order.  This  tended 
to  check  their  vagabond  disorderly  habits,  which  led  to  so 
many  abuses  in  the  past.  These  s(shools  also  fostered  habits 
of  systematic  study,  encouraged  the  sultivation  of  the  Celtic 
language,  and  developed  a  taste  for  general  literature  even 
outside  the  monastic  schools. 

According  to  Keating,  who  had  sources  of  information  at 
hand  that  have  since  been  lost,  Dalian  appointed  four  Arch- 
poets — one  for  each  province — ^who   were  to  preside  over 
these  Bardic  schools,  and  carry  out  the  regulations  enacted 
at  Drumceat.     There   is   no  doubt  that  it  is  in   a   great 
measure  to  these  schools  of  the  Bards,  and  the  systematic 
training  which  their  pupils  received,  that  we  owe  the  pre- 
servation not  only  of  the  ancient  and  authentic  chronicles  of 
Erin,  but  also  of  that  immense  mass  of  romantic  literature 
in  the  Gaedhlic  tongue,  which  at  length  is  beginning  to  at- 
tract the  attention  not  only  of  British,  but  also  of  foreign 
scholars.     It  was  the  monastic  schools,  no  doubt,  that  pre- 
served and  transcribed  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  which,  in  spite 
of  many  fables,  have  added  so  much  to  our  knowledge  of 
ancient  Erin  in  things  profane,  as  well  as  in  things  sacred. 
We  know  what  the  Four  Masters  have  done  for  the  litera- 
ture and  history  of  ancient  Erin.     But  they  were  in  reality 
the  last  and  not  unworthy  representatives  of  the  ancient 
Bards  of  Erin.   Through  good  and  ill  they  laboured  to  pre- 
serve and  perpetuate  the  knowledge  of  our  ancient  books ; 
and  when  the  nation's  day  was  darkest,  and  the  future  with- 
out a  single  ray  of  hope  to  light  up  the  deepening  gloom, 
they  sat  down  in  the  ruined  convent  of  Donegal,  and  at  the 
peril  of  their  lives,  arranged  and  transcribed  for  posterity 
those  immortal  Annals,  which,  like  the  work  of  the  Greek 
historian,  will  be  our  treasured  possession  for  all  time. 

"We  cannot  narrate  in  detail  the  subsequent  history  of 
Columba's  life.  It  was  such  as  we  have  already  seen,  a  life 
of  study,  of  labour,  of  prayer,  a  life  of  missionary  toil  that 
carried  the  light  of  the  Gospel  over  stormy  seas  to  the  re- 
motest islands  on  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  over  pathless 
mountains  to  the  Pictish  tribes  on  its  farthest  eastern  border. 


324  THE   COLUMBIAN    SCHOOL   IN   ALBA. 

We  must  hasten  to  the  close  of  his  glorious  career,  and 
see,  as  it  were  with  our  own  eyes,  in  the  simple  narrative  of 
his  biographer,  how  an  Irish  saint  could  die. 

III. — The  Death  of  Columba. 

There  is  no  more  touching  or  edifying  scene  recorded  in 
the  life  of  any  saint,  than  that  which  exhibits  in  the  simple 
language  of  his  biographer  the  beautiful  death  of  Columba. 
We  shall  give  it  as  far  as  possible,  in  Adamnan's  own 
words. 

In  the  month  of  May  before  his  death  the  saint  paid  a 
visit  to  his  monks,  where  they  were  working  on  the  farm  in 
the  western  part  of  the  island,  and  on  that  occasion  he  told 
them  that  God  would,  if  he  (Columba)  wished  it,  have  called 
him  away  at  Easter,  but  that  he  was  unwilling  then  to  leave 
his  beloved  monks,  and  turn  the  joyous  festival  of  Easter 
into  one  of  grief  and  sadness  for  them.  Now,  however,  the 
day  of  his  departure,  he  said,  was  fast  approaching,  when  he 
should  have  to  leave  them  for  ever.  Then  they  were  all 
filled  with  grief  at  his  words ;  he  however,  sought  as  best 
he  could  to  give  them  consolation,  and  turning  towards  the 
east  in  the  direction  of  the  monastery,  he  blessed  it,  with  the 
entire  island,  and  all  its  inhabitants.  In  consequence  of 
this  blessing  no  noxious  thing  has  ever  since  been  seen  in 
OUT  island.  Immediately  afterwards  the  saint  returned  to 
the  monastery. 

Some  days  later  Columba  w^hilst  saying  Mass  in  the 
church  had  a  vision  of  an  angel,  whom  God  sent  to  warn 
him  that  he  should  soon  be  called  away. 

Now  on  the  last  day  of  that  same  week,  that  is,  on 
Saturday,  the  venerable  man  went  out  with  Diarmait,  his 
attendant,  to  bless  the  barn ;  and  after  he  blessed  it,  he 
observed  that  he  was  glad  to  see  from  the  great  heaps  of 
corn  that  his  dear  monks  would  have  enough  of  food  for  the 
year,  even  if  he  himself  w^ere  called  away.  Then  Diarmait 
w^as  sad,  and  said,  "  You  grieve  us  often  of  late,  father,  by 
referring  to  your  approaching  departure  from  amongst  us.  ' 
"  I  will  tell  you  a  secret,  Diarmait,"  replied  the  saint,  "  if 
you  promise  faithfully  never  to  reveal  it  to  any  one  before 
my  death."  Diarmait  promised  on  his  knees,  and  then 
Columba  said,  "  This  day  (Saturday)  is  called  in  Scripture 
the  Sabbath ;  and  it  will  also  be  the  Sabbath  of  my  labours, 
for  on  this  comiug  Sunday  night  I  will,  in  the  words  of 
Scripture,  be  gathered  to  my  fathers.  Mv  Lord  Jesus  has 
deigned  just  now  to  invite  me ;  and  at  midnight  I  shall  de- 


THE  DEATH  OF  COLUMBA.  325 

part  in  obedience  to  his  summons."  Diarmait  hearing  these 
words,  began  to  weep,  and  the  saint  strove  as  well  as  he 
could  to  console  him. 

On  their  way  home  from  the  barn  to  the  monastery,  the 
saint  sat  down  to  rest  himself  on  the  roadside,  at  the  spot 
where  the  cross  now  stands  fixed  in  the  millstone.  And  as 
he  sat  resting  his  aged  limbs,  the  old  white  horse  that  used 
to  carry  the  milk-pails  from  the  byre  to  the  monastery, 
came  up  to  the  saint,  and  put  his  head  in  the  saint's  bosom, 
as  if  the  animal  had  the  use  of  reason,  and  knew  that  his 
master  was  going  to  leave  him  ;  and  the  horse  seemed  deeply 
grieved  and  appeared  to  shed  tears  like  a  human  being  in 
his  master's  bosom.  Then  the  saint  was  deeply  moved,  and 
blessed  the  poor  faithful  horse,  "  for,"  he  said,  "  it  is  God 
that  has  made  known  to  him  through  instinct  that  he  will 
see  me  no  more." 

And  going  thence  the  saint  ascended  the  hill  that  over- 
looks the  monastery  (now  called  Cnoc-na-Carnan),  and  stand- 
ing on  its  summit  he  raised  his  two  hands  aloft  and  blessed  his 
monastery,  and  foretold  that  the  kings  of  the  Scots,  and  even 
the  rulers  of  rude  and  foreign  nations  with  their  subjects 
would  yet  pay  much  honour  to  his  poor  monastery,  and  that 
the  saints  of  other  churches  too  would  hold  it  in  veneration. 

Then  he  came  down  the  hill  and  went  straight  to  his  cell, 
and  sat  there  copying  the  psaltery.  But  as  soon  as  he  came 
to  that  verse  of  the  thirty-third  psalm  where  it  is  written — 
Inquirentes  autem  Dominum  non  deficient  omni  bono — 
"  Here  I  must  stop,"  he  said,  *'  at  the  end  of  this  page — let 
Baithen  write  the  rest."  And  it  was  an  appropriate  verse 
for  him  to  end  with,  as  the  next  was  an  appropriate  one  for 
his  successor  to  begin  with — Venite  filii,  audite  me,  timoren 
Domini  doceho  vos. 

Having  written  his  last  verse  the  saint  went  to  the  church 
to  join  in  the  first  vespers  of  the  Sunday,  which  are  chanted 
on  Saturday  evening ;  and  when  the  office  was  over  he 
returned  to  his  litle  cell  and  sat  down  upon  his  bed  during 
the  night — that  bed  was  a  naked  rock  with  a  stone  for  a 
pillow — the  stone  that  now  stands  beside  his  grave  as  the 
title  of  his  monument.  "Whilst  sitting  thus  on  the  locky 
bed  he  gave  his  last  instructions  to  his  monks  in  the  hear- 
ing of  Diarmait  alone.  "  My  little  children,"  he  said,  "  my 
last  words  to  you  are  : — Cherish  mutual  and  unfeigned  love 
for  each  other,  and  God  will  never  let  you  want  the  neces- 
saries of  life  in  this  world,  and  you  will  have,  moreover, 
eternal  glory  in  the  world  to  come." 


326  THE   COLUMBIAN    SCHOOL    IN    ALBA. 

And  now,  as  the  happy  hour  of  his  departure  was  quickly 
approaching,  he  became  silent  for  a  little.  But  as  soon  aa  the 
bell  for  matins  struck  at  the  midnight  hour,  he  rose  up 
quickly,  and  going  to  the  church  before  the  others  he  entered 
it  alone  and  threw  himself  on  his  bended  knees  in  prayer 
near  the  altar.  Diarmait,  his  attendant,  followed  a  little  more  f 
slowly  to  the  church,  and  at  that  moment  as  he  approached 
the  door,  he  saw  the  church  lit  up  with  a  bright  angelic  light 
as  if  shining  over  the  saint.  Others  saw  it  too  at  the  same 
moment,  but  when  they  came  nearer  it  disappeared.  Diarmait 
then  entered  the  church,  and  groping  through  the  darkness 
— for  the  lights  were  not  yet  brought  in — he  found  the  saint 
stretched  before  the  altar,  and  raising  him  gently,  he  sat  down 
beside  him  and  took  his  holy  head  and  laid  it  in  his  bosom. 

The  crowd  of  monks  now  coming  up  with  lights,  and  see- 
ing their  father  dying,  broke  out  into  lamentation.  But  the 
saint,  as  we  heard  from  those  who  were  present,  lifting  his 
eyes  towards  heaven,  looked  around  him  on  both  sides,  and 
his  face  was  full  of  a  wondrous  heavenly  joy,  as  if  he  were 
looking  at  angels.  Then  Diarmait  raised  the  saint's  right 
hand  to  bless  the  circle  of  monks,  and  our  holy  father  moved 
his  hand  as  well  as  he  could,  so  that  he  might  with  the  mo- 
tion of  his  hand  give  them  that  blessing  which  he  could  not 
utter  with  his  voice.  Having  thus  blessed  them,  he  imme- 
diately expired ;  yet  his  face  remained  still  bright-coloured, 
so  that  he  did  not  look  like  one  that  was  dead  but  only  sleep- 
ing.    Meanwhile,  the  whole  church  was  filled  with  wailing. 

So  passed  away  the  blessed  Columba,  as  he  had  foretold, 
on  Sunday  night  a  little  after  12  o'clock,  the  9th  of  June,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  597.  It  was  the  seventy-seventh  of  his 
age,  and  the  thirty-fourth  of  his  pilgrimage  in  lona. 

As  soon  as  matins  were  finished,  the  blessed  body  of  the 
saint  was  carried  back  to  the  hospice,  accompanied  by  all 
the  brethren  chanting  psalms.  Thereafter  for  three  days 
and  three  nights  the  obsequies  of  the  saint  were  celebrated 
with  all  due  and  fitting  rites.  After  which  the  venerabL^ 
body  of  our  holy  patron  was  wrapped  up  in  clean  linen 
and  buried  in  a  coffin  with  all  reverence — but  Adamnan 
does  not  mention  the  exact  spot,  where  it  was  laid. 

ly. — The  Writings  of  Columba. 

Many  writings  have  been  circulated  under  the  name  of 
the  great  St.  Columba — some  few  of  which  are  genuine,  but 
movst  of  them  spurious.  We  shall  very  briefly  caW  attention 
to  both.     There  are  throe  Latin   poems   published   in    the 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  COLUMBA.  327 

second  volume  of  tlie  lAher  Hynmorum  by  tlie  late  Dr.  Todd, 
which  are  generally  regarded  by  critics  as  genuine.  The 
first  and  most  celebrated  is  the  Alius  Prosator.  It  was  first 
printed  by  Colgan  from  the  Book  of  Hymns  preserved  at  St. 
Isidore's.  A  splendid  edition  has  also  been  lately  printed 
by  the  Marquis  of  Bute,  who  has  good  reason  to  regard 
Columba  as  the  patron  saint  of  his  family,  which  is  sprung 
from  the  early  Dalriadan  Kings. 

The  Alius  Prosator  is  beyond  any  doubt  a  very  ancient 
poem,  written  in  rather  rude  Latinity,  but  syntactically 
correct,  that  is,  if  we  make  allowance  for  the  errors  and 
ignorance  of  the  copyists.  It  consists  of  twenty-two  capi- 
tula  or  stanzas,  each  stanza  consisting  of  six  lines,  except 
the  first  which  being  in  honour  of  the  Holy  Trinity  has 
seven,  and  each  line  has  sixteen  syllables.  The  meter  is  a 
kind  of  trochaic  tetrameter,  with  a  pause  after  the  eighth 
syllable,  and  a  rhyme  or  assonance  at  the  end  of  the  lines. 
The  first  word  of  each  of  the  twenty-two  stanzas  begins  with 
one  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  regular  order  according 
to  the  Hebrew  letters. 

There  is  a  preface,  or  introduction,  to  the  whole  poem, 
and  a  brief  notice  of  the  title  and  subject  matter  at  the  head 
of  each  stanza.  The  preface  which  is  substantially  the  same 
both  in  the  Booh  of  Hymns  and  in  the  Leahhar  Breac,  sets 
forth  as  usual  the  time,  place,  motive,  and  author  of  the 
poem,  but  gives  two  different  accounts.  The  author  was, 
according  to  all  accounts,  Columcille,  and  he  wrote  the  poem 
in  the  Black  Church  of  Derry  after  much  careful  prepara- 
tion. His  motive  was  to  praise  God  and  do  penance  for  the 
sins  he  had  committed,  especially  in  causing  the  bloody 
battle  of  Cuil-Dreimhne.  The  time  was  during  the  reign  of 
Aedh  Mac  Ainmire  in  Erin,  and  of  Aidan,  son  of  Gabhran 
in  Dalriada.  The  other  account  represents  the  poem  as 
written  in  lona,  while  Columba  was  grinding  a  bag  of  meal 
in  the  mill  for  the  entertainment  of  some  clerics  who  came 
from  Home  to  present  him,  in  the  name  of  Pope  Gregory, 
with  a  richly  enshrined  relic  of  the  true  Cross,  known  after- 
wards as  Morgemm,  and  long,  it  is  said,  preserved  at  lona. 
This  is  a  much  less  plausible  explanation  than  the  former, 
and  probably  invented  by  some  foolish  admirers  of  the  saint, 
who  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  Columcille  having  to  do 
penance  for  grave  faults  of  anger  and  indiscretion. 

The  poem  is  the  production  of  a  fervent  and  pious  spirit 
that  feels  the  power  and  mercy  of  God's  all-ruling  Provi- 
dence in  the  past  and  in  the  present.  It  describes  the 
Trinity,  the  Angels,  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  the  fall 


328  THE   COLUMBIAN   SCHOOL   IN    ALBA. 

of  man,  also  the  deluge  and  other  noteworthy  events  in 
sacred  history,  ending  with  a  vivid  description  of  the  terrors 
of  the  last  judgment.  Many  graces  are  promised  to  those 
who  recite  it  worthily :  Angels  will  attend  them  while 
chanting  it ;  the  devil  shall  not  know  their  way  to  lie  in 
wait  for  them,  nor  their  enemies  to  destroy  them  ;  there 
shall  be  no  strife  in  the  house  where  it  is  sung ;  it  protects 
against  sudden  and  violent  death ;  and  there  shall  be  no 
want  where  it  is  regularly  recited. 

Columba's  second  Latin  Hymn,  known  as  the  In  te 
Christe,  is  merely  the  complement  of  the  Alius  Prosator. 
Columba  sent  that  latter  Hymn  to  Pope  Gregory  in  Rome  in 
return  for  the  portion  of  the  Cross  which  he  had  sent  to 
Columba.  When  it  was  recited  before  the  Pope  he  was 
greatly  pleased  with  it,  especially  as  he  was  privileged  to  see 
the  Angels  listening  to  it  at  the  same  time.  He  observed 
that  there  was  only  one  fault  in  it — that  the  praise  of  the 
Trinity  was  too  scanty,  being  confined  to  the  first  stanza 
alone.  Columcille  hearing  this  resolved  to  supplement  the 
Alius  by  another  poem  in  praise  of  the  Holy  Trinity — 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  It  contains  fifteen  rhyming 
couplets  of  the  same  character  as  those  in  the  Alius,  but  its 
authenticity  is  by  no  means  so  certain.  The  fact  that  it  is 
contained  in  the  Book  of  Hymns  proves,  however,  that  it  is 
a  very  ancient  poem,  although  even  there  in  the  preface 
some  doubt  is  thrown  on  its  authenticity. 

The  third  Latin  Hymn  attributed  to  Columba  is  the  Noli 
Pater  containing  seven  rhyming  couplets,  with  sixteen 
syllables  in  the  line.  It  is  found  mthe  Boohof  Hi/miJs.  The 
short  preface  says  that  it  was  composed  by  the  saint  in  Daire 
Calgaich  at  the  time  that  he  received  the  grant  of  that  place 
from  Aedli  Mac  Ainmire;  and  the  messengers  came  at  the 
same  time  announcing  Mobhi's  death,  and  bearing  his  girdle 
as  the  token  of  the  saint's  permission  for  Columcille  to  found 
his  church.  But  just  then  the  place  took  fire,  and  Columcille 
composed  the  hymn  to  stay  the  ravages  of  the  flames.  And 
it  has  been  sung  from  that  time  forward  as  a  ])rotection 
against  fire,  and  lightning,  and  the  wrath  of  the  elements. 

The  following  is  the  first  stanza  of  the  Alius  which  sho^vj 
the  metre. 

.     *'  Altus  prosiitor,  vctvistiis  dierum  ot  ingenitiig, 
Erat  jibsqno  origine  primordii  ot  crepidino, 
Est  ot  orit  in  saeoida  saoculonim  infinitus, 
Cui  est  unigouitus  (/hiistus  ot  Spiritiis  Sanctus 
Coaeternus  in  gloria  Doitatia  pcrpetiiao  ; 
Non  trea  Doos  deproinimus,  sed  unimi  Don  in  dicimus 
Salva  fide  in  personia  tribus  gloriosissimis.'' 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  COLUMBA.  329 

The  two  principal  Irish  poems  attributed  to  Oolumcille 
are  the  "  Dialogue  of  Columcille  and  Cormac  in  Hy  '^ — and 
his  pathetic  "  Lament  for  his  Native  Land " — to  both  of 
which  we  have  already  referred.  There  is  a  third  poem  known 
as  his  "  Farewell  to  Aran,"  which  has  been  rendered  into 
English  verse  by  another  true  poet,  Aubrey  de  Yere.  T.  D. 
Sullivan  has  given  a  very  beautiful  rendering,  if  not  of  the 
words,  at  least  of  the  spirit  of  Columba's  "  Lament  for  his 
Native  Land."  *'  The  '  Dialogue  '  and  the  '  Lament '  may 
not,"  says  Reeves,  "  be  genuine,  but  they  are  poems  of  very 
considerable  antiquity,  and  the  first  shows  the  early  notions 
which  existed  in  Ireland  about  Cormac's  adventures,  and  his 
relations  to  Columba."  Colgan  is  inclined  to  think  them 
genuine,  and  has  given  them  amongst  the  reputed  writings 
of  the  saint.  They  may  have  been  retouched  by  some  bard 
later  than  Columba's  time ;  but  in  our  opinion  they  repre- 
sent substantially  poems  that  were  really  written  by  the  saint. 
They  breathe  his  pious  spirit,  his  ardent  love  for  nature,  and 
his  undying  affection  for  his  native  land.  Although  re- 
touched perhaps  by  a  later  hand,  they  savour  so  strongly 
of  the  true  Columbian  spirit  that  we  are  disposed  to  reckon 
them  amongst  the  genuine  compositions  of  the  saint. 

That  Columba  was  indeed  a  true  prophet,  to  whom  God 
made  known  to  some  extent  things  future  and  things  dis- 
tant, is  clearly  shown  by  his  biographer  Adamnan.  It  was 
probably,  his  fame  in  this  respect  that  gave  some  counten- 
ance to  the  "  forgeries "  that  were  circulated  under  his 
name,  not  one  of  which  appears  to  have  the  smallest  claim 
to  be  considered  genuine ;  although  some  of  them  are  un- 
doubtedly very  ancient.  0 'Curry  found  one  of  them  in  the 
Booh  of  Leinster,  purporting  to  be  a  prophecy  of  the  coming 
of  the  Danes  on  Lough  Ree,  and  their  occupation  of  the 
abbacy  of  Armagh.  Reference  is  also  made  to  the  death  of 
Cormac  MacCullinan,  and  the  destruction  of  Aileach  by 
Mortogh  O'Brien,  and  to  similar  historical  events  that  were 
manifestly  foretold  (and  sometinjies  with  mistakes)  after 
they  had  happened.  But  in  the  MS.  Columcille  is  described 
as  narrating  these  things  in  cold  lona  to  Baithen,  his  friend 
and  successor.  Both  Reeves  and  O'Curry  justly  denounce  the 
spirit  of  greed  and  impiety,  that  would  in  recent  times  try 
to  palm  off  on  simple-minded  people  certain  impudent  for- 
geries as  the  genuine  oracles  of  the  saints  of  God.  Such 
fraudulent  practices  are  injurious  to  religion ;  they  dis- 
honour the  saints,  and  are  unworthy  of  any  publisher  who 
calls  himself  a  Catholic. 


330  THE   COLUMBIAN   SCHOOL    IN    ALBA. 


V. — Lives  of  Columcille. 

Of  these  Colgan  with  his  usual  industry  and  erudition  has 
published  five.  The  author  of  Colgan's  First  Life  is  un- 
known, but  Colgan  believed  that  it  was  writen  by  some  con- 
temporary or  disciple  of  the  saint,  and  he  therefore  placed 
it  first  in  order.  The  Second  Life  is  attributed  by  Colgan 
to  Cuimine  the  Fair^  (Cuimineus  Albus),  seventh  abbot  of 
Hy ;  who,  if  he  did  not  himself  see  the  saint,  was  in  daily 
intercourse  with  those  who  did.  Adamnan  cites  this  author 
by  name,  and  embodies  the  work  in  his  own  splendid  bio- 
graphy. The  Third  Life  is  that  published  by  Capgrave, 
and  taken  by  him  from  John  of  Teignmouth — a  learned 
Benedictine  monk,  who  llourished  about  the  year  a.d.  1366. 
He  was  a  mere  compiler,  not  an  author.  Colgan's  Fourth 
Life  is  the  celebrated  one  by  Adamnan,  to  which  we  shall 
refer  at  length  a  little  later  on.  The  Fifth  Life  is  a  lengthy 
one  written  in  Irish.  Its  author  was  Manus  O'Donnell, 
chief  of  Tir-Connell,  as  the  wiiter  distinctly  sets  forth  in  his 
Preface  : — "  Be  it  known  to  the  readers  of  this  Life,  that  it 
was  Manus,  son  of  Hugh,  son  of  Hugh  E/oe,  son  of  Niall- 
Garve,  son  of  Torlogh  of  the  Wine  O'Donnell,  that  ordered 
the  part  of  this  Life,  which  was  in  Latin  to  be  put  into 
Gaelic,  and  who  ordered  the  part  that  was  in  difficult  Gaelic 
to  be  modified  so  that  it  might  be  clear  and  comprehensible 
to  every  one ;  and  who  gathered  and  put  together  the  parts 
of  it  that  were  scattered  through  the  old  books  of  Erin; 
and  who  dictated  it  out  of  his  own  mouth,  with  great  labour 
and  a  great  expenditure  of  time  in  studying  how  he  should 
arrange  all  its  parts  in  their  proper  places,  as  they  are  left 
here  in. writing  by  us;  and  in  love  and  friendship  for  his 
illustrious  Saint,  Relative,  and  Patron,  to  whom  he  was 
devovitly  attached.  It  was  in  the  castle  of  Port-na-tri- 
namad  (that  is  Lifford — the  Port  of  the  three  enemies)  that 
this  Life  was  indited  when  were  fulfilled  twelve  and  twenty 
and  five  hundred  and  one  thousand  years  of  the  age  of  the 
Lord  (a.d.  1532).'' 

What  may  be  called  the  autograph  copy — it  has  never 
yet  been  printed — exists,  says  Dr.  Reeves,  in  all  its  original 
dimensions,  beauty,  and  material  excellence  written  in  larg(» 
vellum  folio  in  double  columns,  and  is  preserved  in  the  Bod- 
leian Library  at  Oxford.       Colgan's  edition   is  merely  an 

^  The  first  part  of  this  Vita  Secunda  is  not  the  work  of  Cuimine  the 
Fair. 


OTHEK  SCHOLARS  OF  lONA.  331 

abstract  of  tlie  Irish  life  rendered  into  Latin.  It  may  be 
safely  said  that  O'Donnell's  Life  comprises  everything  that 
has  been  written,  or  handed  down  by  tradition,  concerning 
Columcille.  Some  of  the  miraculous  stories  which  he  gives 
were  deemed  so  extravagant  even  by  Colgan,  that  he  omitted 
them  in  his  own  compilation.  Still,  this  Life  is  of  great 
value,  and  we  hope  to  see  it  soon  fitly  edited  by  some  com- 
petent Irish  scholar. 

VI. — Other  Scholars  of  Iona. 

Besides  Columba  himself  there  were  several  other  dis- 
tinguished scholars  connected  with  Iona.  Of  these  the  most 
distinguished  was  the  celebrated  Adamnan,  ninth  abbot  of 
Hy.  Before,  however,  giving  an  account  of  Adamnan,  it 
will  be  useful  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  some  of  his  prede- 
cessors in  the  abbatial  chair. 

"  Let  Baithen  write  the  rest,"  said  Columba,  when  he 
was  attacked  with  his  last  illness,  and  dropped  his  pen  at  the 
end  of  the  page  in  the  middle  of  the  thirty-third  psalm. 
The  saying  was  taken  as  an  indication  of  his  wish  that 
Baithen  should  succeed  him  as  head  of  the  Columbian 
Houses.  He  was  a  cousin  of  the  founder,  and  had  been  for 
many  years  prior  of  Iona.  Moreover,  he  was  in  every  way 
fitted  for  the  high  office  by  his  virtues,  his  learning,  and  his 
prudence.  Kinship  with  the  founder,  too,  was  deemed  at 
the  time  an  indispensable  qualification  for  holding  tiie 
abbacy.  The  monastic  family  formed,  as  it  were,  a  kind  of 
spiritual  clan  or  tribe,  and  as  connection  by  blood  with  the 
head  of  the  tribe  was  deemed  necessary  for  the  chieftaincy  in 
the  temporal  order,  so  also  was  it  deemed  for  many  genera- 
tions to  be  essential  in  the  spiritual  order  likewise. 

Baithen  from  his  boyhood  was  the  pupil  of  Columba  him- 
self, and  inherited  all  his  virtues.  He  was  especially  re- 
markable for  his  spirit  of  prayer.  When  walking  his  hands 
were  clasped  in  prayer  beneath  his  habit ;  w^hen  working  at 
the  harvest  he  prayed  whilst  he  was  carrying  his  handful  of 
oats  to  the  sheaf;  even  at  his  meals  he  said,  Deus  in 
adjutorum  meum  intende,  between  every  two  morsels  of  food. 
He  was  a  monk  in  Derry,  when  chosen  by  Columba  to 
accompany  him  to  Iona.  There  he  was  appointed  a  general 
overseer  of  the  work  done  by  the  monks  in  the  field,  but 
being  an  accomplished  scribe,  he  was  often  engaged  in  read- 
ing and  writing.  Like  his  friend  and  master,  whatever  time 
he  did  not  spend  in  relieving  the  wants  of  others,  he  gave  to 
reading, or  prayer, or  bodily  labour;  so  his  Life  expressly  states. 


332  THE   COLUMBIAN   SCHOOL   IN   ALBA. 

His  great  virtues  mai'ked  him  as  a  fitting  person  to  be 
sent  to  govern  the  monastery,  which  Columbu  had  founded 
at  Magh-Lunga — the  Plain  of  the  Ships — in  the  Island  of 
Heth,  called  also  Ethica,  'the  low  lying  land  of  the  barley/ 
as  it  is  called  in  an  ancient  Gaedhlic  poem.  It  was  situated 
about  twenty  miles  to  the  north-west  of  lona,  from  which  it 
is  of  course  distinctly  visible.  It  is  a  low,  sandy  tract, 
about  eleven  miles  long,  and  varying  in  breadth  from  one  to 
three.  He,  however,  maintained  a  constant  connection  with 
the  parent  house,  which  he  frequently  visited ;  for  twenty 
miles  even  of  that  wild  sea  were  as  nothing  to  the  hardy 
sailor  monks,  who  knew  that  God  watched  over  them  on  sea 
as  well  as  on  land.  He  wrought  many  miracles,  and  pos- 
sessed in  a  very  striking  manner  that  power,  which  our 
Saviour  gave  His  apostles,  of  casting  out  devils.'  He  is  also 
recognized  either  as  the  founder  or  patron  saint  of  Taugh- 
boyne  (Teach-Baeithin),  in  the  barony  of  Raphoe,  county 
Donegal.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  was  his  native 
district,  and  was  afterwards  placed  under  his  special  pro- 
tection. 

Baithen's  rule  as  Abbot  of  lona  was  very  brief — from 
A.D.  597  to  A.D.  600 — three  years  exactly,  if  these  dates  are 
correct ;  for  he  died  on  the  same  day  of  the  month  as  his 
beloved  master  Columcille.  He  was  seized  near  the  altar 
with  a  fainting  tit  on  Tuesday,  the  4th  of  June.  The 
brethren  crowded  round  him  in  tears,  for  they  thought  he 
was  going  to  die,  and  Dermitius,  Columba's  old  attendant, 
•  said  to  them,  "  You  see,  my  brothers,  w^hat  a  small  interval 
will  separate  the  feast-days  of  our  two  abbots."  Thereupon 
Baithen  opened  his  eyes,  and  prayed  earnestly  to  God  not  to 
take  him  out  of  the  world  until  the  feast-day  of  his  beloved 
master.  His  prayer  was  heard ;  he  died  like  Columba  on 
the  9th  of  June,  and,  doubtless,  was  buried  beside  him  in 
that  church,  where  they  so  often  joined  in  prayer  before  the 
same  altar. 

The  very  last  sentence  in  the  Life,  as  given  in  the 
Salamanca  MS.,  states  that  the  intense  pains,  which  he 
suffered,  did  not  prevent  the  sick  monk  from  continuing  his 
constant  occupation  of  writing,  praying,  and  teaching,  up  to 
the  very  moment  of  his  ha])])y  death. 

Writing,  praying,  and  teaching — truly  fit  occupations  for 
the  head  of  a  great  monastic  school.  No  wonder  that 
Fintin,  son  of  Lippan,  when  asked  about  the  learning  of  St. 

>  Matt.  X.  8. 


OTHER  SCHOLARS  OF  lONA.  333 

Baithen,  replied — '  Be  assured  that  he  had  no  equal  on  this 
side  of  the  Alps  in  his  knowledge  of  sacred  Scripture,  and 
in  the  profundity  of  his  science."'  There  is  an  old  Irish 
poem  still  extant,  purporting  to  be  a  dialogue  between 
Columcille  and  Baithen,  which  has  been  attributed  to  the 
latter;  and  some  verses  eulogistic  ol  Columba  have  also 
been  circulated  under  his  name.  That  he  was  a  man  of 
great  learning  is  undoubted ;  and  that  he  left  his  spirit  be- 
hind him  in  lona  will  be  seen  from  what  follows. 

Columba  used  to  say  that  Baithen  was  like  St.  John  the 
Beloved  in  his  innocence  and  simplicity  of  heart,  and  that 
even  in  the  rigorous  discipline  of  perfection  they  were  not 
much  unlike  ;  but  that  it  was  very  different  with  their  fosterers 
— he  himself  was  very  far  indeed  from  being  like  unto  Christ. 

Laisren,  who  had  been  Abbot  of  Durrow  during 
Columba' s  lifetime,  was  now  called  to  succeed  Baithen  in 
lona.  We  know  little  of  his  history,  except  that  he  was 
uncle  of  Seghine,  the  fifth  abbot,  who  ruled  from  a.d.  623  to 
A.D.  652,  during  the  stormy  period  of  the  Paschal  Contro- 
versies. The  latter  was  an  ardent  defender  of  the  ancient 
discipline  both  as  to  the  tonsure  and  paschal  observance.  He- 
had  been  a  pupil  of  Columba  in  lona ;  and  was  of  his  know- 
ledge able  to  testify  to  many  things  concerning  the  saint  in 
presence  of  the  Abbot  Falveus,  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  Adamnan. 

In  literary  history  Seghine  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  the 
person  to  whom  Cummian  addressed  his  celebrated  Epistle 
on  the  Paschal  Question  in  the  year  a.d.  634,  to  which  we 
have  referred  at  length  already.^"  The  superscription  is 
"  Segieno  Abbati  Columbae  Sancti  et  Caeterorumi  Sanctorum 
Successori  '' — a  high  testimony  to  the  reputed  sanctity  of  his 
predecessors.  Seghine  was  also  one  of  those  to  whom  the 
Roman  clergy  during  the  vacancy  of  the  See  in  a.d.  640,  ad- 
dressed an  important  letter  on  the  same  subject.  This  shows 
that  from  his  high  official  position,  as  head  of  the  Columbian 
monasteries,  and,  doubtless,  also  from  his  high  personal 
character,  it  was  deemed  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
secure  the  adhesion  of  Seghine  to  the  Roman  discipline.  In 
this,  however,  the  authors  of  both  the  letters  were  disap- 
pointed. Seghine,  who  was  animated  with  the  unyielding 
and  somewhat  haughty  spirit  of  Conal  Gulban's  line,  could 
not  bring  himself  to  believe  that  his  sainted  predecessors, 

^ '  "  Scitote  quod  nullus  citra  Alpes  compar  illi  in  cognitione  divinarum 
scripturarum  et  in  magnitudine  scientiae  reperitur." — Salamanca  MS. 
2  See  School  of  Clon/ert, 


334  THE   COLUMBIAN    SCHOOL   IN    ALBA. 

whose  holiness  was  proved  by  bo  many  miracles,  could  by 
any  possibility  be  wrong  in  the  discipline,  which  they  fol- 
lowed. The  monks  who  were  trained  under  him,  like  Aidan 
and  Colman  of  Lindisfarne,  were  animated  with  the  same 
spirit ;  so  that  even  after  the  Conference  of  Whitby  the  aged 
Colman  preferred  to  llave  his  beloved  retreat  in  Lindisfarne, 
and  sail  back  again  to  his  stormy  home  on  the  coast  of 
Mayo,  rather  than  adopt  the  new  discipline;  and  we  know 
that  the  Irish  monks  of  Lindisfarne  followed  him  to  a  man. 

Seghine  was  succeeded  by  Suibhne,  the  first  "outsider" 
whom  the  monks  of  lona  elected  as  head  of  their  Order. 
Colgan  observes  that  his  genealogy  is  not  recorded  in  our 
native  annals ;  whence  we  may  infer  that  he  owed  his 
elevation  to  his  merit  rather  than  to  the  accident  of  his 
birth.  He  died  in  a.d.  657.  His  successor,  Cuimine,  was  of 
the  Cenel-Conail  line,  for  he  was  nephew  of  Seghine,  the 
fifth  abbot.  He  wrote  a  tract,  De  Virtutibus  S.  Columbae, 
which  is  cited  by  Adamnan.  It  really  forms  the  ground- 
work of  Adamnan's  Third  BooJc,  into  which  it  has  been 
bodily  transferred.  It  has  been  also  Jbublished  by  Colgan, 
and  the  Bollandists,  though  from  difterent  sources.  It  is 
also  to  be  found  in  the  recently  published  Salamanca  Codex. 
This  life  shows  that  Cuimine  was  an  excellent  Latin 
scholar,  and  although  scarcely  possessing  the  wide  culture 
of  Adamnan,  he  is  little  inferior  to  that  celebrated  wri<;er, 
in  the  graphic  account  which  he  gives  of  the  miracles  and 
virtues  of  St.  Columba. 

The  Paschal  Epistle  already  referred  to  has  been  attri- 
buted to  this  Cuimineus  Albus,  as  Adamnan  calls  him.  We 
have  shown  elsewhere  that  the  real  author  was  Cummian 
Fada,  Bishop  of  Clonfert ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  during 
the  whole  of  the  seventh  century  the  entire  community  of 
Zona  was  vehemently  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  that  dis- 
cipline, which  the  author  of  the  Paschal  Epistle  advocates 
and  defends.  This  of  itself  proves  that  the  Abbot  of  Hy 
was  not  its  author.  We  are  now  come  to  Adamnan,  the 
ninth  abbot,  whose  history  we  must  narrate  at  greater  length. 

VII. — Adamnan,  Ninth  Abbot  of  Ht. 

In  the  year  1845  Dr.  Ferdinand  Keller  was  poking  with 
a  German's  pertinacity  through  the  shelves  of  the  Town 
Library  of  Schaffhausen,  in  Switzerland.  In  a  corner  of  the 
room  he  found  a  high  book  chest  filled  with  all  kinds  of  old 
MSS.,  without  title  or  number  of  any  kind,  and  at  the  very 


ADAMNAN,  NINTH  ABBOT  OF   HY.  336 

bottam  of  the  heap  he  came  upon  a  dark  brown  parchment 
manuscript,  bound  in  moth-eaten  beech  wood,  covered  with 
calf  skin,  carefully  clasped  in  front,  and  very  neatly  and 
curiously  sewed  at  the  back.  It  was  a  goodly  quarto  of 
68  leaves,  with  double  columns,  written  on  dark  coloured 
goat  skin  parchment  in  large  heavy  drawn  letters  of  the 
character  known  as  minuscular.  Everything  about  the  MS. 
showed  great  antiquity — the  cover,  the  parchment,  the 
lettering,  and  the  ornamentation.  Dr.  Keller  at  first 
thought  he  had  come  upon  a  hitherto  undiscovered  treasure ; 
but  in  this  he  was  mistaken.  He  only  recovered  a  lost 
treasure,  and  secured  its  preservation  for  the  learned  world. 
On  examination,  the  MS.  turned  out  to  be  the  oldest  and 
most  authentic  copy  of  Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Columha, 
made  in  lona  either  during  the  life  time  of  Adamnan  him- 
self, or  certainly  within  a  few  years  after  his  death. 

The  monastery  of  Richenau  in  the  ninth  century  appears 
to  have  had  many  Irish  inmates ;  and  this  is  not  unnatural, 
for  the  great  Irish  monastery  of  St.  Gall  was  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  shore  of  Lake  Constance,  and  considerable 
intercourse  would  naturally  take  place  between  the  two 
houses.  Walafridus  vStrabo,  Abbot  of  Reichenau,  from  a.d. 
842  to  A.D.  849,  had  been  previously  Dean  of  St.  Gall,  and  in 
his  writings  shows  an  intimate  knowledge  of  many  things 
connected  with  Ireland,  which  he  could  have  learned  only 
from  Irishmen.^  We  know,  too,  from  other  sources,  that 
crowds  of  Irishmen  came  to  France  and  Germany  in  the 
beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  and  that  many  of  them 
brought  their  books  from  their  schools  at  home  along  with 
them,  as  Dungal  brought  the  books  which  he  bequeathed  to 
the  monastery  of  Bobbio.  It  is  thus  easy  to  understand 
how  some  of  the  monks  of  lona,  driven  from  home  by  the 
Norsemen,  who  so  often  plundered  the  Island  about  the 
beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  would  migrate  to  some 
friendly  monastery  on  the  continent,  carrying  their  literary 
treasures  with  them. 

There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that  the  Schaffhausen 
MS.  of  St.  Columba's  Life  was  written  in  the  Island  of  Hy 
by  one  of  the  Family,  so  early  as  the  be  spinning  of  the  eighth 
century.  The  character  is  of  that  peculiar  kind  of  which  we 
have  almost  contemporary  specimens  the  Booh  of  Kells,  and 


^  For  instance,  the  details  of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Blaithmac  of  lona  by 
the  Danes  in  A.  D.  824,  which  he  describes  in  Latin  verse,  and  may  have 
learned  from  a  fugitive  who  was,  perhaps,  the  bearer  of  this  very  MS. 


336  THE   COLUMBIAN   SCHOOL   IN   ALBA. 

the  Boole  of  Durroiv,  and  whicli  is  now  universally  acknow- 
lod^od  to  1)0  piiroly  Irish  ;  the  ornamentation  of  the  chapters 
and  of  the  capital  letters  is  Irish ;  the  orthography  is  Irish, 
and  what  is  stranger  than  all,  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  written  in 
Greek  on  the  last  page  of  the  MS.,  and  in  Greek,  of  which 
we  have  other  specimens  remaining  in  old  Irish  MSS.  with 
the  same  peculiar  spelling,  in  the  same  semi-uncial  character, 
without  accents,  and  without  breathings — a  fact  which  of 
itself  indisputably  proves  that  the  Greek  tongue  was  taught 
and  written  in  the  Irish  School  of  Hy,  1170  year's  ago. 

The  Colophon,  or  superscription,  in  rubric,  at  folio  136, 
at  the  end  of  the  life,  records,  according  to  the  us-ual  custom, 
the  name  of  the  scribe: — ''Whoever  reads  these  books  on 
the  virtues  of  St.  Columba,  let  him  pray  to  the  Lord  for  me, 
Dorbbeneus,  that  after  death  I  may  possess  eternal  life." 

In  A.D.  713,  Tighernach  records  the  death  of  Dorbene, 
Abbot  of  Hy,  the  very  year  of  his  election  to  that  high  office. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  Dorbene  was  the  writer  of 
the  Schaifhausen  MS. ;  there  is  no  mention  of  any  other  of 
the  same  name  in  our  annals  except  of  one  Dorbene,  whose 
son  Failan  is  said  to  have  died  in  a.d.  724.  This  Dorbene 
was  as  Dr.  Reeves  thinks,  a  layman ;  and,  if  his  son  died  in 
A.D.  724,  he  himself  in  the  course  of  nature  must  have  lived 
and  died  before  Adamnan.  But  the  Abbot  who  died  in 
A.D.  713,  would  have  outlived  Adamnan  only  nine  years,  and 
in  all  probability  had  been  for  many  years  scribe  of  the 
monastery,  and  may  have  written  the  book  at  the  dictation 
of  Adamnan  himself. 

And  now,  who  was  Adamnan?  Unfortunately  we  know 
very  little  of  his  early  youth.  He  gives  us  to  understand,  at 
least  by  implication,  that  he  was  born  at  or  near  Drumhome, 
in  the  barony  of  Tirhugh,  and  co.  Donegal.  The  church  of 
Drumhome  was  founded  by  St.  Columba,  but  St.  Adamnan  is 
the  patron ;  and  this  fact,  too,  indicates  his  connection  with 
the  locality.  There,  also,  he  seems  to  have  spent  his  earlier 
years ;  for  it  was  there  he  says,  "  in  my  youth  that  a  very 
old  man  called  Ferreol,  a  servant  of  Christ,  who  is  buried  in 
Drumhome,  told  me  of  a  glorious  vision  which  he  saw,  when 
fishing  in  the  valley  of  the  Finn,  on  thenight  of  Columba*s 
death."  Scarcely  any  traces  of  the  old  church  of  Drumhome 
now  remain ;  but  it  was  once  nobly  endowed  by  tlie  O'Don- 
nells.  Even  so  late  as  a.T).  1609,  an  Inquisition  tells  us  that 
"there  are  in  the  said  parish  of  Drumhome,  four  quarters  of 
church  land,  three  quarters  of  Columbkllh^'s  land,  each 
quarter  containing  six  townlands,  then  in  the  possession  of 


ADAMISAN,  NINTH  ABBOT  OF  HY.  337 

Lewis  O'Cleary,"  the  head  of  that  family,  which  the  Four 
Masters  have  made  illustrious  for  ever.  The  old  church 
was  finely  situated  near  the  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Donegal,  not 
far  from  Ballintra,  and  in  view  of  the  bold  range  of  moun- 
tains, where  the  sons  of  Conal  Gulban  so  long  and  so  nobly 
defended  their  ancient  freedom. 

Adamnan's  father,  E,onan,  was  sixth  in  descent  from  that 
same  Conal  Gulban,  and  thus  belonged  to  the  royal  blood  of 
Tirconnell ;  his  mother  was  Ronnat,  a  daughter  of  Enna,  who 
gave  his  name  to  Tirenna,  the  territory  that  in  ancient  times 
extended  from  Lough  Foyle  to  Lough  Swilly.  Thus 
Adamnan  was  of  the  same  family  as  St.  Columba  himself ; 
for  Columba  was  grandson  of  Fergus,  son  of  Conal  Gulban, 
and  Adamnan  was  sixth  in  descent  from  the  same  Fergus. 
He  was  born  in  a.p.  624,  according  to  the  best  authorities, 
just  twenty-seven  years  after  Columba's  death,  and,  as  we 
may  fairly  assume,  was  in  his  youth  placed  under  the  care  of 
the  monks  of  Drumhome,  in  whose  old  churchyard  he  him- 
self tells  us  many  of  the  monks  of  Columba  await  a  happy 
resurrection. 

How  long  the  boy  remained  in  his  native  Tirhugh, 
feeding  his  spirit  on  the  glorious  vision  of  its  waves  and 
mountains,  we  cannot  now  ascertain.  It  was  at  that  time,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  custom  of  scholars,  even  of  the  noblest 
birth,  to  visit  the  great  monastic  schools  of  the  country,  and 
all  the  more  celebrated  masters  were  surrounded  by  crowds 
of  eager  students,  who  lived  on  their  wits,  and  lodged  as  best 
they  could,  generally  in  little  huts  of  their  own  contrivance. 
A  curious  story  is  told  of  St.  Adamnan  himself  in  his  youth, 
which  amusingly  illustrates  what  may  be  called  the  University 
life  of  the  time. 

Finnachta,  afterwards  Monarch  of  Ireland,  from  a.d.  675 
to  695,  and  Adamnan's  greatest  friend,  although  of  the  blood 
royal,  was  at  first  very  poor.  He  had  a  house  and  wife,  but 
oidy  one  ox  and  one  cow.  Now  the  king  of  Feara  Ross 
(Carrickmacross)  strayed  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Finnachta' s 
hut;  his  wife,  too,  was  with  him  and  a  crowd  of  retainers; 
but  they  could  not  find  their  way  home,  for  the  night  came 
o:a  dark,  cold,  and  stormy,  so  they  were  forced  to  take  refuge 
in  the  hut.  Small  as  it  was,  the  size  of  the  house  was  greater 
than  its  wealth.  Finnachta,  however,  "  struck  the  ox  on  the 
head  and  the  cow  on  the  head,"  and  feasted  all  the  king's 
people  sumptuously,  so  that  no  one  was  hungry. 

Then  the  King  and  Queen  of  Feara  Ross  gave  large  herds 
of  cattle  to  the  generous  Finnachta,  and  made  him  a  grea^ 


338  THK  COLITMIUAN  SCFIOOL  IN  ALBA. 

man.  Shortl}^  after  this  time  Finnachta,  not  yet  king  liow- 
ever,  was  one  day  coming  with  a  large  troop  of  liorse  to  his 
sister's  house,  and  as  they  rode  along  they  overtook  Adamnan, 
then  a  young  school  hoj,  travelling  the  same  road  with  a 
vessel  full  of  milk  on  his  back.  Anxious  to  get  out  of  the 
way,  Adomnan  stumbled  and  fell,  spilh'ng  all  the  milk  and 
breaking  the  jar  to  pieces.  The  cavalcade  rather  enjoyed 
the  fun  and  rode  away ;  but  Adamnan  pursued  them  closely, 
and  said :  *'  0,  good  men,  I  have  reason  to  be  sad,  for  there 
are  three  good  school-boys  in  one  house,  and  they  have  us  as 
two  messengers — for  there  is  always  one  going  about  seeking 
food  for  the  five — and  it  came  to  my  turn  to-day.  The 
gathering  I  made  is  scattered,  and  what  I  grieve  for  far  more, 
the  borrowed  vessel  has  been  broken  and  I  have  no  means  to 
pay  for  it."  Then  Finnachta  declared  ho  would  m-dke  it  all 
right,  and  he  kept  his  word.  He  not  only  paid  for  the  vessel 
but  he  brought  the  scholars — clerics  they  are  called — to  his 
own  house,  and  their  teacher  along  with  them  ;  he  fitted  up 
the  ale-house  for  their  reception,  and  gave  them  such  abound- 
ing good  cheer  that  the  professor,  exhilarated  by  the  ale,  or 
filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  as  the  annals  say,  declared 
that  Finnachta  would  one  day  become  the  King  of  all  Ireland, 
*'  and  Adamnan  shall  be  the  head  of  the  wisdom  of  Erin,  and 
shall  become  *  soul's  friend,'  or  confessor  to  the  king." 

When  Adamnan  was  duly  trained  in  the  wisdom  of  the 
Irish  schools  at  home  his  thoughts  naturally  turned  to  lona. 
For  that  remote  islet,  surrounded  hy  the  stormy  waters  and 
under  the  misty  sides  of  the  Hebrides,  had  long  been  the 
religious  home  of  his  race  and  family.  At  this  very  time, 
when  Adamnan  was  about  twenty-five  years  old,  a  cousin  of 
his  own,  Seghine,  fifth  Abbot  of  Ry,  ruled  the  entire  Order. 
So  with  the  south  wind  blowing  fair,  we  may  suppose  the 
young  scholar  launched  his  currach  on  the  Foyle,  and  sweep- 
ing past  the  hills  of  Inishowen,  he  would  in  about  twelve 
hours  see  Columba's  holy  island  slowly  rising  from  the  waves. 
As  his  bark  approached  he  would  eagerly  note  all  the  features 
of  the  island — the  central  rugged  ridge,  the  low  moory  shores 
and  narrow  strait  separating  it  from  the  Eoss  of  Mull  on  the 
mainland.  With  a  heart  swellino-  with  emotion,  he  must 
have  stepped  on  the  shore  of  Port  llonain,  and  then  kneeling 
prostrate  before  the  Abbot  in  h's  wooden  cell,  begged  to 
be  admitted  to  the  liabit  of  the  Order.  And  we  may  be  sure 
the  venerable  Segliine  received  with  open  arms  the  strong- 
limbed,  fair-haired  boy,  who  was  sprung  of  his  own  ancient 
Ime  and  born  in  his  own  Tirhugh. 


ADAMNAN,  NINTFI  ABBOT  OF  HY.  339 

Adamnan  began  his  novitiate  about  a.d.  650,  and  after 
thirty  ^^ears'  service  in  the  brotherhood  was  himself  raided  to 
tiie  abbatiil  Cnniv  in  a.d.  679.  We  know  little  of  his  life 
during  this  period,  except  that  it  was  eminent  for  virtue  and 
learning.  We  have  nn doubted  proofs  of  his  success  in  sacred 
studies,  not  only  in  the  works  that  remain,  but  also  from  the 
testimonv  of  his  contemporaries.  He  was,  says  Yenerable 
Bede,  a  virtuous  and  learned  man  pre-eminently  skilled  in 
Sacred  Si^ripture.^  This  is  his^h  testimony  from  a  high  autho- 
rity. Father  H.  Ward  felt  himself  justified  in  saying  that 
Adamnan  was  thoroughly  educated  in  all  the  knowledge  of 
his  time,  liberal,  sacred,  and  ascetical;  that  he  was  also  skilled 
in  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  as  well  as  in  the  arts, 
laws,  and  history  written  in  his  native  tongue.^ 

Yet  this  learned  monk  was  not  above  giving  his  assist- 
ance in  the  manual  labour  of  the  monastery.  He  tells  us  in 
his  life  of  St.  Columba^  how  on  a  certain  occasion  he  and  a 
number  of  other  monks  cut  down  as  many  oak  trees  in  one 
of  the  neighbouring  islands,  probably  Arran,  as  loaded  twelve 
boats  in  order  to  procure  material  to  repair  the  monastery  ; 
and  how,  when  detained  by  an  adverse  wind,  St.  Columba 
heard  their  prayer  and  procured  for  them  a  favourable  breeze 
to  waft  them  home.  This  fact,  incidentally  mentioned, 
proves  that  most  of  the  monastic  cells  were  made  of  oaken 
boards,  which  were  covered  in  with  a  roof  of  reeds.  St. 
Columba's  own  hut  is  represented  as  tabulis  suffultum^  and 
we  know  from  other  sources  that  as  a  protection  against  the 
weather  these  cells  were  thatched  with  reeds — harundine 
tecta.  It  is  in  this  respect  that  the  "  Vita  Oolumbae  '*  is  so 
valuable  because  it  gives  us  incidentally  not  only  a  graphic 
picture  of  the  simple  and  pious  lives  of  the  Family  of  Hy, 
but  also  of  their  food,  their  clothing,  their  monastery,  and 
their  entire  social  arrangements. 

Although  St.  Adamnan  ruled  the  monaster}^  of  Hy  from 
A.D.  679  to  his  death  in  a.d.  704,  he  paid  several  visits  to 
Ireland,  and  exercised  a  large  influence  both  on  its  ecclesias- 
tical and  civil  polity.  This  was  due  partly  to  his  high 
character  for  learning  and  holiness,  partly  to  his  position  as 


^  *'Erat  enim  vir  bonus  et  sapiens,  et  scientia  t^ciipturarum  nobilissime 
instructus." 

^  "Jjidoctus  est  omnes  liberales,  sacras  et  asceticas  disciplinas,  linguas 
etiam  Hebraicam  et  Graecara  ;  et  quicquid  patria  lingua  (in  qua  tunc  ple- 
raeque  scientiae  et  Dryadum  quae  non  luerant  daranata  dogmata)  scriptum 
est  vel  artium  vel  iegum  vel  historiaruiu," 

8  Book  II.,  0.  45. 


340  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  TN  ALBA. 

supreme  Head  of  tlic  Columbian  Houses,  and  in  oreat  mea- 
sure also  to  his  influence  with  Finnachta,  the  Hip^h  King, 
from  A.D.  675  to  695.  It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  the  exact 
date  of  these  visits,  nor  the  work  done  on  each  occasion,  but 
the  substantial  facts  are  certain. 

In  the  year  a.d.  684  one  of  tbe  generals  of  the  Northum- 
brian King,  Ecgfrid,  made  a  descent  on  Magh-Bregh,  that 
is  the  eastern  plain  of  Meath  along  the  sea-shore.  He 
pillaged  and  slaughtered  in  the  usual  fashion,  and  further- 
more carried  off  many  captives,  male  and  female.  This 
attack  was  wholly  unprovoked,  and,  as  Bede  testifies,  brought 
down  upon  the  Northumbrian  prince  the  signal  chastisement 
of  heaven.  In  the  following  year,  rashly  advancing  against 
the  Pictish  King  Brude,  Ecgfrid  was  slain  and  his  army 
routed  at  a  place  called  Dun  Nechtain.  Thereupon  Aldfrid, 
his  brother,  returned  from  Ireland,  where  he  had  been  for 
many  years  an  exile,  and  succeeded  to  the  throne.  Aldfrid, 
during  the  years  he  spent  in  Ireland,  became  intimate  with 
Adamnan — our  annalists  call  him  the  alumnus,  or  foster  son 
of  Adamnan.  Now,  that  he  was  raised  to  the  throne,  the 
latter  took  occasion  to  pay  him  a  visit  in  order  to  obtain  by 
his  friendly  offices  the  release  of  the  captives.  Miraculously 
crossing  the  Solway  Frith,  whose  rushing  tide  "the  best 
steed  in  Saxon  land  ridden  by  the  best  rider  could  not  hope  to 
escape,"  he  came  to  the  Northumbrian  Court  at  Bamborough, 
and  seems  to  have  been  received  with  open  arms  by  his 
alumnus,  who  at  once  consented  to  restore  the  captives,  sixty 
in  all,  whom  shortly  after  Adamnan  brought  home  to  Ireland. 
But  this  visit  to  the  English  court  had  other  important  con- 
sequences. "  When  he  saw,"  says  Bede,  "during  his  stay  in 
our  province  (probably  at  Easter)  the  canonical  rites  of  our 
church,  and  was  prudently  admonished  that  they  who  were 
placed  on  a  little  corner  at  the  end  of  the  world  should  not 
persevere  in  their  peculiar  Paschal  observance  against  the 
practice  of  the  universal  church,  he  changed  his  mind  and 
willingly  adopted  our  custom."  On  the  same  occasion  he 
visited  the  monastery  of  Jariow,  Avhere  the  monks  greatly 
admired  the  humility  and  modesty  of  his  demeanour,  but 
were  somewhat  scandalized  at  his  Irish  frontal  tonsure  from 
ear  to  ear,  then  known  as  the  tonsure  of  Simon  Magus. 

On  his  return  to  Hv,  Adamnan  tried  to  induce  his  monks  to 
adopt  the  Roman  Paschal  observance  ;  but  they  were  so  much 
attached  to  the  practice  sanctioned  by  their  great  and  holy 
founder  that  even  Adamnan  failed  to  bring  about  a  change. 
It  was  not  until  a.d.  716,  twelve  years  after  his  death,  that 


ADAMNAN,  NINTH  ABBOT  OF  HY.  341 

they    finally   consented   to   adopt  the   Dionysian    cycle   of 
nineteen  years  in  fixing  Easter  Day. 

He  was  more  successful  in  Ireland.  On  his  return  thither 
with  the  captives  in  a.d.  686,  a  Synod  seems  to  have  been 
held  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  this  change,  to  which 
he  himself  alludes  in  his  Life  of  St.  Columba.  Neither  the 
time  nor  place  of  the  Synod  can  be  exactly  ascertained ;  it  is 
not  unlikely,  however,  that  it  took  place  on  the  Hill  of  Tara  at 
the  "  Rath  of  the  Synods,"  where  tradition  still  marks  out 
the  place  of  "  Adamnan's  Tent,''  and  *'  Adamnan's  Cross.''^ 
Others  think  it  was  held  at  a  much  later  date  in  a.d.  696  or 
697,  when  "  Adamnan's  Canon "  was  published,  to  which 
we  shall  refer  later  on.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
Adamnan  exerted  his  great  influence  thenceforward  to 
introduce  the  new  Paschal  observance  into  Ireland,  although 
he  did  not  perhaps  finally  succeed  until  towards  the  end  of 
his  life. 

On  this  occasion  Adamnan's  visit  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion ;  but  he  paid  a  second  visit  to  Ireland  in  a.d.  692 — 
fourteen  years  after  the  death  of  his  predecessor,  Failbhe,  as 
the  Annals  say.     This  time  it  was  a  political  question  that 
attracted  him  from  Hy.     For  forty  reigns  the  men  of  Leinster 
had  been  paying  the  cow-tax,  known  as  the  Borumean  tribute, 
to  the  princes  of  the  Hy-Niall  race,   to   which  Adamnan 
himself  belonged.     Finnachta,  however,  the  reigning  High 
King,  the  old  friend  of  Adamnan,  remitted  this  tribute  at 
the  prayer  of  St.  Moling,  whom  our  Annalists  represent  as 
having  recourse  to  a  curious   equivocation  to  efiect  his  pur- 
pose.    The  king,  at  the  prayer  of  the  Saint  Moling  consented 
to  remit  payment  of  the  tax  for  "  the  day  and  night."     "  All 
time,"  said  the  saint,  when  the  king  had  pledged  his  royal 
word  to  this  remission,  "  is  day  and  night ;  thou  canst  never 
re-impose  this  tax."     In  vain  the  monarch  protested  that  he 
had  no  such  intention  ;  the  saint  kept  him  to  his  word, 
promising  him  heaven  if  he  kept  it,  and  the  reverse  if  he  did 
not.      When  Adamnan  heard   how   weakly   the   king  had 
yielded  the  ancient  rights  of  the  great  Hy-NiaU  race,  he  was 
somewhat  wrathful,  and  at  once  sought  out  the  monarch, 
and  asked  to  see  him.     The  king  was  playing  chess,  and  told 
Adamnan' s  messenger,  who  asked  an  interview  for  the  saint, 
that  he  must  wait  till  the  game  was  finished  ;  then  he  played 
a  second   and  was   going  to  play  a  third,  when  the  saint 
threatened  him    with  reading    a    psalm    that    would    not 

^  Se«  Petrie's  Tora,  page  147. 


342  THE  COIAIMJUAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALBA. 

only  .^hotteu  his  life,  but  exclude  liiui  from  Leaven.  There- 
upon lie  came  quick  enou<:»"l),  and  at  once  Adamnan  said,  "  Is 
this  u'uo  that  thou  hast  remitted  the  Borumha  lor  day  and 
night  h"  ''It  is  true,"  said  the  king.  "Then  it  is  the 
same  as  to  remit  it  for  ever/*  said  the  saint ;  and  he 
**  scolded  "  him  in  somewhat  vigorous  language,  and  made 
a  song  on  him  on  the  spot,  calling  him  a  foolish,  white-haired, 
toothless  kino",  and  using  several  otiier  epithets  the  reverse 
of  complimentary. 

Of  course  all  this  is  the  work  of  a  northern  bard,  who 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  Adamnan  language  which  he  would 
use  himself ;  nevertheless,  there  is  a  substratum  of  truth 
in  the  story  highly  coloured  as  it  is  by  poetic  fiction.  In 
the  end,  however,  the  writer  adds  : — ''  Afterwards  Finnachta 
placed  his  head  on  the  bosom  of  Adamnan,  and  Adamnan 
forgave  him  for  the  remission  of  the  Borumha/'  Shortly 
after,  however,  Adamnan  was  again  angry  with  the  king, 
and  foretold  **  that  his  life  would  be  short  and  that  he  would' 
fall  by  fratricide."  The  Irish  life  gives  the  true  cause  of  the 
anger  and  the  prediction ;  it  was  because  Finnachta  would 
not  exempt  from  taxes  the  lands  of  Columbkille,  as  he 
exempted  the  lands  of  Patrick,  Finnian,  and  Ciaran.  This 
not  unnaturally  incensed  the  saint  against  the  ungrateful 
king,  whose  throne  he  had  helped  to  maintain.  The  pre- 
diction was  soon  verified  ;  Finnachta  fell  by  the  hand  of  a 
cousin  in  a.d.  697. 

It  was  on  his  return  to  Hy  after  this  second  visit  that 
Adamnan  seems  to  have  written  the  Life  of  ColiiDibkille. 
Shortly  after  he  paid  a  third  visit  to  Ireland  in  a.d.  697, 
and  apparently  spent  the  remaining  seven  years  of  his  lii'e 
in  this  country.  It  was  in  that  year,  most  probably,  was 
held  the  Synod  of  Tara  in  which  the  Caiuy  or  Canon  of 
Adamnan,  was  promulgated.  According  to  a  story  in  the 
Leabhar  Breac  there  are  four  great  Laws,  or  "  Canons  "  in 
Ireland.  The  Canon  of  Patrick,  not  to  kill  the  clergy  ;  the 
Canon  of  the  nun  Dari,  not  to  kill  the  cows  ;  the  Canon  of 
Adamnan,  not  to  kill  women ;  and  the  Sunday  Canon,  not  to 
travel  on  that  day.  The  origin  of  the  Canon  of  Adamnan 
was  this  ; — He  was  once  travelling  through  Meath,  carrying 
his  mother  on  his  back,  when  he  saw  two  armies  in  contliet, 
and  a  womiin  of  one  party  dragging  a  woman  of  the  other 
party  with  an  iron  reaping  hook  fixed  in  her  breast.  At 
this  cruel  and  revolting  sight,  Adanman's  mother  insisted 
that  her  son  should  promise  her  to  make  a  law  lor  the  peoplot 
that  women  should  in    future  be   exempted   from  all   battles^ 


ADAMNAN,  N  INT  PI  ABBOT  OF  HY.  34o 

and  hostiugs.  Adainnan  promised  and  kept  his  word^ — in 
A.D.  696,  according  to  the  Ulster  Annals.  That  is  he  pro- 
cured the  passing  of  a  law  exempting  women  and  children — 
innocentes — from  any  share  in  the  actual  conflict  or  its  usual 
consequences,  captivity  or  death.  This  fact  is  substantially 
true,  though  considerably  embellished  in  the  details.^  And 
Ireland  owes  the  great  Abbot  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude  for 
procuring  the  enactment  of  this  law,  which  was  afterwards 
re-enacted  in  a.d.  727,  when  the  relics  of  Adamnan  were 
removed  from  lona  to  Ireland  and  the  **  law  renewed." 
There  were  several  other  Canons  probably  enacted  at  a  Synod 
held  at  Armagh  about  the  same  time,  but  this  is  far  the 
most  important  of  them  all. 

The  Life  of  St.  Gerald  of  Mayo  represents  Adamnan 
as  governing  the  monastery  of  that  place,  originally  founded 
by  the  Saxons,  for  seven  years.  Tradition  also  connects  the 
^aint  with  the  Church  of  Skreen  in  the  county  Sligo,  of 
which  he  is  the  patron,  and  was  in  all  probability  the 
founrier.  As  head  of  the  Columbian  Order  it  was  his  duty, 
from  time  to  time,  to  visit  the  Columbian  Churches  in  Ireland, 
(jf  which  there  were  very  many,  especially  in  Sligo  and 
Donegal.  He  may  thus  have  spent  a  considerable  time  in 
Mayo  of  the  Saxons,  although  the  Life  of  St.  Gerald  is  very 
unsatisfactory  evidence  of  the  fact. 

We  cannot  stay  to  notice  the  alleged  *'  cursing "  of 
Irgalach  by  Adamnan.  The  story  is  intrinsically  improbable 
and  unsustained  by  respectable  authority.  In  the  last  year 
of  his  life,  a.d.  704,  he  returned  to  lona.  Althouo^h  the 
monks  would  not  consent  to  give  up  St.  Columba's  Easter, 
he  loved  them  dearly,  and  wished  to  bless  them  before  he 
died.  After  his  noble  life  he  might  well  rest  in  peace  with 
the  kindred  dust  of  all  the  saints  of  Conal  Gulban's  line  that 
sleep  in  the  holy  island. 

A  century  later,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  the  sacred 
relics  were  transferred  to  Ireland,  but  it  is  not  known  for 
certain  where  they  were  laid. 

Adamnan's  two  most  important  works  are  his  Vita  Sancti 
Coluinbae,  and  his  book,  De  Locis  Sanctis, 

The  life  of  St.  Columba  has  been  pronounced  by  Pinkerton 
to  be  "  the  most  complete  piece  of  such  biography  that  all 
I'iUrope  can  boast  of,  not  only  at  so  early  a  period,  but  even 
through  the  whole  middle  ages."     Adamnan  himself  declares 

^  "  Dedit  legem  innocentum  populis." 

2  The  story  of  Adamnan' s  carrying  his  mother  on  his  back  originated  in 
his  well-known  filial  piety.    Vol.  III. 


344  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALBA. 

that  he  wrote  the  book  at  the  earnest  request  of  the  Brothers  ; 
and  that  he  states  nothing  except  what  was  already  written 
in  the  records  of  the  monastery,  or  what  he  himself  heard 
from  the  elder  monks,  many  of  whom  saw  the  blessed 
Coluraba,  and  were  themselves  witnesses  of  his  wonderful 
works.  The  entire  narrative,  which  is  written  in  fairly  good 
Latin,  furnishes  ample  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
Hence  the  great  value  of  this  Life,  not  only  as  an  authentic 
record  of  the  virtues  and  miracles  of  St.  Columl)a,  hut  also  as 
a  faithful  picture  of  the  religious  life  of  those  early  times  by 
a  contemporary  writer,  so  well  qualified  to  sketch  it,  and  who 
does  so  quite  unconsciously.  The  manuscript  in  the  library 
of  Schaffhausen  is  of  equal  authority  with  the  autograph  of 
the  saint,  if,  indeed,  it  were  not  actually  written  at  his 
dictation,  so  that  the  most  sceptical  cannot  question  the 
authenticity  of  this  venerable  record.  The  Life  was  print(  tl 
from  this  codex  by  Colgan  in  1647,  and  by  the  Bollandists 
at  a  later  date.  But  the  edition  published  in  1837  by  Dr. 
W.  Reeves  for  the  Irish  Archaeological  and  Celtic  Society,  is 
by  far  the  most  valuable.  The  notes  and  appendices  to  this 
admirable  volume  render  it  a  perfect  mine  of  wealth  for  the 
student  of  Irish  History. 

Venerable  Bede  gives  us  a  very  full  account  of  the  treatise 
De  Locis  Sanctis^  in  the  16  th  and  17th  chapters  of  the  fifth 
book  of  his  Ecclesiastical  History.  It  is,  he  says,  a  book 
most  useful  to  the  reader  (in  that  age).  The  author, 
Adamnan,  received  his  information  about  the  holy  places 
from  Arculfus,  a  bishop  from  Gaul,  who  had  himself  visited 
Jerusalem,  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  and  all  the  islands  of 
the  sea.  When  returning  home  a  tempest  drove  his  vessel 
to  the  west  parts  of  Britain,^  where  he  met  Adamnan, 
probably  in  Hy,  to  whom  he  narrated  all  the  noteworthy 
scenes  he  had  gone  through.  Adamnan  at  once  reduced  the 
narrative  to  writing,  for  the  information  of  his  own  country- 
men. He  presented  the  work  to  his  friend  King  Aldfrid, 
through  whose  liberality  copies  were  multiplied  for  the 
benefit  of  the  young,  if  such  be  the  meaning  of  Bedels 
phrase: — "  Per  ejus  largitionem  etiam  minoribus  ad  legendum 
contraditus."  Bede  himself  was  greatly  pleased  with  the 
book,  from  which  he  inserts  several  extracts  in  his  own 
history,  concerning  Bethlehem,  Jerusalem,  Mount  Olivet,  and 
other  places  in  Palestine.  It  was  published  at  Ingoldstadt 
in  1619. 


^  Up  to  th«  tenth  century  Britanuia  included  Scotland. 


ADAMNAN,  NINTH  ABBOT  OF  HT.  345 

A  Life  of  St.  Patrick  and  some  poems  have  been  attributed 
to  Adamnan,  but  tbere  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  they  are 
genuine.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  "  Vision  of  Adamnan," 
a  kind  of  moral  discourse  in  Irish,  which  purports  to  relate 
a  wonderful  vision  of  the  joys  of  heaven,  and  of  the  torments 
of  hell,  as  seen  and  narrated  by  the  saint.  The  work  is 
certainly  very  ancient,  but  contains  many  things  that  go 
far  to  disprove  its  own  authenticity. 

When  we  consider  the  life  and  writings  of  this  great  man, 
as  well  as  the  large  influence  which  he  exercised  on  Irish 
affairs  during  the  latter  half  of  the  seventh  century,  few  will 
be  disposed  to  question  his  right  to  take  a  high  place  amongst 
the  saints  and  scholars  of  the  west.  He  has  been  justly 
described  in  the  prologue  to  the  Vision  as  "  the  noble  sage  of 
the  Western  World."  We  have  already  quoted  Bedels 
high  testimony  to  his  virtue  and  learning.  The  Four  Masters 
emphatically  endorse  that  testimony,  and  add  that  **  he  was 
tearful,  penitent,  fond  of  prayer,  diligent  and  ascetic  ;"  and 
that  he  was,  moreover,  "  learned  in  the  clear  understanding 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  God.'* 

After  the  death  of  Adamnan,  a.d.  704,  the  Annals  of 
Hy  become  less  interesting.  It  still  retained  its  headship 
of  all  the  Columbian  houses  both  in  Erin  and  Alba — its 
abbots  holding  what  is  called  o. principatus  over  the  rulers  of 
the  subject  monasteries.  Mention  is  also  made  of  the 
cathedra  of  Columba  and  of  lona ;  but  probably  the  same 
thing  is  meant — not  episcopal  or  territorial  jurisdiction,  but 
the  supreme  authority  over  the  Columbian  houses  and  their 
wide  domains.  Reference,  however,  is  made,  for  instance,  in 
A.D.  712,  to  the  death  of  "Ceddi,  Bishop  of  lona,'*  but  he 
doubtless  derived  his  jurisdiction  from  the  abbot.  In 
A.I).  717  we  are  told  that  the  Pictish  King,  Nectan,  expelled 
the  Columbian  monks  from  his  dominions,  because  they 
refused  to  conform  to  the  general  discipline  as  to  the  paschal 
observance,  and  the  coronal  tonsure.  This  seems  to  have 
brought  the  entire  community  to  a  sense  of  their  duty,  for 
now  at  length,  under  the  Abbot  Faelcu,  they  began  to  wear 
the  Roman  tonsure,  as  they  had  already  adopted  the  Roman 
Easter.  In  a.d.  727  we  are  told  that  the  "  Relics  of 
Adamnan  "  were  brought  to  Ireland,  and  his  Law  renewed 
in  that  countr3\  The  object  of  bringing  over  these  relics 
seems  to  have  been  to  heal  a  feud  between  the  Cenel-Eoghain 
and  Cenel-Conal,  in  which  the  clergy  appear  to  have  been 
also  mixed  up,  contrary  to  the  Cain  or  Law  of  Adamnan. 
The  relics  were  brought  back  again  by  the  abbot  in  a.d.  730. 


346  THE  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOL  IN  ALBA. 

lu  A.D.  7 '31),  we  read  of  the  Diuiersio  familiae  lae,  as  if 
the  greater  part  of  the  coinmunity  were  lost  in  some  flood,  or 
shipwreck — most  likely  the  latter.  In  a.d.  753,  and  in  sub- 
sequent years  reference  is  made  to  enforcing  the  Law  of 
Coluiucille,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  tribute  assessed  by 
the  parent  house  on  the  subject  m(masteries  and  their  ad- 
jacent lands.  As  the  relics  of  Adamnan  were  carried  to 
Krin,  where  his  Cain  was  enforced,  so  it  is  likely  some  relics, 
if  not  of  Columba's  body,  yet  in  some  other  way  connected 
with  him,  were  carried  round  on  these  occasions. 

lona  had  now  become  a  celebrated  place  of  pilgrimage. 
Even  kings  and  princes,  as  Columba  had  predicted,  came  to 
the  island  shrine,  and  were  deemed  especially  happy,  when 
they  died  on  their  pilgrimage.  Niall  Frassach  gave  up  his 
crown  to  take  the  pilgrim's  staff*,  and  died  in  lona  in 
A.D.  778  ;  so  did  Artgal,  son  of  Oathal,  King  of  Connaught, 
in  A.D.  791,  and  many  princes  of  the  Picts  and  Saxons  in 
like  manner. 

Thus  for  two  hundred  years  since  the  death  of  their  holy 
founder,  the  community  had  been  growing  in  celebrity  and 
influence,  but  now  a  day  of  trial  and  doom  was  at  hand. 

In  A.D.  794  the  '  Gentiles'  made  their  first  descent  on  the 
Hebrides  ;  the  following  year  they  attacked  and  pillaged  the 
holy  island  itself.  It  was,  however,  only  the  beginning  of 
the  evil  time.  It  was  burned  in  a.d.  802,  and  the  same  year 
saw  the  death  of  Connachtach,  *  a  very  choice  scribe,'  vvhose 
end  was  doubtless  hastened  by  the  sight  of  his  beloved 
monastery  in  flames. 

Fortunately,  however,  the  community  of  Hy  got  two 
years  later  *'  a  free  grant  of  Kells  without  a  battle."  They 
had,  doubtless,  been  claiming  it  as  their  own  ;  for  it  was 
given  to  Columba  by  King  Diarmait  long  ago  ;  but  the  place 
may  have  got  into  other  hands  in  the  interval.  Now,  how- 
ever, that  they  had  recovered  it  in  peace,  they  resolved  to 
make  it  their  headquarters  in  future.  In  a.d.  807  they 
began  to  build  a  new  religious  '  city '  in  Kells  ;  the  great 
church  was  finished  in  a.d.  814,  when  the  old  Abbot  Cellach 
resigned  the  principatus  of  lona,  which  thenceforward 
was  transferred  to  Kells,  where  the  new  abbot  fixed  his 
official  abode.  It  seems  that  the  venerable  Cellacli  would 
not  leave  his  beloved  island  for  the  new  city  in  Ireland,  and 
so  he  resigned  his  office,  and  next  year  went  to  his  rest  in 
that  old  churchyard,  where  the  bones  of  so  many  of  his 
sainted  predecessors  were  already  laid. 

^lany  of  the  sionks  still  clung  with  the  same  teuacious 


ADAMNAN,  NINTH  ABBOT  OF  HY.  347 

afFection  to  the  old  monastery  in  the  sacred  island  of 
Colurnba,  although  they  knew  that  they  lived  there  in  daily 
peril  of  their  lives.  It  was  thus  the  martyrdom  of  St. 
Blaithmac  came  to  pass  in  a.d.  825.  The  Gentiles'  fleets 
were  once  more  upon  the  seas.  Word  was  brought  that  they 
were  harrying  the  neighbouring  inlands  ;  and  the  monks  of 
Ion  a  betook  themselves  to  flight.  It  was  not  difficult  to 
cross  the  narrow  strait,  and  escape  into  the  wild  hills  of 
Mull.  But  Blaithmac  would  not  stir  ;  he  was  ardently  long- 
ing for  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  and  now  the  hour  of  his 
triumph  wa^  at  hand.  He  had  hidden  the  shrine  containing 
the  relics  of  the  holy  founder,  adorned  with  gold  and  gems, 
deep  in  the  earth,  and  covered  over  the  spot  with  fresh  green 
sods,  so  as  to  leave  no  trace  of  the  treasure  beneath.  This 
was,  however,  what  the  spoilers  wanted.  They  asked  the 
old  man  where  he  had  hidden  the  shrine.  He  refused  to  tell ; 
and  then,  enraged  by  baflled  greed,  they  slew  him  on  the 
spot.  It  was  fitting  that  lona,  the  sacred  nursery  of  so  many 
doctors  and  confessors,  should  also  have  its  martyrs  in  the 
ranks  of  the  saints  of  God.  It  was  fortunate,  too,  that  the 
heroic  martyr  should  have  found  a  poet  to  celebrate  his 
triumph  in  verses  not  unworthy  of  such  a  Christian  hero. 

Walafridus  Strabo,  a  monk  of  the  abbey  called  Augia 
Dives,  now  Heichenau  in  Switzerland,  heard  of  the  heroism 
of  the  Ionian  monk  from  his  fellow  monks  who  had  fled  for 
refuge  to  their  countrymen  in  this  Irish  House  on  the  Hhine. 
Of  German  birth  himself,  he  was  filled  with  admiration  for 
such  lofty  Christian  courage  ;  and  composed  a  poem  of  180 
Latin  hexameters,  in  which  he  celebrates  the  fortitude  of — 

"  Blaithmaic,  genuit  quern  dives  Hibernia  rnundo, 
Martyriique  sequens  misit  perfectio  caelo." 

The  poem  is  too  long  to  insert  here,  but  it  is  a  noble 
tribute  from  the  pen  of  a  foreigner  to  the  courageous  virtue 
of  the  Columbian  monk  who  gave  his  life  for  Christ  in  lona 
more  than  one  thousand  years  ago. 

The  Rule  of  Columba^  required  that  his  monks  should  be 
ready  for  martyrdom  whenever  God's  honour  required  it. 
Their  mind  was  to  be  always  fortified  and  steadfast  for  '  the 
white  martyrdom'  of  patient  endurance  ;  but -they  were  also 
bound  to  have  the  mind  if  occasion  arose  prepared  for  '  red 
martyrdom.'  Blaithmac  found  the  opportunity  and  was  un- 
willing to  lose  his  crown. 

^  See  Haddan  and  StubbSt  vol.  ii.,  part  1,  p.  120. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

THE  LATER  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN  IRELAND. 

I. — Kells  Head  of  the  Columbian  Houses. 

•*  A  voice  from  the  ocean  waves, 

And  a  voice  from  the  forest  glooms, 
And  a  voice  from  old  temples  and  kingly  graves, 
And  a  voice  from  the  catacombs." 

— Aubrey  dt  Vere. 

DuiiiNG  the  nintti.  tenths  and  eleventh  centuries  Kells  became 
the  Head  of  the  Columbian  Monasteries,  and  produced  several 
distinguished  men.  Its  professors  are  frequently  referred  to 
during  this  period  in  our  Annals,  especially  during  the 
eleventh  century.  Two  of  them  bore  the  name  of  Ua  h 
Uchtain,  of  whom  one  was  unhappily  "  drowned  coming  from 
xA.lba,  with  the  bed  of  Columcille — it  was  a  stone — and  three 
of  Patrick's  relics,  and  thirty  persons  along  with  him.''  In 
A.D.  1050  died  Maelan  of  Ceanannus,  a  distinguished  sage  ; 
and  eleven  years  later  the  death  of  Ciaran  is  noticed,  another 
distinguished  sage  of  the  same  school. 

Meanwhile  Kells  did  not  escape  the  ravages  of  the  Danes. 
In  A.D.  949,  recie  951,  it  suffered  greatly.     Godfrey,  King  of 
the  Danes  of  Dublin,  marched  to  Kells,  and  having  plundered 
all   the   country   round   about,  returned  home  with  "  3,000 
captives,  besides  gold,  silver,  raiment,   and  various  wealth 
and  goods  of  every  description. "^     Although  Kells  suffered 
much  in  various  attacks,  both  before  and  after  this  date,  it  is 
doubtful   if  the  good   monks   of  Columcille   were   ever   so 
completely  cleaned  out  as  on  that  occasion.     It  is  called  an 
expilatio  by  an  old  chronicler — pillage  that  left  nothing  after 
it      Kells  was  five  times  plundered  during  the  tenth  century; 
once  also  at  the  close  of  the  ninth,  and  once  at  the  opening  of 
the  eleventh  century  ;  and  it  was  burned  during  the  same 
period  even  oftener  than  it  was  plundered.     Yet  the  school 
and  monastery  lived  on,  and  after  the  Danish  wars  seem  to 
have  become  once  more  quite  flourishing. 

The  celebrated  CatJiachy  to  which  we  referred  when  speak- 
ing of  the  School  of  Moville,  was  enshrined  at  Kells  about 
the  close  of  the  eleventh    century.     On  the  margin  of  the 

^  Four  Master »f  A.D.  1034, 


MARTANUS  SCOTUS.  349 

under  silver  plate  of  the  casket,  which  contains  the  MS.,  the 
following  words  in  Gaelic  are  still  quite  legible. 

"Pray  for  Cathbarr  O'Doimell  for  whom  this  casket  was 
made,  and  for  Sitric,  son  of  Mac  Aedha,  who  made  it,  and 
for  Domnald  Mac  Robartaigh  Comarb  of  Kells^  at  whose 
house  it  was  made."  As  this  abbot  of  Kells  died  m  a.d.  1098 
the  cumdachy  or  casket,  must  have  been  fabricated  by 
MacHugh's  son  before  that  date,  probably  at  the  joint 
expense  of  O'Donnell  and  the  abbot. 

The  family  of  Mac  Robartaigh  seems  to  have  produced 
several  distinguished  scholars  during  this  century,  many  of 
whom  were  connected  with  the  monastic  school  of  Kells.  The 
MacRobartaigh  clan  appears  to  have  belonged  to  Donegil.  The 
parish  of  Ballymacgroarty  in  Tirhugh  was  most  likely  their 
family  inheritance,  as  it  takes  its  name  from  the  clan.  The 
celebrated  Marianus  Scotus  was  a  member  of  the  same  family; 
for  in  his  own  hand  he  describes  himself  as  Muredach  Mac 
Robartaig,  giving  his  original  Irish  name,  instead  of  the 
literary  patroaymic,  which  his  learning  and  virtue  have 
immortalised. 

II. — This  Marianus  Scotus, 

Scribe  and  Commentator  on  Sacred  Scripture,  must  be  care- 
fully distinguished  from  his  countryman  and  namesake 
Marianus  Scotus  the  Chronicler.  We  have  fortunately  an 
authentic  Life  of  the  former  written  by  another  Irishman, 
who  was  an  inmate  of  the  same  religious  house  as  Marianus, 
and  who  tells  us  that  he  derived  his  information  from  Father 
Isaac,  then  living,  the  life-long  associate  of  Marianus  himself. 

This  Life  sets  forth  that  Marianus  was  a  native  of  the 
North  of  Ireland,  but  does  not  name  the  locality  in  which  he 
was  born.  In  his  early  youth  he  was  handed  over  by  liis 
parents  to  the  care  of  certain  religious  men  in  order  to  be 
trained  up  for  the  clerical  state  in  all  learning  and  pious  dis- 
cipline. There  is  hardly  a  doubt  that  the  reference  here  is  to 
the  monks  of  Drumhome,  in  the  barony  of  Tirhugh,  county 
Donegral.  The  old  monastic  church  was  situated  near  the  sea 
shore,  where  the  boy  must  have  often  wandered  m  view  of 
^  the  noble  mountains  that  rise  up  so  grandly  beyond  the  bay, 
and  in  the  sight  and  hearing  of  the  wild  Atlantic  waves  that 
break  upon  its  shore.  Later  on  he  was  doubtless  sent  to 
Kells  to  complete  his  studies,  for  several  members  of  his 
family  presided  over  that  abbey  about  this  period. 

We  gather  from  statements  made  by  Marianus  himself, 
that  he  left  Ireland  in  a.d.  1067  ;    and  therefore  just  eleven 


1)50  THE  LATER  COLUMHIAN  SCHOoYs  IN   IRELAND. 

years  after  the  departure  of  his  iiainesake,  Marianus  the 
Chronick^r.  At  this  period  ohi  Father  Isaac  described  him 
to  the  writer  of  his  life,  as  a  handsome  fair-haired  youth, 
strong-lirabed  and  tall,  moreover  a  man  of  goodly  mien,  and 
firaelous  eloquence,  well  trained  in  all  human  and  divine 
knowledge.^  His  purpose  was  to  «2:o  on  pilgrimage  to  Rome; 
but  calling  to  see  Bishop  Otho  of  Bamberg,  he  was  induced  to 
remain  with  that  prelate  for  a  whole  year.  Subsequently  the 
bishop- gave  Marianus  and  his  two  companions  a  cell  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  in  which  they  lived  as  recluses,  the 
bishop  generously  supplying  their  simple  wants. 

After  the  Bishop's  death  they  journeyed  on  to  Ratisbon, 
where  tliey  were  onco  more  induced  to  stay  at  the  earnest 
entreaty  of  the  venerable  abbess  Emma  and  her  nuns.  As 
before  they  lived  as  recluses  in  their  own  little  cells,  Marianus 
devoting  himself  with  great  zeal  to  the  composition  and 
transcription  of  religious  books  for  the  good  abbess  Emma 
and  her  nuns.  He  also  found  leisure  to  write  books  for  the 
monks  around  Ratisbon  ;  "  for  his  pen  was  swift,  his  hand- 
writing clear  and  beautiful,  and  his  labour  incessant."  He 
worked  so  diligently  in  his  cell  that  his  two  companions, 
John  and  Candidus — Irishmen  also — found  quite  enough  to 
do  in  preparing  the  parchments  which  he  filled  up  with  the 
words  of  salvation.  We  are  expressly  told  that  they  all 
laboured  without  fee  or  reward — giving  their  books  gratui- 
tously, contenting  themselves  with  the  poorest  raiment  and 
the  plainest  and  scantiest  fare.  "  To  tell  the  truth  without  a 
fog  of  words,"  says  the  writer  of  the  Life  of  Marianus ^ 
"  amongst  all  the  things  which  Divine  Providence  wrought 
by  the  hands  of  the  said  Marianus,  nothing  in  my  opinion  is 
so  wonderful  and  praiseworthy  as  the  zeal  with  which  the 
hoi}'-  man,  not  once  or  twice,  but  frequently  transcribed  with 
his  own  hand  the  entire  Old  and  New  Testament  with  com- 
mentaries and  explanations  ;  while  at  the  same  time  he  wrote 
many  smaller  books,  and  psalters  for  poor  widows,  and  for 
the  needy  clerics  in  the  same  city  (of  Ratisbon),  and  that,  too, 
merely  for  his  soul's  sake,  without  any  hope  of  earthly  gain. 
Moreover,  many  monastic  congregations  in  faith  and  charitv 
imitating  the  same  blessed  Marianus,  having  come  from  that 
same  Ireland  (Hibernia),  and  now  dwelling  throughout 
Bavaria  and  Franconia,  are  for  the  most  part  sustained  bv 
the  writings  of  that  same  holy  man." 

^  Decoro  vultu,   crine   nitcnti,   ultra   communem    valentiam   hominuin, 
f ormft  erat  Bpociosus,  divinis  ac  humanis  litteris  et  cloquentid  crat  praeditus. 

—  Vila, 


MAKIANUS  SCOTUS.  351 

Such  is  the  noble  testimony  borne  to  the  learning,  zeal, 
and  charity  of  this  pure-souled  Irish  monk  in  the  land  of  the 
stranger.  And  therefore  it  was  that,  not  without  good 
reason,  he  and  his  countrymen  were  so  warmly  welcomed 
and  so  generously  treated  in  all  the  great  cities  of  mediseval 
Germany. 

But  Marianus  was  quite  as  remarkable  for  the  holiness  of 
liis  life  as  for  his  learning  and  literary  labours.  "  He  was,"  says 
the  writer  of  his  Life,  "  like  Moses,  the  meekest  of  men  ;  and 
God  bestowed  upon  him  in  a  wonderful  wa}^  the  gift  of  heal- 
ing many  diseases,  but  especially  fevers,  and  not  only  during 
his  life,  as  I  ha^^e  heard  from  trustworthy  witnesses,  but  at 
his  tomb  after  his  death,  as  I  have  seen  with  my  own  ej/es.^' 

We  cannot  now,  however,  give  an  account  of  the  cele- 
brated monastery  of  St.  James  of  Ratisbon,  which  was  founded 
by  Marianus  for  his  countrymen,  who  came  to  that  city  in 
great  numbers  towards  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century,  nor 
of  the  great  scholars  which  it  produced. 

Marianus  is  described  by  Aventinus  in  the  Annals  of 
Bavaria  as  a  distinguished  poet  and  theologian — poeta  tt 
theologus  insignis—  second  to  no  man  of  his  time.  His  poems 
are  unfortunately  lost,  but  his  Commentaries  still  remain  fo 
us  at  least  in  manuscript.  His  Commentar}^  on  the  Psalms 
was  so  highly  valued,  as  Aventinus  tells  us,  that  it  was  not 
allowed  outside  of  the  walls  of  the  monastic  library  without 
a  valuable  deposit  being  left  to  secure  its  safe  return.  There 
is  in  the  Cotton  collection  a  codex  not  yet  published  entitled 
Liber  Mariani  genere  Scott  excerptus  de  Evangelistariim 
voluminibus  sive  Doctoribus. 

His  most  famous  work,  however,  is  the  codex  containing 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  with  a  marginal  and  interlinear  com- 
mentary. This  precious  MS.  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Library 
at  Vienna,^  and  is  especially  valuable  because  it  contains  several 
entries  in  the  old  and  pure  Gaedhlic  of  the  eleventh  century .^ 
It  is  quite  astonishing  what  a  number  of  writers  is  quoted  by 
Marianus  in  the  marginal  gloss — Jerome,  xlugustine,  Cassio- 
dorus,  Arnobius,  St.  Gregory,  Origen,  St.  Leo  the  Great, 
Alcuin,  Cassian,  Peter  the  Deacon,  Pelagius,  and  the  Ambro- 
sia ster  are  all  laid  under  tribute.  We  wonder  how  many 
Irish  scholars  of  the  present  day  are  acquainted  with  them. 

This  great  work  was  completed  on  Friday,  the  16th  day 
before  the  kalends  of  June,  a.d.  1079 — he  marks  the  date 
himself,   and  asks  the  reader  to   say   *Amen'  to  the  brief 

1  No.  1247  iTheol.  287),        ^  gee  Tramaclions  of  the  R.I.A.,  Vol.  vii.,  21.5. 


352  THE  LATER  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN  IRETANb. 

prayer  for  his  sours  salvation.  "Amen,  God  rest  him" 
{Amen  Got  der  Erleich),  wrote  a  pious  old  German  of  the 
fifteenth  century  on  the  face  of  the  page  in  response  to  this 
pious  request.  Amen  say  we  too — may  God  give  him  rest — 
that  God  whom  he  served  so  well  during  all  the  years  of  his 
pilgrimage  in  the  land  of  the  stranger. 

*'  And  now,  my  brothers,"  says  the  eloquent  old  Irish 
monk,  who  wrote  the  Life  of  Marianus,  thinking  no  doubt  of 
his  own  far-ofi"  home  in  Ireland  by  the  swelling  Boyne  or 
winding  Erne ;  "  and  now  my  brothers,  if  you  should  ask  me 
what  will  be  the  reward  of  Marianus  and  pilgrims  like  him, 
who  left  the  sweet  soil  of  their  native  land  which  is  free  from 
every  noxious  beast  and  worm,  with  its  mountains  and  hills, 
its  valleys  and  its  groves  so  well  suited  for  the  chase,  the 
picturesque  expanses  of  its  rivers,  its  green  fields  and  its 
streams  welling  up  from  purest  fountains,  and  like  the  chil- 
dren of  Abraham  the  Patriarch,  came  without  hesitation  unto 
the  land  which  God  had  pointed  out  to  them,  this  is  my 
answer :  They  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  with  the 
Angels  and  Archano:els  of  God  for  ever ;  they  will  behold  in 
Sion  the  God  of  Gods,  to  whom  be  honour  and  glory  for  end- 
less ages." 

The  exact  date  of  the  death  of  Marianus  is  not  marked, 
but  it  seems  to  have  occurred  in  a.d.  1088,  just  six  years 
after  the  death  of  his  namesake  the  Chronicler.  After 
Adamnan  he  was  the  most  distinguished  writer  produced  by 
the  Columbian  Schools.  ^ 

III. — The  Later  School  of  Derry. 

As  the  great  Columbian  order  of  monks  and  scholars 
began  in  the  Black  Cell  of  Derry,  so  also  from  Derry  flashed 
out  the  latest  bright  gleams  of  that  sacred  lamp  which 
Columba  had  kindled,  and  which  at  one  time  irradiated  both 
Scotland  and  Ireland.  Kells  held  the  principatus  during  the 
ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries,  as  we  have  alreadv 
stated ;  but  during  the  twelfth  century  Derry  came  again  to 
the  front,  and  produced  a  large  number  of  A-'ery  distinguished 
men,  most  of  whom  belonged  to  a  famous  literary  family 
named  Ua  Brolchain,  or  O'Brollaghan.  This  family  derived 
its  descent  from  Suibhne  Meanu,  who  was  King*  of  Ireland 
from  a.d.  615  to  628.  He  was  of  the  Cenel-Eoghain,  but 
belonged  to  a  sub-division  known  as  the  Cenel-Feradhaich, 
whose  tribe-land  seems  to  have  been  in  the  barony  of  Clogher, 
County  Tyrone.  The  first  of  ^\k>.  Ua  Brolchain  family  noticed 
« 

^  The  author  haH  rocoived  from  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Donnelly,  Bishop  of 
Cauea,  a  duly  attostcd  rolio  of  tho  Bloasod  Marianus-  Kx  80lnlU•hl^»  S. 
Merchertachi  Sooti. 


THE  LATER  SCHOOL  OF  DERKY.  353 

in  our  Annals  is  Maelbrighde,  whose  death  is  recorded  in 
A.D.  1029.  He  is  described  as  chief  builder  of  his  time  in 
Erin.^ 

The  next  of  the  name  whom  we  meet  with  is  St.  Maelisa 
O'Brolchain,  a  very  celebrated  man,  who  died  a.d.  1086.  He 
was  probably  an  alumnus  of  the  monastery  of  Derry,  but 
afterwards  retired  to  Both-chonais,  an  ancient  monastic  church 
in  Inishowen,  which  is  best  known  from  its  connection  with 
this  holy  and  learned  man.  It  was  delightfully  situated^  on 
the  margin  of  a  semicircular  bay  in  the  north-western  extre- 
mity of  Inishowen,  y/hei'e  the  tierce  Atlantic  billows  spend 
their  force  in  broken  wavelets  on  its  sandy  shore.  It  is  well 
sheltered  on  the  east  and  south  by  a  range  of  steep  and  rugged 
hills.  The  entire  parish  of  Clonmany,  in  which  it  was  situ- 
ated, abounds  in  natural  curiosities  as  well  as  in  objects  of 
antiquarian  interest,  such  as  cromlechs,  raths,  and  castles 
perched  on  lofty  crags. 

ISo  traces  of  the  old  monaster}^  now  remain,  but  its  site  is 
probably  marked  by  an  old  church- yard  in  the  townland  of 
Binnion,  situated  close  to  a  narrow  inlet  of  the  bay,  and  in  a 
spot  which  a  sea-king  of  old  might  fitly  choose  as  the  site  of 
his  stronghold.  The  place  got  its  name  of  Both-chonais — 
the  House  of  Conas — from  its  founder,  who  was  the  husband 
of  St.  Patrick's  sister,  Darerca,  and  by  her  the  father  of  two 
holy  bishops,  Mael  and  Maelchu.  It  is  referred  to  at  inter- 
vals as  a  place  of  some  celebrity  during  the  ninth  and  tenth 
centuries,  and  the  death  of  its  Airchinneach  is  recorded  in 
A.D.  1049. 

Maelisa  O'Brolchain  shunned  church  dignities,  if  he  were 
not  indeed  a  lay  professor ;  but  all  the  same  he  certainly 
acquired  great  fame  even  in  this  remotest  corner  of  Erin  both 
as  a  teacher  and  a  scholar.  The  Four  Masters  describe  him 
as  "  the  learned  senior  (or  sage)  of  Ireland,  a  paragon  of 
wisdom  and  piety,  in  poetry  as  well  as  in  both  languages — 
(Irish  and  Latin)."  The  term  'chief  senior'  is  never  given 
except  to  the  most  eminent  men,  who  were  recognised  as  such 
by  their  contemporary  annalists.  Colgan  speaks  of  him,  too, 
in  the  highest  terms  as  an  humble  man  shunning  ail  worldly 
honours,  and  devoted  to  a  pious  and  studious  life.  He  was 
the  author  of  many  books  "replete  with  genius  and  intel- 
lect," which  were  preserved  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Both- 
chonais  in  Colgan's  time,  but  have  since  unfortunately 
perished.     "I  have  in  ray  own  possession,"  adds  Colgan, 

*  Four  Masters.  *  According  to  O'Donovan's  identification. 

Z 


354  THE  LATER  COLUMIHAN  SCHOOLS  IN   IRELAND. 

"  some  few  fragments  which  he  wrote,"  and  which  also  appear 
to  have  completely  disappeared  since  Colgan's  time.  Even 
the  site  of  his  monastery  is  uncertain.  O'Donovan  seems  to 
think  it  was  in  the  town  land  of  Binnion  ;  but  Heeves  places 
it  in  the  townland  of  Carrowmore,  parish  of  CuldafF,  on  the 
left-hand  side  of  the  road  fi'om  Moville  to  Carn,  and  about 
three  miles  from  the  latter  village.^  It  is  said  that  he 
founded  an  oratory  at  Lismore,  which  was  burned  in  a.d. 
1116,  and  is  called  the  Oratory  of  Maelisa.  He  may  have 
spent  some  time  either  as  a  student  or  as  a  teacher  in  that 
celebrated  seminary.  He  died  in  a.d.  1086  at  a  very  advanced 
age,  for  he  had  no  sickness,  but  simply  gave  back  his  soul  to 
God.  This  holy  and  eminent  scholar  seems  to  have  belonged 
to  that  class  of  learned  lay  professors,  of  whom  Conn-na- 
m-Bocht  at  Clonmacnoise  was  the  most  remarkable  example. 
They  were  equally  renowned  for  holiness  and  learning,  but 
abstained  from  taking  Holy  Orders  either  from  humility,  or 
in  order  to  have  more  leisure  and  more  freedom  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge. 

The  death  of  Aedh,  son  of  Maelisa  O'Brolchain,  who  is 
described  as  "  an  eminent  professor '*  (praecipuus  lector)^  is 
recorded  in  a.d.  1095.  He  was,  doubtless,  the  son  of  Maelisa 
of  Both-chonais,  and  probably  lectured  either  there  or  in  the 
monastery  of  Derry.  Two  years  afterwards,  in  a.d.  1097,  the 
Four  Masters  record. the  death  of  Maelbrighde  Mac-an-tsaer 
O'Brolchain,  Bishop  of  Kildare,  who  is  described  as  a  'learned 
doctor.'  There  can  hardl}^  be  a  doubt  that  he  was  the  son 
of  that  chief  builder — prim  saer — whose  fame  as  a  mason  or 
architect  was  known  throughout  all  Erin,  and  who  died  in 
a.d.  1029.  Then  we  find  two  members  of  the  family  raised 
to  the  primatial  Chair;  one  was  Maelcolaim — disciple  of 
Columba — O'Brolchain,  who  died  in  a.d.  1122  ;  and  another, 
named  also  Maelbrighde  O'Brolchain,  who  died  in  a.d.  1137. 
It  is  not  unlikely  he  belonged  to  the  class  of  lyymen  who 
claimed  jurisdiction  over,  and  called  themselves  *'  Bishops  of 
Armagh "  during  a  portion  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries;  for  "  Flaithbhertach,  *son  of  Bishop  O'Brolchain,'  "- 
was  Comarb  of  Columcille  in  Derry  from  a.d.  1150  to  1175 
The  history  of  this  remarkable  man  is  especially  noteworthy. 

AVhen  he  was  elected  as  Comarb  of  Columcille  to  the 
abbacy  of  Derry,  in  a.d.  1150,  that  ancient  monastic  seat  of 
learning  was,  it  appears,  very  much  dilapidated.  Like  othi  r 
places  near  the  sea,  it  was  greatly  exposed  to  the  ravaof^s  of 


*  ^ee  Uetivea'  Adamnin,  pu^o  iO^.  ^  AhimU  of  Uhtm; 


THE  LATER  SCHOOL  OF  DERRY.  355 

the  Danes,  and  bad  been  several  times  plundered  and  burned. 
Most  of  the  buildings  were  of  wood,  for  the  great  stone 
church — Temple-more — was  not  yet  built.  A  new  era  of 
ecclesiastical  architecture  was,  however,  inaugurated  in 
Ireland  towards  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  by  the 
workmen  whom  the  Cistercians  brought  over  from  France 
and  England  to  build  their  own  magnificent  churches  and 
monasteries.  Nothing  like  them  had  yet  been  seen  in  the 
land.  There  were  Irish  workmen,  ho  wever,  who,  if  opportunity 
offered,  would  be  worthy  rivals  of  the  masons,  that  built 
the  Norman  abbeys  in  France  and  England ;  and  they  gave 
proof  of  their  capacity  in  the  building  of  Cormac's  Chapel  at 
Cashel,  which  is  a  gem  in  its  own  way  that  cannot  be  sur- 
passed. The  Abbot  of  Derry  came  of  a  family  that  had  won 
renown  as  builders,  and  he  was  anxious  to  show  his  own  taste 
and  skill  in  the  renovation  of  the  ancient  monastery  ove? 
which  he  had  just  been  placed.  Money,  of  course,  was 
wanting,  but  it  could  not  be  long  wanting  to  the  Comarb  of 
Coluracillcif  he  were  resolved  to  procure  it.  He  made  an 
official  visitation  of  the  Cenel-Eoghain,  to  whose  kith  and 
kin  he  himself  belonged,  and  '  received  his  tribute,'  in 
A.D.  1150 — the  year  of  his  appointment  to  Derry.  Next  year 
he  made  a  visitation  of  the  Siol-Cathusaigh  in  the  County 
Antrim,  "  and  he  obtained  a  horse  from  every  chieftain,  and 
a  sheep  from  every  hearth,  and  his  horse  and  battle  dress, 
and  a  ring  of  gold,  in  whicli  were  two  ounces,  from  O'Lynn, 
their  lord."  In  a.d.  1153  he  made  a  visitation  of  the  Dal 
Cairbre,  and  the  Ui  Eathach  Uladb,  and  got  a  horse  from 
every  chieftain,  and  a  sheep  from  every  house,  and  a 
screaball,  a  horse,  and  five  cows  from  O'Donlevy  himself, 
and  an  ounce  of  -^old  from  his  wife.  Coined  money  was 
scarce  ;  but  cattle  and  horses  were  plenty,  and  would  do  as 
well.  Later  on  he  even  visited  Ossory,  and  raised  his  tribute, 
and  procured  immunity  for  the  Columbian  churches  in  Meath 
from  all  assessments  except,  we  presume,  his  own.  Being  at 
this  time  Head  of  the  Columbian  Order,  he  was,  doubtless, 
present  at  the  great  Synod  of  Kells,  which  was  held  in  that 
city  by  Cardinal  Paparo  in  a.d.  1152  ;  a  ad  during  that  year 
we  find  he  made  no  official  visitation  elsewhere.  No  doubt 
he  had  enough  on  his  hands  ;  and  w  nay  be  sure  he  voted 
for  that  Canon  of  the  Council  which  ordered  tithes  to  be 
regularly  assessed  for  Church  purposes  on  all  the  lands  of 
Erin.  It  was  what  he  had  himself  twice  done  already,  and 
what  he  could  now  do,  not  only  with  custom,  but  with  law 
also  in  his  favour. 


356  THE  LATKR  COLUMBIAN  SCHOOLS  IN   IRELAND. 

0*Brokluiin  made  an  excellent  use  of  the  funds  which  he 
thus  procured.  He  removed  all  the  houses  that  surrounded 
and  disiigured  the  church  of  Derry,  and  theu  built  on  the 
site  of  the  old  church  that  new  Temple  Mor  which  gives  its 
name  to  the  parish,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  large  and 
imposing  structure.  The  Four  Masters  say  it  was  eighty 
feet  long,  and  that  it  was  built  by  O'Brolchain  and  his 
clergy,  with  the  help  of  the  king  of  Ireland,  in  forty  days. 
If  so,  the  materials  must  have  been  all  prepared,  and  a  large 
number  of  tradesmen  must  have  been  employed,  which  is  not 
unlikely,  seeing  that  he  had  already  built  a  limekiln^ 
measuring  seventy  feet  every  way,  which  took  him  twenty 
days  to  construct.  The  limekiln  was  built  in  a.d.  1163  ;  but 
the  church  was  not  erected  until  a.d.  1165,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  walls  were  being  built  in  the  meantime,  and 
that  the  Four  Masters  mean  that  the  church  was  covered  in 
during  the  space  of  60  days,  which  might  easily  be  done. 
Doubtless,  O'Brolchain  constructed  many  other  buildings  also 
at  Derry,  for  otherwise  he  would  scarcely  have  occasion  for 
building  that  enormous  limekiln. 

The  merits  of  O'Brolchain  were  fully  appreciated  by  the 
clergy  and  people  of  the  north,  and  led  to  his  formal  elevation 
to  the  episcopal  order  in  the  year  a.d.  1158.  He  had  pre- 
viously enjoyed  large  jurisdiction  as  Comarb  of  Columcille 
not  only  m  Derry, but  over  the  Columbian  Churches  <>eneridly. 
It  was  felt,  however,  especially  after  the  8ynod  of  Kells,  that 
this  state  of  things  was  now  becoming  anomalous  and 
unsatisfactory,  and  might  lead  to  a  conflict  of  jurisdiction 
between  the  Comarb  of  Columcille  and  the  regular  diocesan 
authority.  Hence  it  was  resolved  at  a  meeting  of  the  Irish 
Clergy,  held  in  Meath  in  that  year,  to  raise  O'Brolchain  to 
the  episcopal  dignity,  and  circumscribe  his  jurisdiction  by 
assigning  him  a  definite  territory.  The  Four  Masters  record 
it  in  this  manner  : — 

a.d.  1158.  "  A  Synod  of  the  Clergy  of  Ireland  was  con- 
vened at  Bri  Mac  Taidgh  in  Laeghaire  (near  Trim),  when 
there  were  present  twentv-five  bishops,  with  the  legate  of  the 
Successor  of  Peter  to  ordain  rules  and  good  morals.  It  was 
on  this  occasion  the  clergy  of  Ireland,  with  the  successor  of 
Patrick,  ordered  a  Chair,  like  every  other  bishop,  for  the 
successor  of  Columcille — Flaithbheartach  Ua  Brolchain — and 
the  Arch-abbacy  of  the  churches  of  Iieland  in  general." 
Very  little  is  known  of  the  history  of  this  Synod ;  but  we 


^  Four  Masters. 


THE  LATER  SCHOOL  OF  DERRY.  357 

may  note  the  following  important  facts  : — The  legate  of  th", 
Comarb  of  Peter  was  Christian,  Bishop  of  Lismore  ;  his 
presence  at  the  Synod  was  sufficient  to  authorize  the  bishops 
to  proceed  to  the  erection  of  a  new  See.  The  '  Chair  ' 
spoken  of  means  not  merely  a  chair  in  that  assembly,  but  a 
new  diocese,  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  canonically 
appertaining  thereto.  The  new  bishop  was,  however,  still 
allowed  to  retain,  and  perhaps  for  the  first  time  canonically 
to  acquire,  the  Headship  of  all  the  Columbian  monasteries 
It  may  be  that  Kells  was  still  a  rival,  and  that  its  abbot  also 
claimed  to  be  Comarb  of  Columba  ;  if  so,  this  decree  settled 
the  question  ;  and  the  new  bishop  of  Derry  was  form  nil  \- 
recognised  as  the  Head  of  all  the  Columbian  houses  in  Erin 
— for  at  that  time  there  coulrl  be  no  question  of  any  other. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  See  of  Derry  was  established. 
Mention  is  made  of  a  Bishop  of  Derry  previously,  and  of  a 
Bishop -abbot  of  Derry  ;  but  it  was,  so  to  speak,  by  accident 
that  this  took  place.  There  was  no  See  of  Derry,  and  no 
Diocese  of  Derry  until  a.d.  1158,  when  O'Brolchain  was 
formally  elevated  to  that  dignity.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
he  too  was  in  1  piscopal  Orders  previously — but  now  for  the 
first  time  he  got  a  chair  or  diocese.  This  eminent  ecclesiastic, 
the  founder  of  the  Diocese  of  Derry,  died  in  a.d.  1175,  and 
the  Four  Masters  record  his  death  with  the  following  honour- 
able testimony : — 

"  Flaithbhertach  O'Brolchain,  Comarb  of  Columcille,  a 
tower  of  wisdom  and  hospitality,  a  man  on  whom  on  account 
of  his  goodness  and  wisdom  the  clergy  of  Ireland  had 
bestowed  a  bishop's  chair,  to  whom  the  abbacy  of  Hy  had 
been  offered  (in  a.d.  1164),  died  in  *  righteousness,  after 
exemplary  sickness,  in  the  Duibhregles  of  Columcille  ;  and 
Gilla  Mac  Taidgh  Ua  Brenain  was  appointed  to  his  place  in 
the  abbacy."  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  in  a.d.  1173,  we  find 
recorded  the  death  of  Muiredh.ch  Ua  Cobthaich,  Bishop  of 
Derry  and  Eaphoe  ;  but  it  onl^^  implies  that  before  the 
year  a.d.  1158  he  was  the  bishop  territorially  of  Derry  ;  for 
after  that  date  he  could  have  no  legal  claim  to  the  See. 

During  the  half-century  between  a.d.  ]100  and  1150, 
lona  was  under  the  influence  of  the  Kings  of  Norway, 
especially  of  Magnus  the  Great,  who  subjected  the  island  to 
the  jurisd^clion  of  the  Bishop  of  Man  ;  but  in  a.d.  1156  royal 
Somerlid  recovered  Hy  and  others  of  the  *  Southern  '  islands. 
Being  himself  a  Celt  of  Irish  blood,  he  was  anxious  to  restore 
the  Celtic  influence  in  the  island  ;  and  hence  we  find  that  in 
A.D.  1164,  at  his  instance  the  abbacy  of  Hy  was  offered  to 


358  Tllfi  LATER  COLUMBIA^  SCHOt)LS  IN  IRELAND. 

O'Brolchain,  Abbot  and  Bishop  of  Deiry.  But  O'Brolcbain 
being  now  Bishop  of  Derry,  and  the  recognised  head  of  the 
Cohirabian  Order,  declined  to  accept  the  abbacy  of  Hy, 
preferring  to  remain  in  Derry.  DomhTiall  O'Brolchain, 
however,  was  appointed  to  the  insular  abbacy,  and  being, 
like  all  his  family,  a  building  man,  he  determined  to  signalize 
his  reign  by  the  erection  ot"  a  great  church  in  Hy.  It  was 
the  cathedral  whose  ruins  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  they 
furnish  a  striking  monument  of  the  taste  and  munificence  of 
the  Irish  Abbot.  On  the  capital  of  the  tower  column  are 
inscribed  the  still  legible  words — Donaldus  O'Brolchan 
FECIT  HOC  OPUS.  We  cannot  have  absolute  certainty  ;  but 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  of  the  identity  of  this  name 
with  the  Donihnall  O'Brolchain,  the  prior  and  exalted  senior, 
whose  death  the  Annals  of  Ulster  record  in  a.d.  1203,  and 
the  Four  Masters  in  a.d.  1202.  After  his  death  a  certain 
Cellach,^  "  without  any  legal  right,  and  in  despite  of  the 
family  of  Hy,  erected  a  monastery  there  in  the  middle  of 
Cro  Hy."  But  the  cleigy  of  the  Xorth  of  Erin,  bishops  and 
abbots,  passed  over  into  Hy  and  pulled  down  this  new 
monastery  ;  and  Awley  OTerrall  was  elected  Abbot  of  Hy 
by  the  sufi'rages  both  of  the  Foreigners  and  Gacdhil.  This 
points  to  an  attempt  made  by  the  foreign  influence  to  eject 
the  Irish  monks  from  Hy  ;  but  for  once  it  signally  failed. 
The  last  entry  in  our  Annals  records  the  death  of  Flann 
O'Brolchain,  the  last  Irish  Abbot  of  Hy,  in  the  year 
a.d.  1219.  Thenceforward  it  ceased  to  be  Irish,  and  became 
a  purely  Scottish  monastery  and  remained  so  until  the 
Reformation. 

IV. — Gelasius. 

We  cannot  pass  away  from  the  School  of  Derry  without 
some  reference  to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  it 
ever  produced — the  celebrated  Gelasius,  who  succeeded 
St.  Malachy  in  the  See  of  Armagh.  He  was  one  of  that 
noble  band  of  prelates  who,  with  Celsus,  and  St.  Malachy 
at  their  head,  did  so  much  for  the  true  reformation  of  the 
Irish  01  urch  in  discipline  and  morals  during  the  half-century 
that  immcdiaiely  preceded  the  advent  of  the  Anglo-Normans 
to  our  shores. 

Gelasius  in  his  native  tongue  was  called  Gilla  Mac  I/iag, 
and  also  Gilla  Mac  Liag  Mic  Ituaidhro.  The  term  Mac 
Liag  is  commonly  taken  to  mean  the  '  son  of  the  scholar  ;  ' 
and  Harris  assures  us  that  he  was  so  called  because  his  fatlier 

*  Skene  flunks  that  this  Oellaoli  waa  the  Benodictino  abbot  Celestinux 
to  whom  tlio  Popo  grantiHl  ITy  in  r_*l);>,  pro)>;ihly  aft»T  tliis  at»on\pt  to  8eij»^ 
the  place  by  the  authority  of  KonuKl,  Lord  of  the  Isles. —  tV//<V  6\v.7nW. 
▼ol.  ii.,  p.  417. 


GELASIUS.  359 

was  esteemed  a  man  of  learning,  and  the  most  considerable 
poet  of  his  age.  He  is  sometimes  called  Diarmaid,  which 
explains  why  his  son  is  called  Gilla  Mac  Liag  Mic 
Ruaidhrl,  that  is  the  YOunp:.ster,  the  son  of  the  scholar,  who 
was  the  son  of  Euaidhri.  We  know  nothing  further  of  his 
family  or  birth-place;  but  Colgan,  who  had  excellent  means 
of  obtaining  information,  states  that  he  was  born  in  a.d.  1088. 
It  is  obvious  that  he  was  a  native  of  some  territory  near  Derry, 
and  received  his  early  education  in  that  monastic  school, 
for  we  find  him  while  still  very  young  holding  the  important 
positionof  airchinneach — or  ereDach,as  it  is  frequently  spelled 
— of  that  monastery.  It  is  not  improbable  that  his  father,  the 
poet,  was  connected  with  the  same  monastery,  if  he  did  not 
hold  the  same  office.  It  was  one  which  at  this  period  might 
be  held  by  a  layman,  or  even  by  a  woman,  if  we  may  credit 
the  statement  of  the  Four  Masters,  that  Bebhinn,  who  died  in 
A..D.  1134,  whilst  Gelasius  was  Abbot  of  Derry,  was  the 
female  erenach  of  that  monastery.  Gelasius  became  Abbot  of 
Derry  in  a.d.  1120  or  1121 ;  and  held  that  important  office 
for  sixteen  years.  He  must  have  given  general  satisfaction 
in  his  government  of  Derry,  for  he  was  called  by  the  voice  of 
the  clergy  and  nobles,  and  with  the  assent  of  St.  Malachy 
himself,  to  succeed  that  great  prelate,  when  he  resigned  the 
primacy  of  Armagh  in  a.d.  1137.  The  reign  of  Gelasius  is 
remarkable  for  two  things — first,  the  success  with  which  he 
asserted  his  jurisdiction  as  Primate  during  his  visitations  in 
all  parts  of  Ireland,  and  secondly  for  his  zeal  in  holding 
Synods  to  correct  abuses  and  reform  the  morals  both  of  the 
clergy  and  of  the  people. 

During  the  centuries  preceding  the  twelfth  century, 
which  was  a  period  of  reform,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Primate 
was  practically  in  abeyance.  If  it  was  recognised  at  all  in  the 
South  of  Ireland,  it  was  certainly  merely  nominal.  This 
arose  from  many  causes — the  troubles  of  the  times,  the 
rivalry  of  the  native  princes,  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  and 
the  intrusion  of  laymen  into  the  See  of  Armagh,  who  claimed 
to  inherit  the  jurisdiction  of  St.  Patrick  to  the  great  disgust 
of  all  well  disposed  persons,  both  clergy  and  laity,  throughout 
Ireland. 

The  great  Brian  Boru  did  much  to  cause  the  primatial 
authority  to  be  recognised  and  respected  once  more  in  the 
South  as  well  as  in  the  North  of  Ireland.  When  the  great 
*  Imperator  of  the  Scots,'  himself  from  the  South  of  Ireland, 
came  and  laid  his  gifts  on  the  altar  of  Armagh,  and  after- 
wards ordered  his  body  to  be  buried  there,  it  was  a  recognition 


360  THE  LATKR  COLUMllIAN   SCHOOLS  IN   IRELAND. 

of  the  primatial  rights  of  Patrick's  See  which  none  could 
alfect  to  ignore  or  to  despise. 

Then  during  tlie  next  century  Providence  raised  up  a 
line  of  great  and  holy  prelates  in  Armagh — Celsus,  Malachy, 
and  Gelasius — men  of  courage,  learning,  energy,  and  filled 
with  the  apostolic  spirit,  who  expelled  the  intruders,  vindi- 
cated the  rights,  and,  by  their  conduct  and  character  even 
more  than  by  words,  asserted  the  dignity  of  the  primatial 
see. 

Gelasius  had  certainly  his  own  share  in  this  noble  work. 
The  very  year  after  his  accession  to  the  see  of  Armagh  he 
made  a  formal  visitation  throughout  the  Province  of  Munster, 
and  was  everywhere  received  with  honour  and  loaded  with 
gifts. 

The  next  year  he  went  to  Connaiight,  where  he  was  also 
received  with  all  honour  and  obedience.  Torlough  O'Conor 
was  then  King  of  Connaught ;  and  claimed  to  be  High  King 
of  Ireland.  He  successfully  asserted  his  claim  by  over- 
running Munster,  Meath,  and  Leinster  in  succession  ;  he 
even  penetrated  into  Oriel  and  threatened  Ailech  itself.  But 
he  received  the  Primate  Gelasius  with  the  most  profound 
respect ;  he  gave  him  efficient  protection  in  his  journeys 
through  the  province,  and  seems  to  have  also  assisted  him  in 
carrying  out  his  schemes  of  reform.  In  fact,  whether  it  was 
because  he  wanted  to  correct  abuses,  or  liked  his  treatment 
beyond  the  Shannon,  the  Primate  visited  that  province  no 
less  than  four  different  times  before  his  death. 

Gelasius  was  no  less  zealous  in  convening  and  presiding 
over  Synods  for  the  maintenance  of  discipline  and  the  extir- 
pation of  abuses. 

The  earliest  of  these  was  held  at  Holmpatrick  by  the 
Primate  and  St.  Malachy  in  a.d.  1148.  It  is  called  by  the 
Four  Masters  Inis-Padraig,  but  the  place  is  the  same — the 
small  island  near  Skerries,  now  called  Holm-Patrick,  or 
Patrick's  Island.  Its  object  was  to  make  formal  application 
to  the  Pope  in  the  name  of  the  Irish  Church  for  a  pallium  or 
pall  for  each  of  the  archbishops  both  of  the  old  and  new 
creation.  St.  Malachy  set  out  for  France  to  meet  the  Pope, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  but  died  on  his  way  at  Clairvaux  on 
the  2nd  of  November  in  the  same  year. 

The  object,  however,  was  not  lost  sight  of  either  by  the 
Pope  or  the  Primate.  Cardinal  John  Paparo  landed  in 
Ireland  in  a.d.  1151,  and  went  straight  to  Armagh  to  meet 
the  Primate,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a  week  making 
arrangements  for  the  coming  Synoil.     It   was  held  at   Kolls, 


GKLASIUS.  361 

not  Drogtieda  or  Mellifont,  in  the  spring  of  next  year, 
A.D.  1152,  and  was  attended  by  twenty-two  bishops  and  five 
bishops  elect,  with  a  large  number — some  300  or  more — of 
the  clergy  of  the  Second  Order,  both  secular  and  regular. 
We  cannot  here  enter  into  the  many  interesting  questions 
connected  with  this  Synod.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  whilst 
formally  recognising  the  superiority  of  Armagh  as  the 
Primatial  See,  four  palls  were  granted  by  the  Cardinal 
Legate,  thus  legally  constituting  four  archbishops  in  Ireland 
for  the  first  time.  It  is,  however,  only  in  this  legal  and 
technical  sense  that  Grelasius  can  be  described  as  the  '  first 
Archbishop  of  Armagh.'  Other  regulations  were  also  made 
at  this  Synod,  two  of  which  are  especially  noticed.  It  was 
ordered  by  the  Synod  to  put  away  all  concubines  from  men)- 
— not  from  the  clergy ,  as  Moore  falsely  says  ;  and  also  to  pay 
tithes  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Church  elsewhere.  This 
is  the  first  reference  to  tithes  we  find  in  our  Annals,  and  it  is 
said  that  even  the  clergy  did  not  care  to  introduce  this  new 
system  of  getting  a  maintenance. 

The  zealous  Primate  held  another  Synod  at  Mellifont  in 
A.D.  1157,  partly  to  have  the  new  monastic  church  of  the 
parent  Cistercian  House  consecrated  with  greater  solemnity, 
and  partly  to  pronounce  sentence  of  excommunication 
against  Donogh  O'Melaghlin  for  his  impiety  and  contempt  of 
the  Primate's  authority.  We  are  not  acquainted  with  the 
full  particulars  ;  but  this  public  act  by  which  the  Prince  of 
Meath  was  solemnly  excommunicated  and  deposed,  and  his 
brother  appointed  by  the  bishops  and  the  princes  in  his  stead, 
shows  that  the  Primate  was  a  man  of  vigour,  who  was 
resolved  to  adopt  energc^tic  measures  to  assert  his  own 
authority. 

Next  3^ear  we  find  Gelasius  holding  another  Synod  at  a 
place  called  Brigh  Mac-Taidgh,  near  Trim,  in  Meath.  Twenty- 
five  bishops  were  present,  with  Christian  of  Lismore,  the 
Papal  Legate  in  Ireland.  The  Connaught  Bishops  were 
unable  to  attend,  because  they  were  robbed  and  maltreated 
near  Clonmacnoise  on  their  way  to  the  Synod  by  a  party  ot 
soldiers  belonging  to  that  very  Diarmaid  O'Melaghlin,  whom 
the  Synod  of  Mellifont  had  named  King  of  Meath  the 
previous  year.  This  incident  shows  the  violent  and  lawless 
spirit  ot  the  times,  and  how  necessary  it  was  for  the  Primate 
to  vindicate  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  which  alone  could  keep  these  fierce  and  bloodthirsty 


^See  Four  Masters,  a.d.  1152. 


Oi'» 


b2  THE  LATER  COIA  MBlAN  SCHOOLS  IN   iKKLAND. 

princes  in  check.  It  was  at  this  Synod,  as  we  have  already 
see  n, that  a  Bishop's  Chair  was  set  for  O'FL'ibertyO'Brolchain, 
wlio  was  on  that  occasion  foTmalty  created,  with  the  assent  ol" 
tho  Legate,  first  Bishop  of  Derry. 

A  icw  years  iater  in  ad.  ilij2^  the  venerable  Gelasius 
presided  at  another  Svnod  at  Clane  in  Magh  Lilfe — the 
north  of  the  present  County  Kildare.  it  was  at  this  Synod 
the  important  decree  was  passed,  which  required  all  the 
Fer-leigJiinti,  or  professors  throughout  Ireland,  to  graduate  in 
the  great  School  of  Armagh.  This  decree  more  than  any- 
thing else  shows  the  far  seeing  wisdom  of  the  Primate.  The 
School  of  Armagh  was  under  his  own  immediate  direction 
and  control,  so  that  he  could  secure  a  thorough  and  orthodox 
training  in  theology  for  the  students.  Then  by  requiring 
the  proi'essors  from  all  the  other  schools  to  attend  lectures 
at  Armagh,  he  secured  at  once  uniformity  of  system,  and 
sonndness  of  doctrine  in  all  the  other  schools  where  the 
clergy  of  the  Irish  Church  were  being  trained  for  the 
ministry.  At  the  same  time  it  was  a  recognition  that  as 
Armagh  was  the  seat  of  authority,  it  was  also  the  mistress  of 
sound  theolog}*.  It  is  quite  evident  that  Gelasius  was  a  man 
far  superior  to  his  contemporaries  in  wisdom  and  the  science 
of  government. 

In  the  same  year  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  consecrating 
the  great  St.  Laurence  O'Toole  to  be  Archbishop  of  Dublin — 
the  first  prelate  of  that  see  that  was  ever  consecrated  in 
Ireland.  It  is  clear  that  the  Primate  was  resolved  not  to 
tolerate  any  longer  the  claim  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canter- 
bury to  metropolitan  jurisdiction  in  any  part  of  his  primacy. 

Yet  another  great  assembly  of  the  clergy  and  laity  was 
held  at  Athboy  in  Meath,  in  the  year  a.d.  1167.  Both  the 
Primate  and  Rory  O'Connor,  King  of  Ireland,  were  present, 
with  many  of  the  prelates  and  nobles  of  the  North.  Its  main 
object  seems  to  have  been  to  restore  peace  and  concord  between 
the  native  princes,  whose  fratricidal  strife  had  reddened  every 
green  field  in  their  native  land,  and  offered  such  strong  in- 
ducements to  the  stranger  to  conquer  and  divide  their 
inheritance. 

The  Primate  saw  the  danger,  and  realized  it  to  the  full. 
As  he  had  held  a  Synod  the  year  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Anglo-Normans  to  remove  the  cause  of  the  danger;  so  the 
year  after  their  arrival,  that  is  in  a.d.  1170,  he  held  the  last 
Synod  of  his  clergy*  in  his  own  city  of  Armagh,  to  concOrt 
means  to  expel  tho  foreigners,  befoie  they  could  secure  a 
footliold  in  the  countrv. 


GELASIUS. 


363 


The  venerable  old  man  was  then  in  the  eighty-third 
year  of  his  age,  but  he  had  a  braver  spirit  and  a  clearer 
mind  than  any  of  the  degenerate  children  of  Niall  the  Great, 
whom  he  gatheied  round  him  in  his  primatial  city.  He 
warned  them,  and  he  appealed  to  them  in  vain.  When  the 
day  of  trial  came,  and  Strongbow  witb  his  kniglits  were 
besieged  in  Dublin,  and  by  united  energetic  action  might 
have  been  driven  into  the  sea  more  completely  than  the 
Danes  were  at  Clontarf,  the  men  of  the  JSTorth  were  in  their 
native  mountains  ignobly  heedless  of  their  country's  fate, 

Alas  !  for  the  aged  Gelasius,  who  had  laboiired  so  hard 
and  so  long  for  the  Irish  Church  and  the  Irish  people.  He 
saw  the  princes  of  his  country  bow  the  knee  in  homage  to 
the  triumphant  invader  ;  he  saw  her  prelates  meet  in  Cashel 
at  Henry's  summons  t  >  endorse  his  laws  ;  he  saw  her  petty 
chieftains  either  warring  with  each  other  or  allied  with  the 
Norman.  Then,  and  only  then,  the  old  man  came  from  his 
episcopal  city  and  kissed  the  hand  of  Henry  in  his  new 
capital  of  Dublin.  He  had  his  old  white  cow  driven  before 
him  to  give  him  milk,  which  was  his  only  sustenance.  He 
paid  his  homage  to  the  king,  and  then  returned  home  with 
a  sad  heart  to  Patrick's  royal  City.  Two  years  after  he  die-'! 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  and  after  his  death  was  recognise' 
and  honoured  as  a  saint  by  the  entire  Church  of  Ireland. 


CHAPTEK     XYl, 
TIIR    SCHOOL    OF    BANGOR. 

••  Our  princes  of  old,  when  their  warfare  was  over, 

As  pilgrims  forth  wandered  ;  as  hermits  found  rest. 
Shall  the  hand  of  the  stranger  their  ashes  uncover, 
In  Bangor  the  holy,  in  Aran  the  blest  ?  " 

— De  Vere. 

St.  Comgall,  who  fuunded  the  famous  School  of  Bangor, 
though  not  greatly  celebrated  lor  his  own  learning,  was  the 
founder  of  a  school  which  of  all  others  seems  to  have  exercised 
the  widest  influence  on  the  Continent  b}^  means  of  the  great 
scholars  whom  it  produced. 

Bangor  and  Armagh  ^ere  by  excellence  the  great 
Northern  Schools,  just  as  Clonard  was  the  School  of  Meath, 
Glendaloch  of  Leinster,  Lismore  of  Munster,  and  Clonmac- 
noise  and  Clonfert  of  Connaught.  For  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  Clonmacnoise  was  founded  by  St.  Ciaran  from 
Ivoscommon,  that  he  was  (he  patron  saint  of  Connaught,^  and 
that  until  a  comparatively  recent  period  it  ibrined  a  portion 
of  the  Western  Ecclesiastical  Province.  The  influence  of  the 
other  schools,  however,  was  mainly  felt  at  home,  or  to  some 
extent  in  England,  Scotland  and  Germany;  but  the  influence 
of  Bangor  was  felt  in  Fiance,  Switzerland  and  Italy,  and 
not  only  in  ancient  times  but  down  to  the  present  day. 
There  are  great  names  amongst  the  missionaries  who  have 
gone  from  other  monastic  schools  in  Ireland  to  preach  tho 
Gospel  abroad,  but  if  we  except  St.  Columba,  who  was  trained 
at  many  schools  in  Ireland,  there  are  no  other  names  so 
celebrated  as  St.  Columbanus,  the  founder  of  Luxeuil  and 
Bobbio,  and  St.  Gall,  who  has  given  his  name  to  an  equally 
celebrated  Monastery  and  Canton  in  Switzerland.  It  is,  then, 
highly  interesting  and  instructive  to  trace  the  origin  and 
influence  of  this  famous  Irish  school. 

I. — Sr.  CoMGALL  or  Bangor. 

St.  Comgall,  the  founder  of  Bangor,  was  a  native  of  the 
territory  anciently  called  Benna  Boiiche,"or  Mourne,  the 
name  of  that  wild  but  beautiful  mountain  district  extendinir 


^  See  the  poem  from  the  Siltnir  na  Rann  on  the  Patron  Saints  of  Ireland, 
Cambr.  Eversus,  vol.  ii.,  pa.yfo  77''. 

-lie  was   bora  in    Mounu^   of  Antrim.  lu'ar  Tiarno,  n>>t  in    Mourno  of 
Down  ii»  atated  here,  and  bcloiii'-.d  to  the  Pi(^ts  of  Dulurmliu. 


ST.  COMGALL  OF  BANGOR.  365 

from  Carlingford  Lough  to  the  Bay  of  Dundrum.  There  is 
some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  exact  date  of  his  birth, 
and  indeed  as  to  the  length  of  his  life  ;  although  all  admit 
that  he  died  in  the  j^ear  a.d.  600  or  601.  He  seems  to  have 
been  duiing  his  life  from  boyhood  to  old  age  a  friend  and 
companion  of  St.  Columcille,  and  hence  if  we  accept  the 
length  of  his  life  given  by  the  Bollandists^  as  eighty  years, 
we  may  fix  his  birth  at  about  a.d.  520 — which  was  also  the 
date,  or  near  it,  of  Columcille^s  birth.  Coragallus,  the  name 
by  which  he  was  baptized,  has  been  frequently  explained  to 
signify  the  *  lucky  pledge' — faustum  pignus — because  he 
was  a  child  of  benediction,  the  only  son  of  his  parents,  and 
born,  too,  when  they  were  advanced  in  years.  As  usual  in  the 
case  of  our  Irish  saints,  several  prodigies  are  said  to  have 
taken  place  both  before  and  shortly  after  his  birth.  His 
father  was  Sedna,  a  small  chief  of  the  district  then  known  as 
Dalaradia  or  Dalaray  ;  his  mother  was  a  devout  matron 
called  Briga,  who  is  said  to  have  been  warned  before  his 
birth  to  retire  from  the  world,  because  her  offspring  was 
destined  in  future  days  to  become  a  great  saint  of  God.  These 
pious  parents  took  him  to  be  baptized  by  a  blind  old  priest, 
called  Fehlim,  who  knew,  however,  by  heart,  the  proper 
method  of  administering  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  There 
being  no  water  at  hand  a  miraculous  stream  burst  forth  from 
the  soil,  and  the  old  priest  feeling  the  presence  of  the  divine 
influence  washed  his  face  in  the  stream,  and  at  once  recovered 
his  sight,  after  which  he  baptized  the  child  and  gave  him  the 
appropriate  name  of  Comgall.  This  is  only  one  of  the  num- 
berless miracles  recorded  in  the  two  lives  of  St.  Comgall, 
given  by  the  Bollandists,  but  it  will  not  be  necessary  for  our 
purpose  to  refer  to  them  in  detail. 

The  boy  in  his  youth  was  sent  to  work  in  the  fields,  and 
seems  to  have  assisted  his  parents  with  great  alacrity  in  all 
their  domestic  concerns.  When  he  grew  up  a  little  more  he 
was  sent  to  learn  the  Psalms  and  other  divine  hymns  from  a 
teacher  in  the  neighbourhood,  whose  precepts  were  much 
better  than  his  example.  The  young  child  of  grace,  however, 
was  not  led  away  from  the  path  of  virtue  ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
seems  in  his  own  boyish  way  to  have  given  gentle  hints  to 
his  teacher  that  his  life  was  not  what  it  ought  to  be.  On  one 
occasion,  for  instance,  Comgall  rolled  his  coat  in  the  mud 
and  coming  before  his  master,  the  latter  said  to  him,  *'Is  it 
not  a  shame  to  soil  your  coat  so?'*      '* Is  it  not  a  greater 

^  Ln  the  Second  Life. 


'M\i\  THE  SCHOOL  OF    BANGOR. 

shame/*  replied  Comgall,  *'  for  anyone  to  soil  his  soul  and 
body  by  sni  ?  "  The  teacher  took  the  hint  and  was  silent ; 
but  the  lesson  was  unheeded,  and  so  the  holy  youth  resolved 
to  seek  elsewhere  a  holier  preceptor. 

This  was  about  the  year  a.d.  545.     At  that  time  a  youn^:: 
and  pre-eminently  holy  man,  named  Fintan,  had  established 
a  monastery  at  a  place  called  Cluain-eidnech,  now  Clonenaj^h, 
near  Mountrath,  in  the   Queen's  County.      The  fame  of  this 
infant  monastery  had  spread  far  and  wide  over  the  face  of  the 
land  ;  for  although  in  many  places  in  those  days  of  holiness 
there  was  strict  rule,  and  poor  fare,  and  rigid  life,  yet  Fintan 
of  Clonenagh  seems  to  have  been  the  strictest  and  poorest  and 
most  rigid  of  them  all.     He  would  not  allow  even  a  cow  to  be 
kept  for  the  use  of  his  monks — consequently  they  had  neither 
milk,  nor  bntter  ;  neither  had  they  eggs,  nor  cheese,  nor  fat, 
nor  flesh  of  any  kind.     They  had   a  little  corn,  and  herbs, 
and  plenty  of  water  near  at  hand,  for  the  bogs  and  marshe? 
round  their  monastic  cells  were  frequently  flooded  by  the 
many  tributaries  of  the  infant  Nore  coming  down  from  the 
slopes  of  the  Slieve-bloom  mountains.      They  had  plenty  of 
hard  work,  too,  in  the  fields  tilling  the  barrea  soil,  and  in 
the  woods  cutting  down   timber  for  the  buildings  of   the 
monastery  as  well  as  for  firewood,  and  then  drawing  it  home 
in  loads  on  their  backs,   or  dragging  it  after  them  over  the 
uneven  soil.      The  discipline  of  this  monastery  was  so  severe 
and  the  food  of  the  monks  so  wretched  that  the  neighbouring 
saints  thought  it  prudent  to  come  and  beg  the  Abbot  Fintan 
to  relax  a  little  of   the  extreme  severity  of  his  discipline, 
which   was   more  than  human  nature   could   endure.     The 
abbot,  though  unwilling  to  relax  his  own  fearful  austerities  in 
the  least,  consented   at  the  earnest  prayer  of  St.  Canice  to 
modify  the  severity  of  his  discipline  to  some  extent  for  the 
others,   and  they  were  no  doubt  not  unwilling  to  get  the 
relaxation. 

It  speaks  well  for  the  love  of  holy  penance  shown  by 
these  young  Christians  of  Ireland  that  in  spite  of  its  severe 
discipline  this  monastery  was  crowded  with  holy  inmates 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  amongst  the  rest  came 
Comgall  from  his  far-ofi"  Dalaradian  home  to  become  a  disciple 
of  this  school  of  labour  and  penance. 

He  remained  a  considerable  time  under  the  guidance  of 
the  holy  Fintan,  the  Benedict  of  our  Irish  Church,  who, 
although  his  *'  senior,"  or  superior  in  religion,  was  probably 
about  his  own  ago  in  years.  There  is  little  doubt  that  it  wjus 
from  Fintan,  Comgjll  learned  those  lessons  of  humility  and 


ST.  OMGALL  OF  iJANGOR.  367 

ubedience  which,  as  we  know  from  his  Rule  and  from  his 
disciples,  he  afterwards  taught  with  so  much  effect  to  others. 
His  teacher  then  advised  him  to  return  to  his  own  country, 
and  propagate  amongst  his  kindred  in  Dalaray  the  lessons  of 
virtue  which  he  had  learned  at  Clonenagh. 

Hitherto  it  seems  Comgall  had  received  no  holy  orders. 
He  was  a  monk  and  a  perfect  one,  of  mature  age  too,  but  in 
his  great  humility  he  had  hitherto  declined  the  responsibilities 
of  the  priesthood.  jN^ow,  however,  he  resolved  to  pay  a  visit 
to  Cloiimacnoise,  which  is  about  twenty  miles  to  the  north-we>t 
of  Clonenaoh.  Its  holy  founder,  Ciaran,  was  fcarcely  alive  at 
this  time,  for  he  died  in  a.u.  544  ;  but  then,  and  long  after, 
the  fame  of  the  school  was  great,  and  crowds  of  holy  men 
were  attracted  to  its  walls.  Here  Comgall  was  induced  to 
receive  the  prie.^^thood  from  the  holy  Bishop  Lugadius,  and 
after  a  short  stay  he  returned  northward  to  his  own  country. 
This  was  probably  about  a.d.  550,  or  perhaps  a  little  later. 

Some  authorities  place  the  foundation  of  Bangor  at  this 
time ;  but  it  must  be  understood  only  in  a  very  qualified 
sense  at  this  early  date.  Comgall  was  now,  indeed,  a  famous 
saint  himself,  and  likely  enough,  companions  came  to  place 
themselves  under  his  spiritual  guidance.  But  we  are  ex- 
pressly told  that  for  some  time  after  his  return  he  went  about 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  people,  especially  amongst  his 
own  kith  and  kin,  and  in  all  probability  this  took  place 
before  he  established  his  monastery  at  least  on  any  permanent 
footing  at  Bangor.  But  the  holy  man  longed  for  the  solitary 
life,  and  so  we  are  told  that  he  retired  to  an  island  in  Lough 
Erin,  called  Insula  Custodiarta,  or,  as  we  should  now  say» 
Jail  Island,  and  there  he  practised  such  austerities  that  seven 
of  the  brethren  who  accompanied  him  died  of  cold  and  hunger. 
He  was  then  induced  to  relax  his  penances  and  fastings;  and 
shortly  after,  it  seems,  at  the  earnest  prayer  of  his  friends, 
he  was  again  persuaded  to  leave  Jail  Island  and  return  to 
Daiaray.  This  was  about  the  year  a.d.  55^?,  which  seems  to 
be  the  most  probable  date  of  the  founding  of  Bangor, 
although  the  Four  Masters  fix  it  so  early  as  a.d.  552. 

Bangor  is  very  beautifully  situated.  It  is  about  seven  miles 
from  Belfast,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Belfast  Lough,  in  the 
county  Down,  and  may  be  easily  reached  either  by  rail  or 
steamer.  It  commands  a  fine  view  of  Carrickfergus  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  bay,  with  the  bold  cliffs  of  Black  Head 
further  seaward  ;  to  the  right  across  the  narrow  sea  the  bleak 
bluffs  of  Galloway  are  distinctly  visible,  and  far  away  due 
north  in  the  dim  distance,  the  Mull  of  Cantire  frowns  over  a 


368  THE  SCHOOL  OF  UANGOK, 

wild  and  restless  sea.  We  saw  this  fair  scene  on  a  fine  day  in 
June,  when  the  sun  lit  up  the  steeples  of  Carrickfergus,  and 
glanced  brightly  over  tlie  transparent  waters,  so  deeply  and 
purely  blue,  whose  wavelets  played  amongst  the  bare  quartzite 
rocks,  and  we  felt  that  if  the  old  monks  who  chose  Bangor 
to  be  their  borne  loved  God  they  loved  nature  also.  Most  of 
all  they  loved  the  great  sea  ;  it  was  for  them  the  most  vivid 
image  of  Grod  ;  in  its  anger,  its  beauty,  its  power,  its  immen- 
sity, they  felt  the  presence,  and  they  saw,  though  dimly,  the 
glory  of  tbe  Divine  Majesty.  It  was  on  the  shore  of  this 
beautiful  bay,  sheltered  from  the  south-western  winds,  but 
open  to  tbe  north-east,  that  Com  gall  built  his  little  churcb 
and  cell.  Crowds  of  holy  men,  young  and  old,  soon  gathered 
round  him ;  they  too,  without  much  labour,  built  themselves 
little  cells  of  timber  or  wattles ;  the  whole  was  then  sur- 
rounded by  a  spacious  fosse  and  ditch,  which  was  their 
enclosure,  and  thus  tbe  establishment  became  complete.  If 
St.  Bernard  in  his  Life  of  St.  Malachy  was  rigbtly  informed, 
it  is  clear  that  there  were  no  stone  buildings  in  ancient 
Bangor  before  the  time  of  St.  Malachy;  and  even  he,  wben 
restoring  the  place,  with  some  of  his  companions,  only  built 
a  small  oratory  of  wood  which  was  finished  in  a  few  days. 

Not  its  buildings,  however,  but  its  saints  and  its  scholars, 
were  tbe  glory  of  Bangor.  St.  Columba  from  his  bome  in 
lona  came  more  than  once,  with  some  of  his  followers,  to 
visit  Com  gall  and  bis  good  monks.  On  one  of  these 
occasions  one  of  tbe  brothers  died  during  the  voyage,  and 
tbe  corpse  at  first  was  left  in  the  boat  wbilst  tbe  monks  witt 
Columba  went  to  the  monastery.  Com  gall  received  them 
with  great  delight,  washed  their  feet,  and  on  asking  if  all 
bad  come  in,  Columba  said  one  brother  remained  in  the  boat. 
The  holy  man  Comgall  going  down  in  baste  to  fetch  the 
brother  found  him  dead,  and  perhaps  thinking  it  migbt  have 
happened  through  his  neglect,  besought  ihe  Lord,  and  calling 
upon  the  monk  to  rise  up  and  come  to  his  brothers,  the  dead 
man  obeyed.  Walking  to  the  monastery  Comgall  perceived 
that  he  was  blind  in  one  eye,  and  telling  him  to  wash  his 
face  in  the  stream  that  still  flows  down  to  the  sea  from  the 
church,  he  did  so,  and  at  once  recovered  his  sight.  St. 
Comgall  brought  back  the  brother  from  the  grave,  and, 
moreover,  restored  to  him  his  eyesight.  In  this  age  of  ours 
we  are  apt  to  smile  at  such  miracles  as  these,  because  ours  is 
not  an  age  of  faith  ;  and  the  incredulity  of  the  world  around 
us  make  us  incredulous  also.  Yet  our  Saviour  said  to  his 
disciples  (Luke  xvii.  v.  G),  "  If  you  had  faith  like  to  a  grain 


ST.    COMGALL    OF    BANCOT*.  369 

of  mustard  seed,  you  miglit  say  to  ih's  mu/berry  tree,  be 
thou  rooted  up,  and  be  thou  transplanted  into  the  sea,  and  it 
would  obey  you/'  We  doubt  if  any  of  our  Irish  Saints  evei 
did  anything  apparently  so  foolish  as  this,  yet  even  this  they 
could  do  in  the  greatness  of  their  faith. 

St.  Comgall  paid  a  return  visit  to  Columba,  and  it  is  said 
that  he  even  founded  a  church  in  the  Island  of  lleth,  now 
called  Tiree,  one  of  the  western  isles  to  the  north  of  lona. 
He  also  accompanied  Columba  in  the  famous  visit  which  he 
paid  to  King  Brude,  the  Pictish  King,  who,  at  the  approach 
of  the  saints,  shut  himself  up  in  his  fortress  on  the  shore  of 
the  river  Inverness.  But  Columba  signed  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  whereupon  the  barred  doors  flew  open  in  the  name  of 
Christ;  and  the  pagan  King  of  the  Picts,  fearing  with  a  great 
fear, allowed  the  saints  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  his  subjects. 

A  man  so  famous  for  holiness  and  miracles,  soon  attracted 
great  crowds  to  Bangor.  St.  Bernard  in  his  Lz/e  of  St. 
MalacJiy  says  that  "  this  noble  institution  was  inhabited  by 
many  thousands  of  monks."  Joceline,  of  Furness,  a  writer 
of  the  twelfth  century,  says  that  *' Bangor  was  a  fruitful  vine 
breathing  the  odour  of  salvation,  and  that  its  offshoots  ex- 
tended not  only  over  all  Ireland,  but  far  beyond  the  seas  into 
foreign  countries,  and  filled  many  lands  with  its  abounding 
fruitfulness."  In  the  time  of  the  Danes  we  are  told,  on  the 
authority  of  St.  Bernard,  that  nine  hundred  monks  of  Bangor 
were  slain  by  these  pirates — an  appalling  slaughter,  but  not 
at  all  an  unusual,  much  less  an  incredible  massacre,  for  the 
North  men  to  perpetrate.  The  second  life  given  by  the 
BoUandists  says  distinctly  that  in  the  various  cells  and 
monasteries  under  his  care,  Comgall  had  no  less  than  three 
thousand  monks ;  but  this  it  seems  is  to  be  understood  of  all 
his  disciples  in  other  monasteries  as  well  as  in  Bangor. 

Amongst  these  disciples,  besides  Columbanus  and  his 
companions,  of  whom  we  shall  presently  speak,  were  Lua, 
called  also  Mo-Lua,  the  founder  of  Clonfert-Molua,  now 
Clonfert-Mulloe,  in  the  Queen's  County,  and  St.  Carthach, 
founder  of  the  great  School  of  Lismore,  which  became  almost 
as  famous  as  Bangor  itself.  Luanus  from  Bangor,  who 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  Molua,  is  said  by  St.  Bernard  to 
have  founded  a  hundred  monasteries — a  statement  that  seems 
somewhat  exaggerated.  Even  kings  gave  up  their  crowns 
and  came  to  Bangor  to  live  as  humble  monks  under  the 
blessed  Comgall. 

Special  mention  is  made  of  Cormac,  King  of  Hy-Bairrche, 
in  Northern  Leinster.     That  prince  had  been  freed  from  the 

2a 


370  IHE  SCHOOL  OF  HANGOR. 

fetters  in  whicli  he  was  held  by  the  King-  of  ITy-Kinselagh 
at.  tlie  earnest  intercession  of  St.  Fintan  of  Clonenagh.  Before 
his  death,  however,  he  retired  to  Bangor,  and  in  spite  of 
great  temptations  to  return  to  the  worhl,  he  persevered  to 
the  end  in  the  service  of  Gorl,  under  the  care  of  Comgall. 
to  whom  he  gave  large  domains  in  Leinster  for  the  endow- 
ment of  religious  houses.  Comgall,  according  to  some 
authorities,  ruled  over  l^angor  for  fifty  j^ears,  otliers  say  for 
thirty,  which  is  more  likely  to  be  true,  and  died  ou  the 
13th  of  May,  a.d.  600,  at  his  own  monastery  of  Bangor,  in 
the  midst  of  his  children,  after  he  had  received  the  Viaticum 
from  the  hands  of  St.  Fiacra  of  Conwall,  in  Donegal,  .who 
was  divinely  inspired  to  visit  the  dying  saint,  and  administer 
to  him  the  last  rites  of  the  Church.  His  ble^^sed  body  wa^ 
afterwards  enclosed  by  the  same  Fiacra,  in  a  shrine  adorned 
with  gold  and  precious  stones,  which  subsequently  became 
the  spoil  of  the  Danish  pirates. 

That  literature,  both  sacred  and  profane,  was  successfully 
cultivated  at  Bangor,  will  be  made  evident  from  the  writings 
of  the  great  scholars  whom  it  produced,  even  during  the  life- 
time of  its  blessed  founder.  Humility  and  obedience,  however, 
were  even  more  dearly  prized  than  learning.  It  was  a  rul  ? 
amongst  the  monks  that  when  any  person  was  rebuked  by 
another  at  Bangor,  whether  justly  or  not,  he  immediately 
prostrated  himself  on  the  ground  in  token  of-  submission. 
They  bore  in  mind  that  word  of  the  Gospel,  ''  If  one  strike 
thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  also  to  him  the  other."  But 
the  career  of  the  great  Columbanus  will  prove  that  when 
there  was  question  of  denouncing  crime  against  God,  or 
adhering  to  the  traditions  of  the  holy  founders  of  the  Irish 
Church,  the  monks  of  Bangor  were  men  of  invincible  firm- 
ness, who  felt  the  full  force  of  the  Apostolic  maxim — we 
must  obey  God  rather  than  man.  In  the  question  of  cele- 
brating Easter,  according  to  their  anc  ient  usage,  this  firmness 
bordered  on  pertinacity  ;  but  it  was  excusable^  seeing  that  it 
sprang  from  no  schismatical  spirit,  but  from  a  conscientious 
adhesion  to  the  ancient  practice  of  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick. 

II. — St.  Columbanus. 

St.  Columbanus  was  the  great  glory  of  the  school  of 
Bangor.  He  is  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  of  his  age  ; 
his  influence  has  been  felt  even  down  to  our  own  times.  The 
libraries  which  contain  manuscripts  written  by  his  mrnk>* 
are  rausaclied  for  these  literary   treasures,  and   thr  grtato>t 


ST.    COLUMBANUS.  371 

scholars  of  Fiance  and  Germany  study  the  Celtic  glosses 
which  the  monks  of  Columbanus  jotted  down  on  the  margins 
or  between  the  leaves  of  their  manuscripts. 

We  cannot  dwell  at  length  on  the  facts  of  his  life,  striking 
arid  interestino^  as  his  mitrvellous  career  undoubtedly  is 
His  Life,  published  by  Surius,  was  written  by  an  Italian 
monk  of  Bobbio,  called  Jonas,  at  the  request  of  his  ecclesias- 
tical superiors,  and  though  full  enough  in  details  regarding- 
his  career  on  the  Continent,  it  is  meaj^re  as  to  the  facts  of  his 
youth  in  Ireland.  It  is,  however,  so  far  as  it  goes,  authentic, 
for  the  informants  of  Jonas  were  the  members  of  his  own 
community  of  Bobbio,  who  were  companions  of  the  saint,  and 
eye-witnesses  of  what  they  relate. 

Columbanus,  or  Columba,  was  the  Latin  name  given  to 
the  saint,  probably  on  account  of  the  sweetness  of  his  disposi- 
tion. For  although  in  the  cause  of  God  he  was  impetuous, 
and  sometimes  even  head^^trong,  we  are  told  that  to  his 
companions  and  associiites  he  was  ever  gracious  and  quiet  as 
the  dove.  We  know  for  certain  that  he  was  a  native  of  West 
Leinster,  and  born  about  the  year  a.d.  543^  if  not  earlier,  for 
he  was  at  least  72  years  at  his  death  in  a.d.  615.  In  his 
bo/hood  he  gave  himself  up  with  great  zeal  and  success  to 
the  s  udy  of  grammar,  and  of  the  other  liberal  arts  then 
taught  in  our  Irish  schools,  including  geometrj^,  arithmetic, 
logic,  astronomy,  rhetoric,  and  music.  He  was  a  hand- 
some youth,  too,  well-shaped  and  prepossessing  in  appearance, 
fair  and  blue-eyed  like  most  of  the  nobles  of  the  Scots. 
This  was  to  him  a  source  of  great  danger,  for  at  least  one 
young  maiden  strove  to  win  the  affections  of  the  handsome 
scholar,  and  wean  his  heart  from  God.  Old  Jonas,  the  writer 
of  the  life,  shud'ders  at  the  thought  of  the  danger  to  which 
Columbanus  was  exposed,  and  the  devilish  snares  that  were 
laid  for  his  innocence.  The  youth  himself  was  fully  sensible 
of  his  danger,  and  sought  the  counsel  of  a  holy  virgin  who 
lived  in  a  hermitage  hard  by.  At  first  he  spoke  with 
hesitation  and  humility,  but  afterwards  with  confidence  and 
courage,  which  showed  that  he  was  a  youth  of  high  spirit, 
and  thei  efore  all  the  more  in  danger.  ''  What  need,'*  replied 
the  virgin,  "  to  seek  my  counsel.  I  myself  have  fled  the 
world,  and  for  fifteen  years  have  remained  shut  up  in  this 
cell.  Remember  the  warning  examples  of  David,  Samson, 
and  Solomon,  \vho  were  led  astray  by  the  love  of  women. 
There  is  no  security  for  you  except  in  flight."     The  youth 


1  Cardinal  Moian  thinks  be  was  bora  as  early  as  a.d.  530. 


372  THE  SCHOUl.  OV   HANGOR. 

was  greatly  terrified  by  this  solemn  wuriiinw,  and  bidding 
farewell  to  his  p;ironts,  res  dvcd  to  leave  home  and  retire  for 
his  soul's  sake  to  some  religious  house  where  he  would  be 
secure.  His  mother,  with  tears,  besought  him  to  stay  ;  she 
even  threw  herself  on  the  threshold  before  him,  but  the  boy, 
declaring  that  whoever  loved  his  father  or  mother  more  than 
Christ,  is  unworthy  of  Uini,  stepped  aside,  and  left  his  home 
and  his  parents,  whom  he  never  saw  again. 

He  went  straight  to  Cluaninis  (now  Cleenish),  in  Lough 
Erne,  whoso  hundred  islets  in  those  days  were  the  homes  of 
holy  men,  who  gave  themselves  up  to  prayer,  penance,  and 
sjcred  study.  An  old  man  named  Sinell,^  was  at  that  time 
famous  for  holiness  and  learning,  and  so  Columbanus  placed 
himself  under  his  care,  and  made  greatprogress  both  in  pi  ofane 
learning,  and  especially  in  the  study  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.''^ 

At  this  time  the  fame  of  Bangor  was  great  throughout 
the  land:  so  Columbanus  leaving  his  master,  Sin  ell  of  Lough 
Erne,  came  to  Com  gall,  and  prostrating  himself  before  the 
abbot,  begged  to  be  admitted  amongst  his  monks.  The 
request  was  granted  at  once,  and  Columbanus,  ns  we  are 
expressely  informed,  spent  many  years  in  that  great  monastery 
by  the  sea,  going  through  all  the  literary  and  religious 
exercises  of  the  community  with  much  fervour  and  exactness. 
This  was  the  spring-time  of  his  life,  in  which  he  sowed  the 
seeds  of  that  spiritual  harvest,  which  France  and  Italy  after- 
wards reaped  in  such  abundance.  His  rule  was  the  rule  of 
Bangor.  His  learning  was  the  learning  of  Bangor.  His 
spirit  was  the  spirit  of  Bangor. 

When  fully  trained  in  knowledge  and  pietv,  Columbanus 
sought  his  abbot  Comgall,  and  begged  leave  to  go,  like  so 
many  of  his  countrymen,  on  a  pilgrimage  for  Christ.  It  was 
the  impulse  of  the  Celtic  mind  from  the  beginning — it  is  so 
still — the  Irish  are  a  nation  of  apostles.  It  is  not  a  mere  love 
of  change,  or  of  foreign  travel,  or  tedium  of  home  ;  no,  the 
pilgrimage,  or  peregrinatio^  was  esseniially  undertaken  to 
spread  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  holy  abbot  Comgall  gladly 
assented.  He  gave  him  his  leave  and  his  blessing,  and 
Columbanus,  taking  with  him  twelve  companions,  prepared 
to  cross  the  sea.  Money  they  had  none  :  they  needed  none. 
The  only  treasure  they  took  with  them  was  tlieir  books  slung 
over  their  shoulders  in  leathern  satchels,  and  so  with  their 
staves  in  their  hands,  and  courage  in  their  hearts,  they  set 
out  from  their  native  country,  never  to  return.  At  first 
they  went  to  England,  and  traversing  that  country,  whore 
it   fccems,   too,   they   were  joined    by    some    associates,  they 

1  Sinell  liimRelf  studied  at  Clonard.     Hin  feunt  day  is  Nov.  I'ith. 
*  It  in  Haid  tliat  it  whh  in  Uluaina  Columbanus  wrota  Iuh  Conmuntary  i»n 
the    Psalter,  latoly    pulilisluMl    by   the   Iraiiu  d    Ahc-oU.     Soo    Stokt's'  lsla»a 
^f'>vnnteriea.     Journal  t>rili.'  U  S.A.T  .  t^'iiit'  •5'iJ 


ST.  coLUMnA^'us.  373 

found  means  to  cross  the  channel  and  caire  to  Gaul,  about 
the  year  a.d.  575,  when  he  himself  was  about  thirt3-tvvo 
years  of  age. 

The  apostolic  man  with  his  companions  at  once  set  about 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  the  half -Christian  towns  and  villages 
of  Gaul.  Poor,  half-naked,  hungry,  their  lives  were  a  ser- 
inon ;  but  moreover,  Columbanus  was  gifted  with  great 
eloquence,  and  a  sweet  persuasive  manner  that  no  one  could 
resist.  They  were  everywhere  received  as  men  of  God,  and 
the  fame  of  their  holiness  and  miracles  even  came  to  the 
court  of  Sigebert,  king  of  Austrasia,  of  which  Metz  was  the 
capital.  He  pressed  them  to  stay  in  his  dominions,  but  they 
would  not.  They  went  their  way  southward  through  a  wild 
and  desert  country,  preaching  and  teaching,  healing  and 
converting,  until  they  came  to  the  court  of  Gontran,  grand- 
son of  Clovis,  at  that  time  king  of  Burgundy — one  of  the 
three  kingdoms  into  which  the  great  monarchy  of  Clovis  had 
come  to  be  sub-divided. 

Gontran  received  the  missionaries  with  a  warm  welcome, 
and  at  first  established  them  at  a  place  called  Annegray, 
where  there  was  an  old  Roman  castle  in  the  modern  depart- 
ment of  the  Haute -Sa one.  The  king  ofiered  them  both  food 
and  money,  but  these  things  they  declined,  and  such  was  their 
extreme  poverty,  that  they  were  often  forced  to  live  for 
weeks  together  on  the  herbs  of  the  field,  on  the  berries,  and 
even  the  bark  of  the  trees.  Columbanus  used  from  time  to 
time  to  bury  himself  alone  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  heedless 
of  hunger,  which  stared  him  in  the  face,  and  of  the  wild 
beasts  that  roamed  around  him,  trusting  altogether  to  the 
good  providence  of  God.  He  became  even  the  prince  of  the 
wild  animals.  The  birds  would  pick  the  crumbs  from 
his  feet ;  the  squirrels  would  hide  themselves  under  his 
cowl ;  the  hungry  wolves  harmed  him  not ;  he  slept  in  a  ^ 
cave  where  a  bear  had  its  den.  Once  a  week  a  boy  would 
bring  him  a  little  bread  or  vegetables  :  he  needed  nothing 
else.  He  had  no  companion.  The  Bible,  transcribed,  no 
doubt,  at  Bangor  with  his  own  hand,  was  his  only  study 
and  his  highest  solace.  Thus  for  weeks,  and  even  months, 
he  led  a  life,  like  John  the  Baptist  in  the  wilderness,  wholly 
divine. 

Meanwhile  the  number  of  disciples  in  the  monastery  at 
the  old  ruined  castle  of  Annegray  daily  increased,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  seek  a  more  suitable  site  for  a  larger 
community.  Here,  too,  the  Burgundian  King  Gontran  proved 
himself  the  generous  patron  o£  Columbanus  and  his  monks. 
There  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Vosges  mountains,  where  warm 


'M4  THE  SCIIOOT.  OF  BAMGOR. 

medicinal  spring'^  pour  out  n  lieal'mr  stream,  an  old  Roman 
settlement  called  Luxeuil.  But  it,  was  now  a  desert.  The 
broken  walls  of  the  ancient  villas  were  covered  with  shrubs 
and  weeds.  The  woods  had  extended  from  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains  down  to  the  valleys  covering^  all  the  country 
round.  There  was  no  population,  no  tillage,  no  arable  land; 
it  was  all  a  savage  forest,  filled  with  wolves,  b(  ars,  foxes,  and 
wild  eats.  Not  a  promising  site  for  a  monastic  settlement, 
but  such  a  place  exactly  as  Columbanus  and  his  companions 
desired.  They  wanted  solitude,  they  loved  labour,  and  they 
would  liave  plenty  of  both.  In  a  few  years  a  marvellous 
change  came  over  the  scene.  The  woods  were  cleared,  the 
lands  were  tilled,  fields  of  waving  corn  rewarded  the  labour 
of  the  monks,  and  smiling  vineyards  gave  them  wine  for  the 
sick  and  for  the  holy  ^Sacrifice.  The  noblest  youths  of  the 
Franks  begged  to  be  admitted  to  the  brotherhood,  and  gladly 
took  their  share  in  the  daily  round  of  prayer,  penance,  and 
ceaseless  toil.  They  worked  so  long  that  they  fell  asleep  from 
fatigue  when  walking  home.^  They  slept  so  little  that  it  was 
a  new  penance  to  tear  themselves  from  the  mats  on  which 
they  lay.  But  the  blessing  of  God  was  upon  them ;  th(  y 
^rew  in  numbers,  and  in  holiness,  and  in  happiness,  not  the 
happiness  of  men  who  love  this  world,  but  the  happiness  of 
those  who  truly  serve  God, 

But  now  a  sore  trial  was  nigh.  God  wished  to  purify  his 
servants  by  suffering,  and  to  extend  toother  lands  the  sphere 
of  their  usefulness.  The  first  trial  came  from  the  secular 
clergy.  Those  Irish  monks  were  men  of  virtue  and  austerity, 
hut  they  were  also  in  many  respects  very  peculiar.  They 
had  a  liturgy  of  their  own  somewhat  difierent  from  that  in 
use  around  them  ;  they  had  a  queer  tonsure,  like  Simon 
Magus,  it  was  said,  in  front  from  ear  to  ear,  instead  of  the 
orthodox  and  customary  crown.  Worst  of  all,  it  sometimes 
happened  that  they  celebrated  Easter  on  Palm  Sunday,  so 
that  they  were  singing  their  alleluias  when  all  the  churches 
of  the  Franks  were  in  the  mourning  of  Passion  time.  He- 
monstrance  was  useless ;  they  adhered  tenacioush^  to  their 
country's  usages.  Nothing  could  convince  them  that  what 
St.  Patrick  and  the  saints  of  Ireland  had  handed  down  to 
them  could  by  any  possibility  be  wrong.  They  only  wanted 
to  be  let  alone.  They  did  not  desire  to  impose  their  usages 
on  others.  Why  should  others  impose  their  usages  on  themy 
They  had  a  right  to  be  allowed  to  live  in  peace  in  their  wil- 
derness, for  they  injured  no  man,  and  the}'  prayed  for  all. 
Thus  it  was  that  Columbanus   reasoned,   or  rather  remou- 


■^  It   is  said    timt   Ci)luiMl)an   whrii  vvorkiriii-  ut  tlu>    sp  ulo  won»  U^Ht'i   r 
)j;lovt,'8  tliroiiyli  rcvon'tici^  tor  the  Holy  Sticiiliiu'  wliich  \w  u>til  to  otlVr 


ST.  COLUMBA^US.  375 

strafed,  witli  a  synod  of  Freiicli  bishops  that  objected  to  his 
practices.  His  letters  to  them  and  to  Pope  Gregory  tbe 
Great  on  tbe  subject  of  this  Paschal  question  are  still  extant, 
but  he  cannot  be  justified  in  some  of  the  expressions  which 
he  uses.  He  tells  the  bishops  in  effect  in  one  place  that  they 
would  be  better  employed  in  enforcing  canonical  discipline 
amongst  their  own  clergy,  than  in  discussing  the  Paschal 
question  with  him  and  his  monks.  Yet  here  and  there  he 
speaks  not  only  with  force  and  freedom,  but  also  with  true 
humility  and  genuine  eloquence.  He  implores  the  prelates 
in  the  most  solemn  language  to  let  him  and  his  brethren  live 
in  peace  and  charity  in  the  heart  of  their  silent  woods,  beside 
the  bones  of  their  seventeen  brothers  who  were  dead,  "Surely 
it  is  better  for  you/'  he  says,  "  to  comfort  than  to  disturb  us, 
poor  old  men,  strangers,  too,  in.  your  midst.  Let  us  rather 
love  one  another  in  the  charity  of  Christ,  striving  to  fulfil 
his  precepts,  and  thereby  secure  a  place  in  the  assembly  of 
the  just  made  perfect  in  heaven.'' 

Language  of  this  character,  used,  too,  in  justification  of 
practices  harmless  in  themselves,  but  not  in  accordance  with 
the  prevalent  discipline  of  the  Church  at  the  time,  was  by  no 
means  well  calculated  to  beget  afiection  towards  the  strangers 
in  the  minds  of  the  Frankish  clergy.  Other  troubles,  too, 
soon  arose.  The  young  king  of  Austrasia,  Thierry,  encour- 
aged by  Brunehaut,  his  infamous  grand-mother,  repudiated 
his  lawful  wife  and  gave  himself  up  to  the  most  scandalous 
debauchery.  Columbanus  admonished,  remonstrated,  rebuked 
in  vain.  Finding  his  eff'orts  fruitless,  he  denied  the  guilty 
pair  admission  to  his  monastery,  and  thereupon  they  resolved 
to  expel  him  and  his  monks  from  the  kingdom. 

Fur  the  time,  however,  h(^  was  onl\^  made  a  pri.soner, 
and  conducted  to  Besan^on,  where  he  was  kept  under  surveil- 
lance, until  one  da}^  looking  with  longing  to  his  beloved 
Luxeuil,  and  seeing  no  one  at  hand  to  prevent  him,  he 
descended  the  steep  cliff  which  overhangs  the  river  Doubs, 
and  returned  to  his  monastery.  When  the  king  heard  of  his 
return,  he  sent  imperative  orders  to  have  him  and  all  his 
companions  from  Ireland  and  Britain  forcibly  removed  from 
the  monastery,  and  conveyed  home  to  their  own  country. 
The  soldiers  presented  themselves  at  Luxeuil  when  the  holy 
man  was  in  the  choir  with  his  monks.  They  told  him  their 
orders,  and  begged  him  to  come  voluntarily  with  them — they 
were  unwilling  to  resort  to  force.  At  first  he  refused ;  but 
lest  the  soldiers  might  be  punished  for  not  resorting  to  that 
violence  which  they  were  unwilling  to  make  use  of,  he  finally 


376  THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

yielded.  .Te  called  his  Irish  brethren  around  them  :  "  Let 
us  go,"  he  said,  "  iny  brothers,  in  the  name  of  God.''  It  was 
hard  to  leave  the  scene  of  their  labours,  their  sorrows,  and 
their  joys ;  hard  to  leave  behind  them  the  graves  of  the 
seventeen  brethren  with  whom  they  had  hoped  to  rest  in 
peace.  But  go  they  must ;  the  soldiers  would  not  for  a 
moment  leave  them.  It  was  a  brief  and  sad  leave-taking. 
Wails  of  sorrow  were  heard  everywhere  for  the  loss  of  their 
beloved  father ;  brother  was  torn  from  brother,  friend  from 
friend,  never  to  meet  again  in  this  world.  Thus  it  was  that 
Columbanus  and  his  Irish  companions  left  that  dear  monas- 
tery of  Luxeuil,  and  were  conducted  by  the  soldiers  to  Nevers. 
There,  still  guarded  by  the  soldiers,  they  embarked  in  a  boat 
that  conveyed  them  down  the  Ijoire  to  its  mouth,  where  they 
would  find  a  ship  to  convey  them  back  again  to  Ireland. 

But  it  was  not  the  w411  of  Providence  that  Columbanus 
and  his  companions,  when  driven  from  Luxeuil,  should  return 
to  Ireland  :  other  w^ork  was  before  them  to  do.  Accordingly, 
when  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Loire,  their  baggage, 
such  as  it  was,  was  put  on  board,  and  most  of  the  monks  em- 
barked. But  the  sea  rose  mountains  high,  and  the  ship' which 
Columbanus  intended  to  rejoin  when  under  weigh,  was 
forced  to  return  to  port.  A  three  days'  calm  succeeded,  and 
the  captain,  apprehensive  of  a  new  storm,  caused  the  monks 
and  their  baggage  to  be  put  on  shore,  for  he  feared  to  take 
them  with  him.  Thus  left  to  themselves,  Columbanus  and 
his  companions  went  to  J^'oissons  to  Clotaire,  King  of  Neustria, 
by  whom  they  were  received  with  every  kindness  and  hospitality. 
The  king  cordially  hated  Brunehaut  and  her  grandson — his 
mother,  Fredegonda,  had  murdered  Brunehaut's  sister — and 
he  was  anxious  to  keep  Columbanus  in  his  own  kingdom,  but 
the  latter  would  not  sta3\  He  pushed  on,  with  his  com- 
panions, to  Metz,  the  capital  of  Austrasia,  where  Theodebert, 
the  brother  of  Thierry,  then  reigned.  Here  he  was  joined 
by  several  of  his  old  monks  from  Luxeuil,  who  preferred  to 
follow  their  father  in  his  wanderings,  to  remaining  behind  in 
the  kingdom  of  his  persecutor. 

Columbanus  now  resolved  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
pagan  populations  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine  and  its 
tributary  streams.  80  embarking  at  Mayence,  after  many 
toils  and  dangers,  they  came  as  far  as  Lake  Zurich  in 
Switzerland,  and  finally  established  themselves  at  Bregenz, 
on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  where  they  fixed  their  head- 
quarters. The  tribes  inhabiting  these  wild  and  beautiful 
reoionB — the  8uevi   and  Alemanni — were   idolaters,  though 


1  It    was    a    8hip — "  quua    Scot(»rum    luunmt'n'ia      Vi'Xfr^t" — iradii 
betweeuGu,ul  and  Ireland.  —  Vita.  u.  '^2 


^  ST.  COLUMBANTJS.  377 

nominal  subjects  of  the  Anstrasinn  king  lorn.  Woden  was 
their  God,  and  they  worshipped  him  with  dark  mysterious 
rites,  under  the  shadow  of  sacred  oaks,  far  in  the  depths  of 
the  forest.  Discretion  was  not  a  gift  of  Columbanus,  so  he 
not  only  preached  the  Gospel  amongst  them,  but  axe  in 
hand,  he  had  the  courage  to  cut  down  their  sacred  trees  ;  be 
burned  their  rude  temples,  and  cast  their  fantastic  idols  into 
the  lake.  It  was  not  wise  ;  the  people  became  enraged, 
and  the  missionaries  were  forced  to  fly.  After  struggling  fo; 
three  years  to  convert  this  savage  people,  Columbanus, 
perceiving  that  the  work  was  not  destined  to  be  accom- 
plished by  him,  crossed  the  snow-covered  Alps  by  the 
pass  of  St.  Gothard,  though  now  more  than  seventy 
years  of  age,^  and  after  incredible  toil,  succeeded,  with 
a  few  of  his  old  companions,  in  making  his  way  to  the 
Court  of  the  Lombard  King,  A'^ilulph,  whose  Queen 
was  Theodelinda,  famous  for  beauty,  for  genius,  and  for 
virtue. 

At  this  time  the  Lombards  were  Arians,  and  Agilulph 
himself  was  an   Arian,  although   Queen  Theodolinda  was  a 
devout    Catholic.     Mainly,    we    may    assume,   through   her 
influence  the  Arian  monarch   received  the  broken  down  old 
man    and  his    companions    with  the  utmost   kindness,  and 
Columbanus   had   an    ample   field   for   the   exercise  of  his 
missionary  zeal  amongst  the  rude  half-Christian  population. 
But  first  of  all  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  permanent  home — 
and  nowhere  could  he   find  rest  except  in   solitude.     Just 
at  this  time"  a  certain  Jucundus  reminded  the  Kini^  that 
there  was  at  a  place  called  Bobbio  a  ruined  church  once 
dedicated   to   St.  Peter ;    that   the   place   round  about  was 
fertile  and  well  watered  with   streams,  abounding  in  every 
kind  of  tish.     It  was  near  the   Trebbia,  almost  at  the  very 
spot  where  Hannibal  first  felt  the  rigours  of  that  fierce  winter 
in  the  snows  of  the  Apj^enines,  so  graphically  described  by 
Livy.      The   king  gladly  gave   the   place   to  Columbanus, 
and  the   energetic  old  man  set  about  repairing  the  ruined 
church  and  building  his  monastery  with  all  that  unquench- 
able ardour  that  cleared  the  forests  of  Luxeuil,  and  crossed 
the  snows  of  the  Alps.     His  labours  were  regarded  by  his 
followers  as  miraculous.      The  fir  trees,   cut  down  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Appenines,  which  his  monks  were  unable  to 
carry  down  the  steep  and  rugged   ways,  when  the  old  man 
himself  came  and  took  a  share  of  the  burden,  were  found  to 

^  According  to  others  he  was  nearly  ninety. 

2  Some  writers  assert  that  Bobbio  had  been  founded  many  years  pre- 
viously, and  that  this  was  the  second  journey  of  Columban  into  Lombardy. 
We  follow  old  Jonas. 


378  THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

be  110  weiohf.  So,  speedily  and  joyfully,  with  tlio  visible  aid 
of  heaven,  they  completed  the  task,  and  built  in  the  valley  of 
the  Appenines  a  monaster}',  whose  name  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  saints  or  scholars. 

The  holy  old  man  lived  but  one  year  after  he  had  founded 
Bobbio.  His  merits  were  full ;  the  work  of  his  life  was 
complete ;  he  had  given  his  Rule  to  the  new  house ;  he  left 
behind  hira  some  of  his  old  companions  to  complete  his  work, 
and  now  he  was  ready  to  die.  To  the  great  grief  of  the 
brotherhood,  Columbanus  passed  aw^ay  to  his  reward  on  the 
eleventh  day  before  the  Kalends  of  December,  in  the  year 
A.D.  615,  probably  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  buried  beneath  the  high  altar,  and  long  afterwards  the 
holy  remains  were  enclosed  in  a  stone  coffin,  and  are  still 
preserved  in  the  crypt  of  the  old  monastic  Church  of  Bobbio. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  Ireland  never  sent  a 
greater  son  than  Columbanus  to  do  the  work  of  God  in 
foreign  lands.  He  brought  forth  much  fruit  and  his  fruit 
has  remained.  For  centuries  his  influence  was  dominant  iu 
France  and  in  North  em  Italy,  and  even  in  our  own  days, 
his  spirit  speaketh  from  his  urn.  His  deeds  have  been 
described  by  many  eloquent  tongues  and  pens,  and  his 
writings  have  been  carefully  studied  to  ascertain  the  secret 
of  his  extraordinary  influence  over  his  own  and  subsequent 
ages.  His  character  was  not  indeed  i'aultless,  but  he  was 
consumed  with  a  restless  untiring  zeal  in  the  service  ot 
his  Master,  which  was  at  once  the  secret  of  his  power  and  the 
source  of  his  mistakes.  He  was  too  ardent  in  character,  and 
almost  too  zealous  in  the  cause  of  God.  In  this  respect  he 
is  not  unlike  St.  Jerome,  but  we  forget  their  faults  in  our 
admiration  for  their  virtues  and  their  labours.  A  man  more 
holy,  more  chaste,  more  self-denying,  a  man  with  loftier 
aims  and  purer  heart  than  Columbanus,  was  never  born  in 
the  Island  of  Saints. 

The  writings  of  Columbanus  still  extant  are — a  Monastic 
Rule,  a  Penitential  Treatise,  sixteen  short  Sermons  or  In- 
6tj.uctions,  six  Letters,  and  a  few  Latin  Poems.^ 

The  Regula  Coenobialis  or  Monastic  Rule  is  divided  into  ten 
short  chapters  which  treat  of  the  fundamental  virtues  of  the 
monastic  life.  It  is  especially  valuable  in  so  far  as  it  aii'ords 
points  of  comparison  and  contact  with  the  more  complete 
and  systematic  Rule  of  St.  Benedict.  In  some  things  it  is 
exceedingly  rigorous  and  very  minute  in  the  peyances  which 


^  Sou  Mi^uo's  I'atroioyia,    vol.  Ix.vx.,  I'ngc  lilU. 


ST.  COLUMBANUS.  379 

it  imposes,  even  on  the  most  A^enial  and  semi-deliberate 
faults.  The  first  six  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  essential 
virtues  of  the  monastic  state — obedience,  silence,  self-denial 
in  the  use  of  me^t  and  drink,  poverty  and  chastity.  The 
maxim — cibiis  monachoruni  sit  vilis  et  vespertinus — seems  to 
allow  the  poor  monks  only  one  plain  meal  in  the  day,  and 
that  after  vespers.  He  inculcates  also  a  daily  fast,  daily 
prayer,  daily  labour,  and  daily  reading  ^ — thus  including  in 
one  sentence  the  whole  routine  of  monastic  life.  The  Liber 
de  P aenitentiarum  Mensura  Taxanda  is  equally  rigorous 
and  minute  in  prescribing  penances  proportionate  to  the 
guilt  of  the  sinner.  In  those  days  when  there  were  no 
elaborate  scientific  treatises  on  moral  theology,  it  was  very 
useful  to  have  a  work  of  this  kind  which  apportioned  its 
own  penance  to  almost  every  class  of  sin.  The  confessor,  or 
soul's  friend, was  thus  enabled  to  form  an  estimate  sufficient 
for  most  practical  purposes  of  the  magnitude  of  the  crimes 
from  the  amount  of  the  penance.  To  fast  for  a  number  of 
days,  weeks,  or  even  years,  on  bread  and  water  was  the  stern 
penance  imposed  on  the  sinner,  according  to  the  measure  of 
his  guilt,  by  the  rigid  directors  of  the  early  Irish  Church. 
Drunkenness  was  punished  with  a  comparatively  light 
penance — only  a  week  on  bread  and  water.  That  same  wouid 
be  even  now  of  great  service  if  it  were  rigorously  enfoiced. 

The  Sermons  have  nothing  specially  characteristic  to 
recommend  them.  They  are,  however,  brief  and  to  the  point, 
which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  many  volumes  of  more 
modern  discpurses. 

The  Six  Letters  are  perhaps  the  most  valuable  of  the 
literary  remains  of  Columbanus,  because  they  reflect  most 
clearly  the  character  of  the  man  and  the  genius  of  tlje  Celt. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  his  letters  to  Pope  Gregory  the 
Great,  and  to  Pope  Boniface.  Whilst  full  of  respect  for  the 
Holy  See  they  exhibit  an  uncompromising  spirit  of  resolute 
independence  and  conscious  integrity.  The  letter  on  the 
Paschal  question  to  a  certain  synod  of  French  Bishops  is 
written  in  the  same  spirit,  and  reminds  the  Galilean  prelates 
of  some  unpleasant  truths,  which  they  must  have  regarded 
as  a  very  great  Impertinence  coming  from  a  mere  Irish  monk, 
who  had  unmvited  taken  up  his  quarters  in  the  hospitable 
land  of  France. 

The  Latin  poems  show  considerable  acquaintance  with  the 
language,   and     are   especially    valuable   as    exhibiting  the 

1  **Ergo  quotidie  jejunandum  est,  sicut  quotidie  orandum  est,  quot'die 
laI;>orandum-  uuoticlie.  Giit  LQcrendum. '' 


380  THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

classical  culture  of  our  Irish  schools  in  the  sixth  century. 
Most  of  them  are  in  hexameter  verse,  but  contain  few  classical 
allusions.  The  prosody  is  sometimes  i'aulty ;  but  on  the 
whole  it  is  perhaps  better  than  the  pupils  or  even  the  profes- 
sors of  our  colleges  would  produce  at  present  if  called  upon 
Xt  short  notice. 

The  shorter  Adonic  verses  are  simply  marvels  of  ingenuity, 
and  it  shows  great  familiarity  with  the  Latin  language  to 
be  able  to  write  an  entire  letter  of  about  150  lines  in  this 
metre. 

The  two  most  celebrated  literary  monuments  of  St. 
Columbanus  and  the  School  of  Bangor  that  have  come  down 
to  our  time  are  the  Bobbio  Missal^  and  the  Antiphonary  of 
Bangor,  both  of  which  are  at  present  preserved  in  the 
Ambrosian  Library  at  Milan. 

The  Missal  which  was  brought  from  Bobbio  to  Milan  by 
Cardinal  Frederic  Borromeo  is  undoubtedly  of  Irish  origin, 
and  was  probably  brought  from  Bangor  by  St.  Columbanus 
himself,  or  by  some  one  of  the  Irish  monks  who  accompanied 
him.  We  shall  not  here  repeat  the  critical  arguments  used 
b}^  scholars  to  prove  that  it  was  brought  from  Ireland  in  the 
sixth  or  seventh  century.  The  fact,  indeed,  is  no  longer 
questioned.  This  Missal  is  particularly  interesting,  because 
it  gives  us  so  early  a  specimen  of  the  liturgy  in  use  in  our 
Irish  Church.  The  Missa  Cotidiana  of  this  Bangor  Missal 
has  practically  the  same  Canon  as  that  now  found  in  the 
Roman  Missal,  and  used  throughout  the  entire  world.  There 
is  greater  variety  in  the  prayers,  and  our  Celtic  forefathers 
were  fond  of  inserting  a  greater  number  of  them  in  the  Mass 
after  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis.  They  were  inclined  too  to 
canonize  their  own  local  saints,  and  even  sometimes  inserted 
their  names  in  the  Litanies  and  in  the  Canon  of  Mass 
without  any  authority  but  their  own  devotion.  This  led  not 
only  to  variety  in  the  public  liturgy  but  sometimes  to  other 
grave  abuseSj  which  were  not  eradicated  until  the  time  of 
St.  Malachy  and  other  great  reformers  of  Church  discipline 
in  the  twelfth  century. 

Now  that  we  have  the  Stowe  Missal  accessible  to  scholars 
in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  we  may  hope  for  a  minute  and 
careful  comparison  of  these  two  ancient  books,  in  order  to 
trace  the  beginnings  of  these  discrepancies  in  the  liturgy 
which  were  first  introduced  into  Ireland  by  the  Second  Or 'or 
of  Saints,  and  afterwards  led  to  so  much  inconvenience. 

The  Stowe  Missal,  which  is  so  called,  we  presume,  because 
it  was  kept  so  long  locked  up  in  the  Duke  of  Buckingham's 


) 


DUNGAL.  (581 

Stowe  Library,  is  considered  to  have  belonged  to  the  ancient 
Monastery  of  Lorrba,  in  Lower  Ormond,  Tipperary.  Dr 
McCartby,  a  very  competent  judge,  thinks  in  represents 
the  ancient  Patrician  liturgy  used  by  the  First  Order  of  the 
Saints  of  Erin,  whilst  Bangor  may  be  supposed  to  have  the 
Mass  in  its  Missal  derived  from  \v  ales,  or  more  likely  from 
Candida  Casa.^  The  question  is  a  very  intricate  one,  and  full 
of  interest,  but  cannot  be  discussed  at  length  in  these  pages. 

The  AntipJwnariuin  Benchorense,  or  Bangor  Hymnal,  is 
a  collection  of  ancient  hymns  in  the  Latin  language,  which 
were  in  common  use  in  the  ancient  Church  of  Ireland. 
Many  of  them  are  contained  in  the  Book  of  Hymns  edited  by 
Todd,  to  which  we  have  already  referred  so  often.  Some  of 
them  were  in  general  use  throughout  the  Latin  Church,  or 
at  least  in  the  early  Gallican  Church,  like  the  Hymn  of 
St.  Hilary.  But  others  seem  to  have  been  peculiar  to  Bangor, 
and  hence  have  a  special  interest  for  us  at  present.  Such 
was  the  Hymnus  Sancti  Comgilli  Abbatis  Nostri ;  also  the 
Hymnus  Sancti  Cainelaci,  and  another  entitled  Memoria 
Abbatum  Nostrorum,  which  has  considerable  historical 
interest,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  a  metrical  list  of  the  abbots 
of  Bangor  down  to  the  time  of  the  writer.  These  poems, 
and  also  the  Missa  Cotidiana  of  the  Bobbio  Missal  may  be 
seen  in  the  second  volume  of  Father  O'Laverty's  excellent 
History  of  the  Diocese  of  Down  and  Connor. 

There  is  nothing  specially  interesting  in  subsequent 
history  of  the  School  of  Bangor  down  to  the  time  of 
St.  Malachy.  It  was  totally  destroyed  by  the  Danes, 
although  a  nominal  succession  of  abbots  was  still  kept  up, 
whose  names  are  sometimes  mentioned  in  our  annals. 

III. HUNGAL. 

Dungal,  however,  after  Columbanus  was,  perliaps,  the 
greatest  glory  of  the  School  of  Bangor.  This  distinguished 
theologian,  astronomer,  and  poet,  was  one  of  the  Irish  exiles 
of  the  ninth  century  who  weie  so  highly  honoured  in  the 
(3ourt  of  France.  His  name  is  not  widely  known  to  fame  ; 
yet  few  men  of  his  time  held  so  high  a  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  his  contemporaries,  or  rendered  more  signal  service  to 
the  Church.  The  controversy  concerning  imnge  worship 
was  carried  on  with  great  warmth  in  the  Frankish  Empire 
during  the  first  quarter  of  the  ninth  century,  and  in 
this  contest  Dungal  was  the  foremost  champion  of  orthodoxy. 
He  gave  the  co7ip  de  grace  to  the  Western  Iconoclasts ;  after 
his  vigorous  refutation  of  Claudius  of  Turin,  they  troubled 

^It  appears  to  ua  more  likely  that  the  Bangor  Missal  has  the  Patrician 
liturgy  ;  and  that  the  Ma«8  in  the  Stowe  Missal  is  of  Welsh  origin.— See 
]rx&h  Eccl.  Rerord,  Jan.,  1891. 


382  THE  SCHOOL  OF  HANGOR. 

tlic  Church  no  more.  It  is  well,  therefore,  to  know  some- 
thinp^  of  bis  history. 

That  Duiigal  was  an  Irishman  is  now  universally 
admitted.  Tlie  name  itself  is  conclusive  evidence  of  his 
nationality.  It  was  quite  a  common  name  in  Ireland,  and 
srems  to  have  been  peculiarly  Irish.  We  know  of  no 
foreigner  who  was  called  ^' Dungal ;"  but  we  find  from  the 
index  volume  of  the  Four  Masters,  that  between  the  years 
A.D.  744  and  1015  twenty-two  distinguished  Irishmen  bore 
that  name. 

In  a  poem  which  he  composed  in  honour  of  his  friend  and 
patron,  Charlemagne,  Dungal  calls  himself  an  Irish  exile — 
Hibernictis  exul.  There  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  he  was 
the  author  of  this  beautiful  poem  to  which  we  shall  refer 
further  on.  At  the  close  of  his  life  he  retired  to  the  Irish 
monastery  of  Bobbio,  in  the  north  of  Italj^  founded  by 
Columbanus,  to  which  he  left  all  his  books,  as  we  know  from 
Muraturi's  published  list.  One  of  them,  according  to  the 
opinion  of  Muratori,  was  the  famous  AntipJionary  of  Bangor ^ 
which  Dungal  brought  from  that  great  school  at  home,  and 
fittingly  restored  to  Irish  hands  at  his  death. 

Yet  unfortunately  we  cannot  ^:l  the  place  or  date  of  his 
birth  in  Ireland,  although  the  possession  of  the  Bangor 
Antipho7iary  leaves  little  room  to  doubt  th; it  he  was  educated 
in  the  monastic  school  of  ISt.  Com  gall.  Not  a  cross,  nur  even 
a  stone,  now  rem  am  s  to  mark  the  site  of  tlie  famous 
monastery  whose  crowded  cloisters  for  a  thousand  years 
overlooked  the  pleasant  islets  and  broad  waters  of  Inver 
Becne  ;^  but  the  fame  of  the  great  school  which  nurtured 
Columbanus  and  Gall,  and  Dungal  and  Malachycan  never  die. 

In  all  probability  Dungal  left  his  native  country  in  the 
opening  years  of  the  ninth  century.  Two  causes  most  likely 
induced  him  to  leave  Ireland,  the  fame  of  Charlemagne,  as 
a  patron  of  learned  men,  and  the  threatened  incursion  of  the 
Danes,  who  were  just  then  beginning  their  long  career  of 
pillaji'e  and  slaughter  in  Ireland. 

However,  in  a.d.  811,  we  find  Dungal  in  France.  In 
that  year  he  addressed  a  remarkable  letter  to  Charlemagne 
on  the  two  solar  eclipses  which  were  said  to  have  taken  place 
in  the  previous  year,  a.d.  810.  He  is  described  at  this  time 
as  a  recluse,  that  is,  one  who  led  a  monastic  life  in   solitude  ; 

*  Inver  Becne  was  the  ancient  name  of  Uaugor  Bay  ;  the  islands  near 

the  shore,  in  one  of  whicih  is  j»n  ancient  graveyard,  are  now  called  the 
Copeland  Inlands — the  name  ol"  the  foreigner  who  enjoved  the  lands  ot" 
Baiig-or  Abbey.  Dr.  M'C^ormic  k,  the  last  Abbot  of  Bangor,  died  in 
Maynooth,  and  is  buried  in  Larahbrine.  — Si'e  Laverty's  Down  aiui  Connvr. 


DUNG  A  L. 


383 


he  seems,  "however,  to  have  had  some  connection  with  the 
community  of  Sr.  Denis,  for  he  evidenity  recognised  the 
Abbot  Waldo  as  his  superior.  From  the  tone  of  this  letter 
we  can  also  infer  that  the  Great  Charles  honoured  the  Irish 
monk  with  his  intimacy  and  confidence,  and  the  monarch 
seems  to  have  the  highest  opinion  of  Dimgal's  learning.  He 
accordingly  requested  the  Abbot  Waldo  to  ask  the  Irish 
monk  to  write  an  explanation  of  the  two  solar  eclipses,  which 
are  said  to  have  happened  in  a.d.  810.  It  is  well  known 
that  Charles  took  a  great  interest  in  the  advancement  of 
knowledge,  and  was  himself  a  diligent  student.  Hence  he 
was  anxious  to  understand  that  portion  of  divine  philosophy, 
of  which  Virgil  sang— 

"  Defectus  soils  varies  hmaeque  labores." 

Moreover,  although  there  certainly  was  a  solar  eclipse  on 
the  30th  of  November,  a.d.  810,  visible  in  Europe,  it  was 
alleged  by  many  persons  that  there  had  been  another  eclipse 
in  the  same  year  on  the  7th  of  June,  if  not  visible  in  Europe, 
yet  certainly  visible  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  This  last 
point  especially  seems  to  have  staggered  the  scientific  faith  of 
the  royal  scholar,  and  hence  he  appealed  to  his  friend  Hungal 
for  an  explanation. 

The  letter  of  Dungal  in  reply  is  exceedingly  interesting. 
It  is  addressed  to  Charles,  and  is  entitled,  **  Dungali  Reclusi 
Epistola  de  duplici  solis  eclipsi,  anno  810  ad  Carolum 
Magnum."  We  have  read  it  over  cafefuUy.  It  is  written 
in  excellent  Latin,  and  shows  that  the  writer  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  many  of  the  classical  authors,  especially 
with  Virgil  and  Cicero.  But  we  cannot  guarantee  its  scientific 
accuracy  in  all  points.  He  starts  with  an  explanation  of  the 
celestial  sphere  according  to  the  Ptolemaic  system,  and  hence 
some  of  his  statements  seem  very  strange  to  those  acquainted 
with  the  Copernican  theory  only  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
In  the  main,  however,  his  explanation  of  the  eclipses  of  the 
sun  and  moon  is  accurate  enough.^     "  The  Zodiac,''  he  says, 

1  Quantum  ig-itur  spatii  lata  dimeiisio  (Zodiaoi)  porrectis  sideritus 
occupat,  duabus  lineis  limitatum  est,  et  tertia  ducta  per  medium  ecliptica 
vocatur,  quia  cum  cursum  suum  in  eadem  linea  pariter  sol  et  luna  confi- 
ciunt,  alterius  eorum  necesse  est  evenire  defectum  ;  solis  si  ei  tunc  luna 
succedat,  lunae  si  tunc  adversa  sit  soli.  Ideo  nee  sol  unquam  deficit  nisi 
cum  tricesimus  lunae  dies  est ;  et  nisi  quinto  decimo  cursus  sui  die,  nescit 
luna  defectum  ;  sic  enim  evenit  ut  aut  lunae  contra  solem  positae,  ad 
^utuandum  ab  eo  solidum  lumen,  sub  eadem  lineae  inventus  terrae  conus 
obsistat,  aut  soli  ipsa  succedens,  objectu  suo  ab  humane  aspectu  lumen  ejus 
repellat.  In  defectu  autem  sol  ipse  nihil  patitur  .  .  ,  luna  vtro  circa 
proprium  defectum  laborat  non  accipiendo  solis  lumen  cujus  beneficic 
uoctem  eolorat.  -  Mi(/ne^s  Patrol.,  Kc  105,  page  454. 


384  THE  SCHOOI,  OK   BA^CGOR. 

'*  or  space  tlirou«^h  which  the  planets  revolve,  is  bounded  by 
two  lines,"  which  he  takes  care  to  explain  are  imaginary. 
*'  A  third  line  drawn  between  them  is  called  the  ecliptic, 
because  when  the  sun  and  moon  during  their  revolution 
happen  to  be  in  the  same  straight  line  in  the  plane  of  this 
eel ij) tic,  an  eclipse  of  one  or  the  other  must  of  necessity  take 
place  ;  of  the  sun,  if  the  moon  overtake  it  in  its  course — ei 
succedat ;  of  the  moon,  if  at  the  time  it  should  be  opposice  to 
the  sun.  Whereibre,"  he  adds,  ''  the  sun  is  never  eclipsed 
except  the  moon  is  in  its  thirtieth  day  ;  and  in  like  manner 
the  moon  is  never  eclipsed  except  near  its  fifteenth  day.  For 
only  then  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  moon,  w^lien  it  is  full, 
being  in  a  straight  line  with  the  earth  opposite  to  the  sun 
receives  the  shadow  of  the  earth ;  while  in  the  other  case, 
when  the  moon  overtakes  the  sun  (is  in  conjunction),  by  its 
interposition  it  deprives  the  earth  of  the  sun's  light.  There- 
fore when  the  sun  is  eclipsed,  the  sun  itself  suffers  nothing, 
only  we  are  robbed  of  its  light;  but  the  moon  suffers  a  i^d) 
loss  by  not  receiving  the  sun's  light  through  which  it  is 
enabled  to  dispel  our  darkness."  "We  think  it  would  require 
an  intermediate  exhibitioner  to  give  as  lucid  an  exposition  of 
the  cause  of  the  eclipse  as  was  given  by  this  Irish  monk  of 
the  ninth  century,  and  we  are  quite  certain  he  would  not 
write  it  in  as  good  Latin. 

As  for  determining  the  exact  dates  of  the  eclipses  of  the 
sun,  and,  therefore,  the  possibility  of  having  two  in  the  year 
A.D.  810,  Dungal  cannot  undertake  to  compute  them,  not 
having  near  him  Pliny  the  Younger,  and  some  other  necessary 
works.  However,  the  thing  is  quite  feasible,  and  man}' 
ancient  philosophers  knew  and  foreknew — scieriint  et 
praescierunt — all  about  these  eclipses.  He  concludes  his 
letter  with  an  elegantly  written  eulogy  of  Charles  the  Great, 
imploring  all  Christians  to  join  with  him  in  beseeching  God 
to  multiply  the  triumphs  of  Charles,  to  extend  his  empire, 
preserve  his  family,  and  prolong  his  life  for  many  circling 
years.  The  language  in  the  original  is  exceedingly  well 
chosen  and  harmonious. 

After  this  time  we  lose  sight  of  Dungal  for  several 
years.  Charlemagne  died  in  a.b.  814,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Louis  the  Pious,  and  on  the  31st  of  July,  a.d.  817, 
Louis  associated  w  ith  himself  his  son  Lothaire  in  the  Imperial 
Government.  Lothaire,  young  and  energetic,  was  crowned 
King  of  Lombardy  in  a.d.  821,  and  next  year  proceeded  to 
j)ut  his  kingdom  in  order.  The  warlike  Lombards,  though 
conquered   by  Charlemagne,   and   kept  in   restraint    by  his 


DUNGAL.  38 


r 


strong  arm,  were  a  restless  and  turbulent  people.  Lothaire, 
believing  that  education  and  religion  would  be  the  most 
efficacious  means  to  keep  them  in  order,  and  consolidate  his 
own  power,  induced  Dungal  and  Claudius  of  Turin,  as  well 
as  several  other  scholars  of  the  Imperial  Court,  or  the  famous 
Palace  School,  to  accompany  him  to  Italy.  Claudius,  a 
Spaniard,  of  whom  we  shall  have  more  to  say  again,  was  made 
Bishop  of  Turin  ;  and  Dungal  opened  a  school  at  Pavia.  In 
a  short  time  it  became  famous  ;  for  the  master  was  the  first 
scholar  in  the  Court  of  the  Emperor.  Students  flocked 
from  every  quarter — from  Milan,  Brescia,  Lodi,  Bergamo, 
Novara,  Yercelli,  Tortona,  Acqui,  Genoa,  Asti,  and  Como.^ 
This  was  about  a.d.  822,  the  very  year,  or  as  others  say,  the 
year  after  Claudius  became  Bishop  of  Turin.  About  the 
same  time  Lothaire  himself  went  on  to  Rome,  wHertj  he  was 
crowned  emperor  by  the  Pope,  Pascal  I.,  with  great  solemnity 
in  A.D.  823. 

Dungal  and  Claudius  were  thus  immediate  neighbours. 
Both  were  ripe  scholars,  both  held  high  and  responsible 
positions ;  but  Claudius,  who  had  long  held  erroneous 
doctrines,  now  thought  it  safe  to  throw  off  the  disguise. 
The  wolf  showed  himself,  and  at  once  the  Irish  wolf  dog 
sprang  upon  his  foe.  In  order  to  understand  this  struggle, 
which  was  the  last  effort  of  Western  Tconoclasm,  we  must 
go  back  a  little  and  trace  the  chain  of  events  which  led  up 
to  the  crisis. 

The  Seventh  Ecumenical  Council,  and  Second  of  Nice, 
was  concluded  at  that  city  in  a.d.  787.  This  Council, 
nccepting  the  teaching  propounded  by  Pope  Hadrian  I.  in 
his  letter  to  the  Empress  Irene,  and  her  son  Constantino, 
explained  and  defined  the  Catholic  doctrine  concerning  the 
worship  of  images.  It  was  distiiictly  declared  that  supreme 
worship  was  due  to  God  alone  ;  but  that  an  inferior  worship 
should  be  rendered  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  saints ; 
and,  finally,  that  a  relative  worship  was  due  not  only  to  the 
sio^n  of  the  Cross,  but  also  to  the  pictures  and  images  of  the 
Blessed  Yirgin,  of  the  angels,  and  of  the  saints  of  God. 
This  relative  worship  was  not,  however,  paid  to  the  images 
on  account  of  their  own  supernatural  excellence  ;  it  was  only 
a  token  of  the  love  and  honour  which  Christians  have  for 
the  originals  represented  by  the  images. 

^  See  Lothaire's  Capitular,  De  Docirina^  published  by  Muratori.  * ' Primum 
in  Papia  conveniunt  ad  Dungalum  de  Mediolano,  de  Brixia,  etc.,  etc. "  So 
that  Dungal  may  be  iuatly  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  University  of 
Pavia. 

2   B 


386  THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

The  acts  of  this  famous  Synod  were,  of  course,  in  Greek, 
so  Pope  Hadrian  liad  tliem  translated  into  Latin,  and  sent 
a  copy  to  CliarlGmao:ne,  apparently  in  a.d.  789  or  790. 

Unfortunately  the  Latin  version  was  very  faulty  in  many 
respects.  Anastasius,  the  E-oman  J  librarian,  a  most  learned 
scholar  and  competent  authority,  declares  that  the  translator 
knew  very  little  of  the  genius  either  of  the  Greek  or  Latin 
language  ;  that  he  made  a  word-for-word  translation,  from 
which  it  was  frequently  impossible  to  ascertain  the  real 
meaning ;  and  hence,  in  his  time,  about  sixty  years  later, 
few  persons  were  found  to  read  or  transcribe  this  faulty  copy. 
So  Anastasius  himself  found  it  necessary  to  make  a  new  and 
correct  translation.  The  French  theologians,  therefore,  at 
whose  head  was  the  keen-eyed  Alcuin,  found  in  this  transla- 
tion many  things  to  censure,  in  which  they  were  right,  and 
many  other  things  they  censured  in  which  they  were  clearly 
wrong.  The  result  of  their  labours  is  known  to  history  as 
the  famous  Caroline  Books — Libri  Carolini.  They  were 
published  under  the  name  of  Charles  himself,  but  Alcuin  is 
generally  regarded  as  the  real  author.^ 

The  emperor  was  so  pleased  with  his  work  that  he 
resolved  to  send  this  treatise  to  the  Pope  himself.  Meantime, 
however,  he  convened  the  Synod  of  Frankfort  in  a.d.  794, 
at  which  some  three  hundred  Bishops  of  the  Frankish 
Empire  are  said  to  have  assembled. ^  Here,  again,  the  great 
monarch,  following  the  example,  but  scarcely  imitating  the 
modesty  of  Constantino  at  Nice  in  a.d.  325, .  presided  in 
person,  and  resolved  to  prove  himself  a  theologian.  The 
Synod  met  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Imperial  Palace.  The 
emperor  was  on  his  throne  ;  the  bishops  were  seated  round  in 
a  circle  ;  an  immense  throng  of  priests,  deacons,  and  clerics 
filled  the  hall.  Rising  up  from  his  seat  Charles  advanced, 
and  standing  on  the  step  of  the  throne  pronounced  an 
elaborate  harangue,  mainly  on  the  heresy  of  the  Adoptionists, 
but  referring  also  to  the  errors  of  the  last  Greek  Synod 
regarding  image  worship,  and  he  called  upon  the  prelates 
present  to  judge  and  decide  what  was  the  true  faith. 

The  Council  did  so,  at  least  in  their  own  opinion,  after 
ten  days'  discussion.  They  very  properly  condenined  the 
heresy  of  the  Adoptionists,  and  the  condemnation  was 
approved  in  Home  ;  but  in  the  Second  Canon  they  very 
improperly   censured   the   Second  Council  of  Nice,  as  if  it 

^  The  iiuthenticity  of  these  famous  Caroline  Books  can   no  longer  b« 
questioupd. 

2  The  real  number  is  unknown      See  Hefele,  vol.  v.,  p.  102. 


DUNGAii.  387 

declared  that  the  same  worship  and  adoration  were  due  to 
the  images  of  the  saints,  as  are  paid  to  the  Holy  Trinity. 
Of  course  the  Council  of  Nice  in  their  authentic  acts  had 
declared  exactly  the  reverse.  Moreover,  the  prelates  of 
Frankfort  added  that  they  would  give  neither  servitus  nor 
adoratio  to  the  images  of  the  saints ;  and,  no  doubt,  they 
were  right  in  the  sense  in  which  they  used  these  terms. 

It  seems  jjrobable  that  the  Caroline  Books,  written  about 
A.D.  790  or  791,  were  approved  of  in  this  assembly  before 
they  were  sent  to  the  Pope.  But  when  Hadrian  received 
them  he  very  promptly  and  effectively  refuted  them.  To 
each  censure  of  the  Council  of  Nice  he  gave  an  elaborate 
answer,  in  which  the  Pope  convicts  the  authors  of  the 
Caroline  Books,  from  the  extracts  sent  to  him,  of  grave  errors 
in  doctrine,  as  well  as  of  misquotations  and  misrepresentations 
of  the  Fathers.  He  shows  that  they  did  not  understand  the 
true  meaning  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  in  those  passages 
which  they  cited,  that  they  attributed  to  the  Mcene  Fathers 
errors  which  they  never  taught,  and  that  it  was  the  Pope,  not 
the  French  bishops,  who  had  received  authority  to  teach  the 
Universal  Church. 

The  authors  of  the  Caroline  Books  richly  deserved  this 
castigation.  They  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  the  Synod 
of  A.D.  754,  which  ordered  images  to  be  broken,  as  well  as 
the  Synod  of  a.d.  787,  which  commanded  them  to  be 
worshipped,  were  infamae  and  ineptissimae.  God  alone  is, 
according  to  them,  to  be  adored  and  worshipped,  and  the 
saints  may  be  venerated ;  but  no  kind  of  adoration  or 
veneration  may  be  paid  to  the  images  of  the  saints,  because 
they  are  lifeless,  and  made  by  the  hands  of  men.  It  is 
evident  the  Frankish  theologians  did  not  understand  what  is 
meant  by  relative  worship.  They  admit,  however,  that  the 
images  of  the  saints  may  be  retained  for  adorning  churches, 
ftnd  also  as  memorials  of  the  past ;  but  it  is  not  lawful  to 
worship  them  even  by  such  veneration  as  is  paid  to  men» 
salutationis  causa.  Such  is  the  substance  of  the  doctrine  put 
forward  by  the  authors  of  the  Caroline  Books.^  Pope 
Hadrian  died  on  Christmas  Day  a.d.  795,  and  the  controversy 
concerning  image  worship  seems  to  have  been  lulled  for 
some  years  in  the  West.  It  broke  out  again,  however,  with 
greater  warmth  in  a.d.  824.  In  the  month  of  November  of 
that  year  an  Embassy  arrived  at  Rouen,  where  Lothaire  was 

*  Hefeld  clearly  proves  that  the  eighty-five  Capitula  sent  to  the  Pope 
"were  not  exactly  the  same  as  they  are  in  the  Lihri  Carolini  which  we 
have.    But  there  was  no  substantial  difference  between  them. 


^88  THK  SCIIOOI-  OF  BANGOR. 

tlion  holding  his  court,  bearing  letters  and  presents  from  the 
Greek  emperor,  Micliael  the  Stammerer,  to  his  western 
brother. 

Michael  was  an  Iconoclast,  but  not  an  extreme  one  ;  and 
wrote  a  very  plausible  letter,  in  which  he  complains  of  the 
superstitious  excesses  of  the  image-worshippers  at  Constanti- 
nople. He  represents  himself  as  the  friend  of  peace  and 
harmony,  anxious  to  repress  the  excesses  of  both  the  extreme 
parties ;  and  he  beseeches  his  brother  Lothaire  to  lend  him 
liis  aid,  especially  by  his  influence  with  the  Pontifl"  of  the  old 
Rome,  to  whom  he  sends  several  presents  with  a  view  to 
gain  his  good  will  and  co-operation  for  the  same  laudable 
purpose.  Lothaire,  ignorant  of  the  real  facts  of  the  case, 
and  misled  by  this  most  deceptive  document,  promised  his 
assistance  to  the  Greek  ambassadors  in  Rome,  and  resolved 
to  aid  in  the  good  work  of  reconciling  the  extreme  parties  in 
the  East.  He  wrote  to  Pope  Eugenius  II.  to  that  efiect,  and 
asked  his  permission  to  appoint  a  conference  of  the  prelates 
of  his  empire,  with  a  view  to  sift  the  question  thoroughly. 
The  Pope  seems  to  have  consented  to  this  course ;  and  the 
conference  met  at  Paris  on  the  1st  of  November,  a.d.  825. 

These  gentlemen  issued  a  most  elaborate  production 
addressed  to  the  emperor,  by  him  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
Pope.  They  begin  by  attacking  the  letter  ol  Hadrian  to 
Constantino  and  Irene,  in  which  letter,  as  they  allege,  he 
ordered  images  to  be  superstitiously  adored — quod  super- 
stitiose  eas  adorari  jussit.  In  support  of  his  doctrine  he 
cited  the  Fathers,  but  according  to  them  it  was  valde  absona 
what  he  cited,  and  ad  rem  non  pertinentia. 

Then  they  attack  the  Second  Council  of  Nice  which 
gravely  erred  by  ordering  images  to  be  worshipped,  as  the 
Great  Charles  had  clearly  proved  in  the  books  sent  to  Rome 
by  the  Abbot  An  gilbert.  And  Hadrian,  too,  in  his  answer 
to  this  treatise,  when  defending  the  Synod,  wrote  what  he 
liked,  not  what  he  ought — quae  voluit,  non  tamen  qua 
debuit. 

This  was  not  enough  for  this  Paris  Conference  ;  they  had 
the  assurance  to  dictate  to  the  Pope  what  he  was  to  write  in 
reply  to  the  Greek  emperor;  and  to  Lothaire  himself  they  re- 
commended what,  he  ouGfht  to  write  to  the  Pope.  On  the  point 
of  doctrine  they  declare  that  nothing  made  by  the  hands  oi 
man  is  to  be  adored  or  worshipped  ;  and  to  prove  their  posi- 
tion they  quote  St.  Augustine,  who,  according  to  them,  says 
tliat  image  worship  lind  its  origin  with  Simon  Magus,  and 
u  meretncula  called  Helen  ! 


DtJNGAL.  389 

When  the  Emperor  Lothaire  receivvid  these  precious 
documents  from  the  two  prelates,  Halitgar  aud  Amalarius, 
deputed  to  present  them,  and  asce:  tained  their  contents,  he 
lold  them,  as  might  be  expected  from  a  sensible  man,  that 
tiie  letter  to  the  Pope  especially  contained  some  things  that 
uere  superfluous  and  more  that  were  impertinent.  He 
therefore  commissioned  Jeremias  of  Sens,  and  Jonas  of 
Orleans,  to  make  extracts  from  the  report  which  would  be 
more  to  the  point  and  less  likeh'  to  give  oft'ence  in  Rome  ; 
telling  them,  at  the  same  time,  to  show  every  respect  to  the 
Pope,  as  they  were  bound  to  do  ;  that  although  much  might  be 
gained  by  deference,  nothing  could  be  eff'ecied  by  exasperat- 
ing the  Pontiff.  If,  he  adds,  the  pertinacia  Romana  will 
make  no  concessions,  but  the  Pope  is  prepared  to  send  an 
embassy  to  Constantinople,  then  let  them  try  at  least  to 
induce  him  to  allow  the  emperor  also  to  send  an  embassy  in 
conjunction  with  that  of  the  Pope. 

The  emperor  himself  wrote  a  re*=!pectful  and  plausible 
letter  to  the  Pope,  urging  upon  him  to  send  ambassadors  to 
the  Greek  court,  adding  that  he  might  send  w^ith  them  the 
two  bishops  who  bore  the  report  of  the  Paris  Conference  to 
His  Holiness ;  and  that  thus  he  might  be  instrumental  in 
restoring  peace  to  the  distracted  Churches  of  the  East. 

Things  were  at  this  pass  when  Dungal  appears  upon  the 
scene.  The  prelates  of  France  were,  many  of  them  at  least, 
not  quite  sound  on  the  question  of  image  worship ;  but 
Claudius  of  Turin,  just  about  this  time,  brought  things  to  a 
crisis. 

This  Claudius  was  a  Spnniard,  educated  in  his  youth  by 
Felix,  Bishop  of  Urgel,  in  Spain,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Adoptionist  heretics.  The  mind  of  Claudius  was  infected 
with  this  as  well  as  several  other  errors  ;  but  especially  with 
the  most  extreme  form  of  Iconoclasm. 

Like  Dungal,  he  seems  to  have  been  in  high  favour  at 
court ;  but  he  kept  his  errors  at  that  time  to  himself,  at  least 
in  their  extreme  form.  When  appointed  to  the  See  of  Turin 
he  threw  off  the  mask.  On  his  first  or  second  visitation  he 
removed  the  crosses  from  his  cathedral,  he  broke  the  images 
of  the  saints,  and  the  holy  pictures  on  the  walls  ;  he  declaimel 
from  the  pulpit  even  against  the  worship  of  the  saints  them- 
selves, or  their  relics  in  any  shape  or  form;  and  finally, 
heartily  denounced  the  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  which  even  then 
was  customary  with  the  faithful,  as  unnecessary  and  super- 
stitious. 

'ihese  rash  and  violent  proceedings  gave  great  scandal  to 


390  11  IE  SCHUOL  OF  UANGOU. 

the  faitbful  of  the  diocese  They  were  divided  into  two 
factions ;  for  the  bishop  bad  numerous  partisans  of  his 
own,  but  they  were  in  a  minority  ;  and  on  one  occasion  the 
prehito  very  narrowly  oscapeii  bein^-  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
mob.  The  wily  Claudius,  however,  by  his  representations  to 
the  emperor,  in  which  he  threw  all  the  blame  on  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  superstitious  Lombards,  succeeded  iu  maintain- 
ing his  ground. 

About  A.D.  824  a  friend  of  his,  the  pious  Abbot  Theodemir, 
wrote  a  remonstrance  to  Claudius  on  his  jDroceedings,  in  which 
he  adjured  him,  by  the  memory  of  their  former  friendship, 
to  discontinue  these  odious  proceedings,  reminding  him  how 
unworthy  it  was  of  a  Christian  bishop  to  dishonour  the 
Saints  of  God,  to  insult  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  break  the 
images  of  His  saints  and  martyrs. 

This  gentle  remonstrance  only  made  the  Iconoclast  more 
furious.  He  wrote  a  reply  to  the  holy  abbot,  a  considerable 
portion  of  which  has  come  down  to  us,  and  shows  Claudius 
in  his  true  colours. 

It  is  entitled — "  Apologeticum  atque  Rescriptum  Claudii 
Epi?copi  adversus  Theutmirum  Abbatem.'^ 

It  was  this  work  brought  out  Dungal.  He  had  hitherto 
been  much  pained  at  the  proceedings  of  Claudius  ;  for  being 
then  in  Pavia  he  could  scarcely  be  ignorant  of  what  took 
place  in  Turin.  Most  of  the  French  prelates,  however,  them- 
selves more  or  less  infected  with  unsound  doctrine,  held  aloof; 
and  even  Agobard  of  Lyons  wrote  in  favour  of  Claudius,  so 
Dungal,  although  probably  only  a  deacon,  if,  indeed,  at  all  in 
holy  orders,  felt  it  his  duty  to  come  forward  as  the  champion 
ot  the  truth.  He  got  his  teaching  not  in  France  or  Germany, 
but  in  Ireland ;  so  he  was  not  tainted  with  the  errors  of  the 
Frankish  theologians. 

Dun  gal's  treatise  against  Claudius  is  entitled  :  "Dungali 
Ptesponsa  contra  Perversas  Claudii  Taurinensis  Episcopi 
Sententias." 

In  the  prologue  of  the  book  Dungal  declares  that  for  God's 
honour,  and  with  the  sanction  of  Louis  and  his  son  Lothaire, 
he  undertakes  to  defend,  on  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Fathers, 
the  Catholic  doctrine  against  the  frantic  and  blasphemous 
trifling  of  Claudius,  Bishop  of  Turin.  Many  times  since  his 
arriAiil  in  Italy  he  had  just  cause  to  complain,  whilst  he  saw 
the  field  of  the  Lord  oversown  witli  tares,  yet  he  held  his 
peace  in  grief  and  pain.  He  can,  howt  a  er,  do  so  no  longer, 
when  he  sees  the  Church  distracted,  and  the  people  seiiuced 
by  deceivers.      He  first  seta  forth  very  cloaily  the  points  at 


du'jsgal.  391 

issue  between  the  rival  parties,  and  then  proceeds  to  refute 
Claudius,  and  prove  the  Catholic  doctrine,  observing  at  the 
outset  that  it  was  astonishing  insolence  for  any  man  to 
presume  to  "  censure  and  blaspheme  that  doctrine  and  practice 
which  for  820  years  or  more  was  followed  by  the  blessed 
Fathers,  by  most  religious  princes,  and  by  all  Christian  house- 
holds up  to  the  present  time.'* 

After  proving  that  these  practices  were  not  only  not 
forbidden,  but  sanctioned  by  God  Himself  in  the  Pentateuch, 
he  goes  on  to  establish  this  tradition  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
quoting  most  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  fathers,  the  poems  of 
Paulinus,  Prudentius,  and  Fortunatus,  the  Acts  of  the  Martyrs 
and  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church.  He  quotes,  moreover,  the 
Apocalypse,  the  Gospels,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  at  great 
length,  to  prove  the  same  doctrine,  and  alleges  that  it  was 
the  universal  belief  and  practice  in  the  East  and  in  the  West 
from  the  days  of  the  Apostles  down  to  his  own  time.  The 
Greeks  lately  erred  ;  but  their  errors  were  retracted  and 
condemned. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  great  knowledge  of 
Sacred  Scripture  and  Patristic  literature  displayed  by  the 
author.  He  reasons,  too,  clearly  and  cogently  ;  and  writes  in 
a  limpid  and  flowing  style.  Indeed,  we  know  no  writer  of 
that  age  who  excels  Dun  gal  in  Latin  composition,  whether  in 
poetry  or  prose ;  and  this  is  generally  admitted  by  those 
acquainted  with  the  Latin  literature  of  the  period.  Muratori 
observes  that  this  work  shows  that  Dungal  was  a  man  of  wide 
iultiire.^  This  is  high  testimony  from  such  an  authority. 
Papirius  Massonus,  in  his  address  to  the  prelates  and  clergy 
of  Gaul  prefixed  to  the  treatise  of  Dungal,  calls  him  an 
excellent  theologian — TJicologus  excellcns — and  Alzog declares 
that  the  sophistical  reasoning  of  Claudius,  Bishop  of  Turin, 
was  refuted  by  Jonas,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  but  much  more  ably 
by  Dungal,  an  Irish  monk  of  St.  Denys,  and  subsequently 
by  Strabo  and  Hincmar  of  Pheims. 

Dungal's  was  not  only  the  ablest,  but  also  the  first  work 
that  was  written  on  the  subject ;  for  in  it  he  alludes  to  the 
Synod  or  Conference  of  Paris  in  a.d.  825,  as  held  two  years 
before.  So  it  must  have  appeared  in  a.d.  827,  long  before 
the  refutations  published  by  Jonas,  Eginhard,  Strabo,  or 
Hincmar.  Henceforward  Iconoclasm  began  to  lose  ground 
in  the  West ;  and  soon  entirely  disappeared,  until  revived  in 
the  sixteenth  century. 

^  Sacris  etiam  Uteris  ornatum,  et  simul  in  grammaticali  foro  ac  Prisciani 
deliciis  enutritum,  ut  facile  legenti  constabit. — See  Lanigan,  vol.  iii.,  ch.  20. 


392  THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 

As  was  observed  before,  towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
Duiigiil  retired  to  the  monastery  of  Bobbio,  to  which  he 
bequeathed  his  books.  From  Bobbio  they  were  transferred 
to  Milan,  in  a.d.  1606,  by  Cardinal  Frederic  Borromeo,  and 
are  now  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  of  that  city.  Among  them 
were  thne  Antiphonaries,  one  of  which  seems  to  have 
been  the  iamous  Bangor  Antiphonary.  Dun  gal,  no  doubt, 
procured  these  ancient  rituals  in  order  to  quote  them 
against  Claudius  in  support  of  the  Catholic  doctrine. 
He  appropriately  dedicated  the  work  to  his  countryman 
St.  Colurabanus.^ 

Columba,  as  Lanigan  observes,  was  the  real  name  of 
Columbanus,  the  founder  of  Bobbio,  and  in  all  probability, 
wben  Dungal  calls  himself  an  incola  of  the  saint,  he  rather 
means  fellow-countryman,  than  inmate  of  his  monastery. ^ 

We  cannot  staj^  to  criticise  the  poetry  of  Dungal.  His 
best  poem  is  an  elaborate  eulogy  on  Charlemagne,  written  in 
hexameter.  Some  critics  have  questioned  if  Dungal  were  the 
author  ;  the  style,  however,  even  of  the  opening  lines  of  the 
poem,  compared  with  the  first  lines  of  the  epitaph  which  he 
wrote  on  himself  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  **  Irish  Exile  ''  was 
Dungal.  The  smaller  poems  that  survive,  are  written  in 
elegiac  metre,  and  display  considerable  taste,  although  not 
much  imagination. 

There  is  every  reason  to  think  that  Dungal,  who  died 
about  the  year  a.d.  834,  was  buried  in  the  crj-pts  of  Bobbio. 
He  sleeps  well  with  the  friendly  saints  of  Erin;  and  we 
earnestly  join  in  his  own  humble  prayer,  that  he  may  live  for 
ever  with  those  saints  in  heaven,  even  as  their  dust  has  long 
commingled  in  their  far-off  graves  under  the  shadows  of  the 
Appenines.^ 


^  Muratori  adds,  that  in  one  of  the  MSS.  are  inscribed  these  words  : — 

**  Sancte  Columba  libi  Scotto  tuus  incola  Dungal 
'J'radidit  hunc  librum,  qiio  fratrum  corda  beentur. 
Qui  leges  ergo  Deus  pretium  sit  muneris,  oro." 

2  Some  critics  have  doubted  if  Dungal,  the  recluse  of  St.  Denys,  wlm 
jvrote  the  letter  on  the  double  ellipse  of  the  sun,  were  the  same  as  Dungal 
of  Pavia.  But  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  proof  offered  in  support  of  thoir 
theory;  hence,  to  refute  it  is  to  fight  with  cv  shadow.  The  unusual  name, 
the  similarity  of  style,  the  testimony  of  the  learned,  the  phrase  ex  quo 
(tempore)  in  banc  terram  (Italiamj  advenerim,  all  point  to  the  identity  of 
Dungal  in  Paris  and  in  Italy. 

■  "  Te  prccor  Omnipotons  quadrati  conditor  orbis, 
l)ungalus  ut  vigent  miles  \ibique  tuus, 
Sidereum  \it  vnloat  rite  comprondoro  Olynipum 
*ium  Sanctis  vitauKjuo  inirticipare  (juoat." 


ST.  MALACHY.  893 


lY.— St.  Malachy. 


We  cannot  close  the  history  of  the  School  of  Bangor 
without  giving  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  its  greatest  abbot,  St. 
Malachy,  who  may,  indeed,  be  regarded  as  its  second  founder. 
We  refer  to  him  here,  not  because  he  was  a  great  scholar  or 
a  distinguished  writer,  but  rather  because  the  Abbot  of 
Bangor  was  the  great  reformer  of  the  Irish  Church  in  the 
twelfth  centur}^ — a  man  pre-eminent  for  the  zeal,  energy,  and ' 
holiness  of  his  apostolic  career  in  the  face  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  and  dangers.  He  was,  says  the  Chronicon  Scoto- 
runiy  the  man  who  restored  the  Monastic  and  Canonical  rules 
of  the  Church  of  Erin ;  and  that  sentence  is  really  a  summary 
of  his  whole  life. 

St.  Malachy — in  Irish  Maelmeadhog — was  born  probably 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bangor  or  Armagh  in  the  year  a.d. 
1095.  The  family  name  was  O'Morgair,  or  O'Mongair,  which 
it  is  said  was  afterwards  changed  into  0'Doghert3\  His  father 
was  a  lay  professor  or  lecturer  in  the  School  of  Armagh ;  but  his 
mother  seems  to  have  come  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Bangor, 
of  which  her  brother,  the  uncle  of  Malachy,  was  afterwards 
titular  abbot  or  perhaps  airchinnech.  The  boy  was  thus  for- 
tunate not  only  in  having  the  advantages  of  a  famous  school 
and  a  learned  father ;  but  also  in  attaching  himself  as  a 
personal  friend  and  disciple  to  the  great  and  holy  Imar 
O'Hagan,  who  then  lived  as  a  recluse  in  Armagh.  It  was 
doubtless  under  his  holy  guidance  that  Malachy  acquired  that 
fund  of  solid  virtue  which  he  afterwards  exhibited  throughout 
his  life. 

In  consequence  of  his  eminent  virtues  whilst  still  very 
young,  Malachy  was  promoted  by  Celsus  of  Armagh  to 
deacon's  orders ;  and  shortly  afterwards,  before  he  had  at- 
tained the  then  canonical  age  of  thirty,  he  was  ordained  a 
priest  by  the  same  great  prelate. 

Wishing  to  perfect  himself  in  sacred  learning,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  laws  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  St.  Malachy 
next  went  to  the  great  College  of  Lismore,  which  was  at  this 
period  under  the  presidency  of  the  venerable  Malchus,  Bishop 
of  Waterford,  and  apparently  also  of  Lismore.  St.  Bernard 
describes  him  as  then  an  old  man  full  of  days  and  virtues, 
and  richly  endowed  with  divine  wisdom.  He  was  an  Irish- 
man by  birth,  but  had  been  trained  in  the  monastery  of  Win- 
chester to  a  more  accurate  knowledge  and  observance  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline  than  were  to  be  found  at  that  time  in 
Ireland.     Under  the  influence  and  direction  of  this  prelate 


3i)4  THE  scirooi.  of  ijangoii. 

tlie  School  of  Lisniore  beeaiiK^,  por])aps,  the  first  in  Irchmd/ 
and  St.  Malac'hy  fully  availed  himself  of  its  o^reat  advantages. 

On  his  return  from  Lismore  in  a.d.  1125,  he  was  at  once 
appointed  to  the  Abbacy  of  Bangor.  His  uncle,  the  lay  or 
titular  abbot,  gave  up  to  Malachy  peaceable  possession  of  the 
ruined  monastery  and  its  wide  domains,  and  became  himself 
an  humble  monk  of  the  new  community — yes,  a  new  commu- 
nity— the  abbey  lands  were  there,  and  a  nominal  abbot  who 
enjoyed  the  revenues,  but  no  church,  no  school,  no  commu- 
nity.^ The  ancient  home  of  the  saints  had  become  a 
wilderness,  the  stones  of  the  sanctuary  were  scattered,  no 
sa-rifice  was  offered  on  its  altars. 

It  w^as  the  work  of  the  Danes,  w^ho  made  a  more  complete 
rain  of  JJaugor  than  of  any  monastery  elsewhere ;  because  it 
was  on  the  sea- shore  of  that  narrow  channel  between  Down 
and  Galloway,  wliich  was  the  highway  of  the  pirates.  St. 
Bernard  says  that  it  was  reported  that  in  one  day  they  slew 
nine  hundred  monks  at  Bangor. 

Malachy  now  took  twelve  brethren  with  him  and  be^an 
to  build  an  oratory  once  more  at  Bangor.  It  was  finished  in 
a  few  days,  for  it  was  an  humble  building  in  the  Irish  style 
— opus  Scoticum — constructed  of  planed  boards,  but  closely 
and  firmly  put  together.  Cells  for  the  monks  were  built 
around  it,  and  thus  Bangor  ao:ain  began  to  flourish. 

Then  Malachy  most  unwillingly  was  taken  from  his  infant 
monastery  and  made  Bishop  of  Connor,  that  is  of  the  entire 
Connty  Antrim.  At  this  time  things  were  in  a  dreadful 
state  in  Antrim.  There  is  no  reason  to  question  the  testi- 
mony of  St.  Bernard.  He  is  an  independent  and  impartial 
witness,  who  got  his  information  from  St.  Malachy  and  the 
disciples,  whom  he  had  left  at  Clairvaux.  No  doubt  St. 
Bernard  is  rhetorical  in  st}  le,  but  he  is  definite  in  statement. 
The  natives  were  indocile  and  immoral.  They  neglected  to 
go  to  confession,  contracted  illegitimate  marriages,  paid  no 
tithes  or  first  fruits.  There  were  few  priests,  and  no  preach- 
ing in  the  churches.  Malaj:jhy  girt  up  his  loins  for  the  work 
before  him.  He  went  amongst  the  people  on  foot,  accom- 
panied with  a  few  disciples.  He  admonished,  he  instructed, 
ho  ordained  priests,  he  preached  the  Gospel  everywhere.  Ho 
had  to  endure  much,  but  in  the  end  he  succeeded.  The  face 
of  the  country  was  soon  changed,  the  desert  bloomed  as  a 
garden,  and  the  people  that  wot  e  not  the  Lord^s  became  once 
again  the  chosen  people  of  God. 

^  St.  Bernard  sayn  it  was  "iiobilior  inter  caetcius  regni  illius." 
'  See  St.  Bernard's  grupliic  account. 


ST.   MALACHY.  395 

It  was  during  these  years  that  Malachy  went  to  the  south 
of  Ireland  on  a  visit  to  his  friend  Cormac  Mac  Carthy,  King 
of  Cashel,  and  there  founded  the  monastery  which  St. 
Bernard  calls  monasterium  Ibracense,  on  land  given  him  by 
King  Cormac  for  that  purpose.  St.  Celsus,  Archbishop  of 
Armagh,  had  been  driven  by  usurpers  out  of  his  See,  and 
was  now  in  the  south  of  Ireland,  at  Ardpatrick,  in  the  co. 
Limerick,  over  which,  as  heir  of  St.  Patrick,  he  claimed  certain 
rights.  Feeling  his  end  approaching,  and  knowing  that  St. 
Malachy  was,  of  ail  others,  best  fitted  to  succeed  him  in  the 
Chair  of  St.  Patrick,  he  sent  him  his  crozier  as  a  token  of  his 
wish  to  have  Malachy  as  his  successor. 

But  Malach}^  was  unwilling  to  be  transferred  to  the 
priraatial  See,  and  not  without  good  reason.  First  of  all  he 
wished  the  translation  to  be  made  in  a  canonical  way  by  the 
bishops  of  the  province  with  the  sanction  of  Gilbert  the  Papal 
Legate.  This,  however,  was  soon  accomplished,  the  temporal 
princes  also  giving  their  cordial  adhesion  to  the  proposal. 
Then  Malachy  consented  on  one  condition,  that  when  things 
were  put  in  order  in  Armagh,  he  might  be  free  once  more  to 
return  to  his  own  diocese  und  his  beloved  monastery  of 
Bangor. 

Malachy  now  found  that  he  had  even  a  more  difficult  and 
dangerous  task  to  accomplish  in  Armagh  than  had  awaited 
him  in  the  County  Antrim. 

For  more  than  two  hundred  years  a  family  of  usurpers  had 
established  themselves  at  Armagh,  and  held  the  land  and  See 
of  Armagh,  transmitting  it  from  father  to  son,  or  grandson, 
in  regular  hereditar}^  succession.  Most  of  them  were  laymen 
and  married  men  ;  but  they  paid  regularly  ordained  prelates 
to  perform  all  necessary  episcopal  functions,  kee]?ing  for 
themselves  the  lands,  the  nomination  to  the  churches,  and 
even  the  titles  of  Bishops  and  Abbots  of  Armagh. 

It  has  been  said  that  some  of  these  married  men  were 
regularly  consecrated  prelates  duly  recognised  by  the  Irish 
Church.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  for  the  statement, 
except  ^/ze  name  of  bishop  which  is  given  to  some  of  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  unexceptionable  testimony  that 
these  men  were  laymen,  and  that  the  title  of  bishop  was 
given  to  them,  although  they  were  laymen.  St.  Bernard 
settles  the  question.  He  says  that  this  wicked  and  adulterous 
generation  were  so  obstinate  in  asserting  this  right  of  here- 
ditary succession,  that  although  clerics  of  their  blood  were 
wanting,  bishops  were  never  wanting — that  is  bishops  who 
were  not  even  clerics.     Of  these,  he  says,  before  Celsus  there 


396 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  BANGOR. 


were  eight  married  men,  learned  enough  but  without  orders.^ 
"  Denique  jam  octo  extiterant  ante  Colsum  viri  uxorati,  et 
absque  ordinibus,  litterati  tamen."  Gerald  Barry  tells  exactly 
the  same  story — that  various  churches  in  Ireland  and  Wales 
had  lay  abbots.^  He  explains  too,  how  it  camo  to  pass. 
Certain  powerful  men  in  the  parish,  who  were  at  first  the 
stewards  of  the  church  lands,  and  defenders  of  the  clergy, 
afterwards  usurped  the  ownership  of  the  lands,  and  in  order 
to  secure  tb^m  for  themselves,  their  children,  or  their  rela- 
tions, thev  called  themselves  abbots  and  owners  of  the  lands, 
leaving  only  to  the  clergy  such  chance  oiferings  as  tbey 
might  happen  to  receive. 

Such  a  svstem  vras  of  course  the  fruitful  root  of  many 
evils.  St.  Malachy  resolved  to  expel  these  usurpers  from 
the  See  of  Armagh.  It  was  a  long  and  difficult  task  ;  and 
frequently  his  life  was  in  deadly  peril.  But  God  visibly 
protected  him  ;  he  was  patient,  too,  and  prudent,  as  well  as 
zealous ;  and  in  the  end  was  completely  successful.  After 
three  years  of  patient  toil,  he  was  universally  recognised  as 
Primate  ;  and  having  thus  banished  the  usurpers,  he  resigned 
the  See  to  the  care  of  the  learned  and  saintly  Gelasius,  and 
retired  once  more  to  his  beloved  Bangor,  keeping  only  the 
charge  of  the  episcopal  Church  of  Down. 

We  cannot  follow  St.  Malachy  through  his  subsequent 
glorious  career.  lie  went  to  Itome  and  was  specially 
honoured  by  Pope  Innocent  II.,  who  put  his  own  mitre  on 
his  head,  and  his  own  stole  around  his  neck  in  presence 
of  his  court,  and  appointed  him  his  Legate  ibr  all  Ireland. 
On  bis  way  to  Home  be  stopped  at  Clairvaux,  where  he  had 
the  good  fortune  of  meeting  St.  Bernard,  who  became  bis 
dearest  and  most  intimate  friend.  In  him  too,  St.  Malacby, 
more  fortunate  even  than  St.  Columba,  found  a  biographer 
who  made  the  virtues  and  merits  of  the  Irish  saint  known  to 
posterity,  and  to  the  entire  Church  of  God. 

The  saint  also  left  at  Clairvaux  four  of  his  disciples  to  be 
trained  there  under  the  eyes  of  St.  Bernard  himself  in  the 
discipline  of  the  great  Cistercian  Order.  It  is  to  them  we 
owe  the  introduction  of  that  order  into  Ireland  in  a.d.  1142, 
and  all  the  great  religious  houses  which  the  Cistercians 
ibunded  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Ireland. 

After  his  return  home,  armed  with  the  plenary  powers  of 
Papal  Legate,  Malachy   devoted   himself  with   even   more 

^  See  Vita  Mfilnohine,  o.  10. 

'^"Notamlmu  quod  haoc,  ooolosia,  sicut  ot  aliao  poi*  HilHTniiMn  ot 
Walliara  pluros,  abbatotn  laicuin  habet."  llin.  (\imbriae,  L.  II.,  C  4.  A 
'similar  practice  existed  at  the  saino  time  in  the  Celtic  Church  of  iScutland. 


ST.  MALACHY.  397 

zeal  and  success  than  before  to  the  reformation  of  his  own 
diocese,  and  the  general  restoration  of  ecclesiastical  discipline 
throughout  the  kingdom.      He  was  ably  suT3ported  by  the 
Irish  prelates  both  in  the  North  and  in  the  South  ;  and  he 
would  have  changed   the   face  of  the  Church  before  many 
years,  but  it  pleased  God  to  call  him  to  Himself  all  too  soon 
for  Ireland.     In  a.d.  1148  he  went  to  France  to  meet  Pope 
Eugene  III.,  who  was  then  at  Clairvaux.     Before  Malachy, 
however,  arrived,  the  Pope  had  departed,  but  he  was  consoled 
by  the  warm  welcome  which  he  received  from  St.  Bernard 
and  his  monks.     Shortly  after  the  Irish  saint  fell  sick  to 
the  great  sorrow  of  the  community,  but  Malachy  consoled 
them,  and  told  them  that  there  was  no  chance  of  his  recovery 
for  it  was   God's   will   that   he   should   die   at    Clairvaux. 
Feeling  his  strength  failing  he  caused  all  the  brethren  to  be 
summoned  to  his  beclsido.     At  once  they  came — St.  Bernard 
at  their  head.     *'  With  longing  I  have  longed,"   said  the 
dying  man,  "  to  eat  this  pasch  with  you  '' — that  is  the  holy 
Viaticum — **  before   I  die,   and  I   thank  my  God  that  my 
longing  has  been  gratified."     Blessing  them  one  by  one  he 
said,  "  Pemember  me,  and  please  God  I  will  not  forget  you." 
So  saying  he  rested  a  little  ;  but  towards  midnight  the  com- 
munity was  summoned   again,   and   while    they   wept  and 
prayed  around  his  bed,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,  and  '*  the 
Angels  carried  his  soul  to  Heaven."     It  was  at  midnight 
between  the  1st  and  2nd  of  November,  but  the  latter  being 
All  Souls'  Day,  his  Feast  is  kept  on  the  3rd  of  November. 
He  was  canonized  by  Pope  Clement  III.,  about  the  year 
A.D,  1190. 


CHAPTER    XYII. 

THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONENAGH. 

I. — St.  Fintan. 

'*  Pleasant  to  sit  here  thus 
Beside  the  cold  pure  Nore." 

— Leahhar  Breac. 

Several  famous  religious  houses  were  in  ancieut  days 
founded  around  the  base  of  the  Slieve  Bloom  mountains,  and 
the  great  saints  who  founded  them  were  mostly  contem- 
poraries and  intimate  friends.  Saigher,  now  called  Serkieran, 
from  the  name  of  its  founder,  Ciaran  the  Elder,  was  situated 
in  the  old  territory  of  El}'-,  at  the  north-western  base  of  the 
mountain,  about  four  miles  east  of  Birr.  Exactly  at  the 
southern  corner  of  the  mountain  slope  St.  Molua  built  his 
oratory,  which  was  called  from  him  Cluain-ferta-Molua,  but 
is  now  known  by  the  name  of  Kyle.  St.  Cronan's  Church  of 
E/Oscrea,  his  first  oratory,  close  to  Corville  House,  and  the 
beautiful  little  abbey  of'Monahincha — Giraldus'  Island  of  the 
Living — called  by  the  Four  Masters,  Inis-locha-Cre — are  all 
still  to  be  seen  in  the  north-western  extremity  of  Tipperary, 
not  more  than  three  miles  from  Kyle.  There  on  the  great  plain 
that  stretches  along  the  south-eastern  base  of  the  mountain, 
we  find,  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  railway  to  Maryborough, 
first  St.  Canice's  old  abbey  of  Aghaboe,  then  farther  on  to  the 
left,  near  Mountrath,  is  St.  Fintan's  Church  of  Clonenagh. 
Not  far  from  Clonenagh  is  the  townland  of  Disartbeagh, 
where  St.  ^ngus  used  to  sit  by  the  side  of  the  *  cold  pure 
Nore/  and  like  Abraham,  received  visits  from  the  angcds. 
Still  further  on,  not  far  from  Maryborough  to  the  right,  are 
Dysartenos,  to  which  the  same  j3Engus  gave  his  name,  and 
Coolbanagher  beyond  the  Heath  of  Maryborough,  where  he 
saw  the  angels  around  the  grave  of  the  old  soldier  who  loved  to 
invoke  the  saints  of  God.  Not  inviting  from  a  scenic  point 
of  view  are  the  marshy  meadows  and  sluggish  streams  oJ 
that  broad  plain ;  but  it  is  relieved  by  the  great  boUl 
mountain  on  the  left,  and  more  than  all  it  is  crowded  with 
memorials  of  the  saints  of  God. 

Clonenagh,  in  Irish,    Cluain  Eidncch,  the  Ivy  ^feadow, 
is  situated  about  four  miles  south-west  of  Maryborough,  in  the 


ST.  FINTAN.  399 

Queen's  County.  At  one  time,  it  is  said,  there  were  no  less 
tlian  seven  churches  there,  and  the  fact  that  there  are  at  least 
four  distinct  old  grave-3ards,  quite  convenient  to  each  other, 
shows  that  there  were  at  least  several  distinct  churches 
around  Clonenagh  in  ancient  times.  From  the  sixth  to  the 
twelfth  century,  it  was  not  onl}^  a  great  school  and  monastery, 
but  also  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  who  appears  to  have  exercised 
jurisdiction  over  the  western  portion  of  the  ancient  Leix 
(Laeghis),  the  territory  of  O'Moore. 

It  was  indeed  a  secluded  spot,  almost  surrounded  by  bogs, 
but  the  rounded  slopes  of  its  verdant  knolls  gave  picturesque 
variety  to  what  would  otherwise  be  a  very  dreary  scene.  Its 
founder,  St.  Fintan,  was  a  very  remarkable  man — in  fact  an 
extreme  type  of  the  asceticism  of  the  age ;  yet  he  was  greatly 
beloved  in  his  own  time,  and  his  influence  was  felt  for  many 
centuries  after  his  death.  Clonenagh,  too,  derives  a  special 
interest  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  Alma  Mater  (A  ^ngus 
the  Culdee,  the  most  ancient  and  reliable  authority  we  have 
on  the  history  of  the  early  saints  of  Ireland. 

Fintan  was  the  son  of  Gabhren,  of  the  race  of  Eochaidh 
Finofuathairt,  and  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  territory 
of  Leinster.  Leinster  at  that  time  was,  roughly  speaking, 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  River  Barrow,  and  did  not 
include  Leix.  This  Eochaidh  was  a  brother  of  Conn  the 
Hundred- Fighter,  who  came  to  help  the  Leinster  King  to 
expel  the  men  of  Munster  from  Leix  and  Ossory.  For  this 
service  he  received  the  Seven  Forthartha  in  Leinster,  in 
which  he  and  his  descendants  settled.  The  Barony  of  Forth 
in  Wexford  was  one  of  these  districts,  and  still  retains  the 
name.  There  is  a  local  tradition  that  Fintan  was  born  near 
Clonenagh,^  but  this  can  hardly  be  reconciled  with  the 
express  statement  of  his  Leinster  origin.  His  mother  was 
Findath,  probably  of  the  same  race.  She  was  warned  by  an 
angel  to  retire  to  a  secret  place  until  after  the  birth  of  her 
son,  who  would  be  holy  to  the  Lord.  On  the  eighth  day  the 
child  was  baptized  by  a  certain  holy  man,  who  dwelt  in 
Cluain  Mac  Trein  ;  and  hence  it  would  appear  that  it  was 
near  this  place  the  child  was  born.  It  is  supposed  that  the 
place  takes  its  name  from  Trein,  or  Trian,  son  of  the  cele- 
brated Dubthach  Mac  Ua  Lugair,  who  rose  up  to  do  honour 
10  St.  Patrick  at  Tara.  The  Hy-Trian,  his  descendants  by 
tnis  Trian,  seem  to  have  been  located  at  Limbrick,  in  the 
Barony  of  Gorey,   county  Wicklow,  and  it   is   not  unlikely 

1  At  a  place  now    called  Churchfield,   where  a  disused  churchyard  is 
supposed  to  mark  the  site  of  a  church  built  there  in  his  honour. 


400  THE  SCHOOL  OF   Cf.ONENAGH. 

that  Fintc'in  was  born  there  about  the  year  a.d.  525.  We 
know  that  he  was  a  little  younger  than  Columcille.  and  as  the 
latter  was  born  about  a.d.  521,  Fintan  must  have  been  born 
a  few  years  later. 

During  his  youth  Fintan  studied  under  the  care  of  the 
holy  man  who  baptized  him  ;  but  the  place  is  not  indicated 
in  his  life.  It  must  have  been  some  place  not  very  far 
from  Clonard,  for  we  are  told  that  on  one  occasion  as 
Columcille  was  passing  not  far  off,  he  stopped  and  invited 
his  companions  to  visit  the  master  and  his  pupil.  Fintan 
already  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  had  told  his  master 
to  prepare  for  guests,  as  Columcille  was  coming  to  visit  him. 
The  master  doubting  the  boy,  and  probably  a  little  jealous 
of  the  favour  shown  him,  sharply  rebuked  Fintan  for  his 
presumption ;  but  when  Columcille  arrived,  he  rebuked  the 
master,  and  told  him  that  both  himself  and  his  place  of  abode 
would  belong  to  Fintan  for  ever.  This  would  seem  to  imply 
that  this  incident  took  place  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Clonenagh. 

Shortly  afterwards  Fintan  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
Columba  Mac  Crimthann,  better  known  as  Columba  of 
Terrygiass  ;  but  he  had  yet  not  founded  that  celebrated 
establishment  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Derg.  With  Fintan 
there  were  two  others,  St.  Caemhen  of  Annatrim,  not  far  from 
Clonenagh,  and  St.  Mocumin,  or  Mochocma,  who  succeeded 
Columba  at  Terrygiass.  These  were  both  half-brothers  of  the 
great  St.  Kevin  of  Glendalough ;  and  very  naturally  v  ere 
placed  under  the  care  of  St.  Columba,  son  of  Crimthann,  wno 
was  their  first  cousin.  Fintan  was  probably  also  connected 
with  these  saints  by  family  ties,  as  they  all  came  originally 
from  the  same  district  of  Leinster.  At  first  it  seems  Columba 
wished  to  settle  with  his  disciples  at  some  place  in  their  native 
territory — in  finibus  Lageniensium — and  actually  had  chosen 
a  beautiful  spot  for  their  monastery,  where  they  hoped  to 
live  together  in  holiness  and  peace  ;  for,  says  the  Life,  they 
had  only  one  heart,  and  in  the  gladness  of  their  united  souls 
they  cried  out  to  their  master,  **  Oh  !  it  is  good  for  us  to  be 
here.'*  "Not  so,**  said  Columba;  "  God  reserves  this  place 
not  for  us,  but  for  one  not  yet  born,  Mobhi  Mac  Calde,"^  or, 
as  it  is  elsewhere,  Mobhi  Mac  Cumalde.  The  true  reading 
is  probably  Mobhi  Mac  Colmaidh,  who  was  the  son  of 
Caeltigcrna,  a  sister  of  St.  Kevin,  and  a  nephew  (yet  unborn) 
of  the  two  brothers,  Mocumin  and  Caemhen  ;  but  the  place 


^  Salamanca  AfS. 


ST.  FINTAN.  401 

of  his  Church  has  not  been  ascertained.  Thereupon  they 
left  the  territory  of  Leinster  and  came  to  the  place  now  called 
Clonenagh,  where  they  remained  for  an  entire  year  without, 
however,  founding  there  as  yet  any  permanent  establishment. 
It  was  surrounded  by  bogs,  but  sheltered  by  great  oak  woods 
festooned  with  clustering  ivy.  Great  crowds  of  people, 
however,  and  amongst  them  numbers  of  their  own  friends, 
continued  to  crowd  in  upon  the  saints,  and  disturbed  their 
repose,  so  that  Columba  resolved  to  seek  some  more  retired 
place  in  which  to  serve  God.  They  saw  the  wild  solitudes 
of  Slieve  Bloom  rising  over  them  to  the  north-west,  and 
thither  Columba  now  directed  his  steps,  followed  by  his 
faithful  disciples.  On  the  mountain  side  th^py  met  several 
boys  who  were  herding  cattle,  one  of  whom,  Setne,  was 
voiceless  from  his  mother's  womb.  Columba  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  upon  his  mouth,  and  bade  him  tell  them  the 
place  of  their  resurrection.  Then  the  dumb  boy  spoke  plainly, 
and  told  each  of  them  where  he  was  to  die,  and  arise  from 
the  dead.  Hereupon  Columba  looking  down  the  mountain 
saw  Clonenagh,  which  they  had  left, filled  with  God's  angels, 
and  he  was  much  saddened  at  the  sight.  Upon  inquiry  he 
told  them  the  reason — how  he  saw  the  place  they  had  deserted 
filled  with  ministering  angels,  and  how  anxious  he  was  that 
some  of  tbeni  should  return  to  the  holy  spot.  So  Fintan 
promptly  volunteered  to  return,  and  thus  became  the  real 
iuunder  of  that  great  monastic  establishment,  which  ever 
since  bears  his  name. 

Numbers  of  disciples  now  gathered  round  him,  for  the 
fame  of  his  sanctity  was  very  great.  He  wrote  a  E-ule  for 
liis  community  which  unfortunately  has  been  lost;  but  we 
are  told  that  it  was  very  strict,  even  beyond  the  monastic 
rules  of  that  time.  His  monks  worked  with  hands  and  feet, 
digging  the  soil  with  spade  and  hoe,  as  hermits  usually  do. 
They  had  no  cattle — not  even  a  single  heifer — and  therefore 
no  milk ;  they  even  refused  to  take  the  milk  which  their 
neighbours,  pitying  their  poverty,  used  to  bring  them.  Fintan 
would  not  allow  it. 

Cainnech,  however,  of  Aghaboe,  and  other  saints  in  the 
neighbourhood  came  to  Fintan,  and  begged  him  to  remit  a 
little  of  the  extreme  rigour  of  their  lives.  Fintan,  divinely 
admonished,  yielded  to  their  suggestions — remitting  the 
severity  of  his  rule  in  favour  of  others — but  still  himself 
adhering  to  his  own  practices  of  mortification. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  a  man  was  filled  with  the  spirit 
of  prophecy,  and  performed  manv  wonderful   miracles,  that 

2c 


402  THK  SCHOOL  OF  CLONENAGH. 

were  much  noised  abroad.  One  miracle  is  recorded,  wliich 
illuslratos  the  spirit  of  filial  affection  that  prevailed  in  the 
midst  of  all  this  rigour  of  discipline.  The  saint  went  out  to 
see  his  monks,  who  were  working  in  the  field.  When  they 
saw  their  father,  like  children,  the  half-starved  monks  ran  up 
to  him,  and  catching  hold  of  him,  they  besought  him  to  give 
them  something  better  than  usual  for  their  refection,  as  great 
folk  do,  who  visit  the  workmen.  Fintan  smiled  on  his 
children,  and  told  them  he  had  nothing  to  give  them ;  but 
that  God  was  good,  and  might  give  in  his  stead.  Next  day 
certain  men  came  from  Leinsler,  bringing  to  the  monastery 
waggon  loads  of  provisions,  as  much  as  eighty  men  could 
carry,  so  that  the  poor  famished  brethren,  living  almost 
entirely  on  herbs,  got  more  than  one  good  meal  from  these 
supplies. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  pupils  that  issued  from  this 
great  school  was  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor.  So  great  was  the 
fame  of  Clonenagh  at  this  period  that  Comgall  came  all  the 
way  from  Dalaradia  to  place  himself  under  the  guidance  of 
its  holy  abbot.  As  Clonenagh  was  founded  about  the  jeiXT 
A.D.  548,  when  Fintan  was  not  more  than  twentj^-five  years 
of  age,  Comgall  can  hardly  have  arrived  there  earlier  than 
A.D.  550^  and  in  that  case  the  master  was  probably  eight  or 
ten  years  younger  than  the  disciple — a  not  unusual  occurrence 
in  those  days.  Comgall  at  first  felt  all  the  severity  of  the 
discipline  at  Clonenagh,  and  was  greatly  tempted  to  abandon 
his  purpose;  but  by  God's  grace,  and  the  advice  of  Fintan, 
he  persevered,  and  then  found  his  soul  filled  with  great  spiri- 
tual joj\  He  remained  some  years  at  Clonenagh,  where  he 
formally  received  the  monastic  habit,  though  he  was  not  yet 
admitted  to  Holy  Orders.  By  Fintan's  advice  he  then  re- 
turned home  to  found  the  celebrated  monastery  on  the 
southern  shores  of  Belfast  Lough,  which  will  be  for  ever 
connected  with  his  name. 

On  another  occasion,  a  certain  cruel  and  heartless  king, 
Colman,  son  of  Cairbre,  the  ruler  of  North  Leinster,  kept  in 
bonds  a  noble  youth,  Cormac,  the  son  of  Diarmaid,  king  of 
Hy-Iiinselhigh,  with  the  intention,  it  appears,  of  putting 
him  to  death.  Fintan,  who  was  himself  connected  with  the 
royal  race  of  the  Hy-Kinsellagh,  set  out  with  twelve  com- 
panions for  Ivathmore,  where  Colman  then  lived  and  kept  his 
prisoner.  This  is  more  likely  to  be  iJathmore,  about  four 
miles  east  of  Naas,  where  the  great  rath  still  exists,  tlKin 
llathmove,  east  of  Tullow,  in  the  county  AV^ic'kh)\v.  In  the 
Salamanca  /]/wS\,  the  ])hHM^  is  calhnl  Rat/tuioiri,nni\  there  is  a 


ST.    FINTAN.  403 

Rathmoon  close  to  Baltinglass,  wlifch  possibly  may  have 
been  the  scene  of  the  miracle.  When  Cohnan  heard  of 
Fintan's  approach,  he  locked  his  gates,  and  doubled  the 
guards  over  the  prisoner ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  The  gates 
opened  of  themselves  to  adroit  Fintan,  and  the  terrified 
guards  ran  off  to  tell  their  still  more  affrighted  master,  who 
quickly  consented  to  release  young  Cormac.  One  of  Colman's 
sons  wished  to  slay  the  late  captive  before  he  could  get  away ; 
but  Fintan  threatened  him  with  Divine  vengeance,  a  threat 
that  was  speedily  fulfilled,  for  he  was  slain  before  the  end  of 
a  month,  whilst  Cormac,  the  captive,  became  a  monk,  and 
ended  his  days  in  peace  and  holiness  in  the  monastery  of 
Bangor.  It  may  be  that  he  was  a  fellow- student  of  Comgall 
at  Clonenagh,  and  was  thus  induced  to  go  to  the  monastery 
of  his  old  fellow- student.  We  find,  indeed,  that  an  in- 
timate friendship  and  intercommunication  existed  between 
these  two  monasteries;  and  very  frequently  the  monks  of 
Clonenagh  paid  a  visit  to  St.  Comgall  at  Bangor,  by  whom 
they  were  always  most  kindly  received. 

On  another  occasion  Fintan  was  sojourning  at  the  monas- 
tery of  Achad-Finglass,  most  likely  founded  by  himself  at 
Idrone,  in  the  County  Carlow.  The  old  church  of  Agha, 
about  four  miles  east  of  Old  Leighlin,  probably  marks  the 
site  of  this  monastery.  A  holy  bishop,  called  Brandubh,  of 
the  Hy-Kinsellagh,  came  to  ask  permission  of  the  saint  to  be 
allowed  to  end  his  days  at  Clonenagh.  The  saint  readily 
consented,  but  advised  the  bishop  rather  to  remain  where 
they  then  were,  and  where  the  rule  was  not  so  strict,  and 
would  not  be  so  severe  as  at  Clonenagh.  The  bishop  followed 
Fintan's  counsel,  but  induced  him  to  promise  that  in  case 
Fintan  died  first,  he  would  soon  come  to  meet  him,  and 
bring  his  soul  to  heaven.  Fintan  promised,  and  kept  his 
word ;  for  three  weeks  after  his  ovm  death,  he  came  with 
seven  spirits,  clothed  in  white,  to  bring  to  heaven  the  holy 
soul  of  the  venerable  bishop.  May  not  this  Agha  monaster}^ 
be  that  religious  house  founded  by  Columba  and  his  three 
disciples  in  the  territory  of  the  men  of  Leinster  before  they 
came  to  Clonenagh  ? 

"  No  one,"  says  the  writer  of  his  Life,  *'  can  describe  the 
charity,  meekness,  humility,  patience,  abstinence,  watchings, 
and  other  virtues  of  this  blessed  man."  He  constantly 
watched  over  his  community  with  the  most  tender  and 
devoted  care.  He  was  always  ready  to  succour  the  afflicted, 
and  to  protect  the  oppressed ;  his  was  a  name  which  good 
men  loved,  and  bad  men  feared  throughout  all  the  territory 


404  THK    SCHOOL    OP    Cl-ONENAGH 

uf  Leinster.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  chose  one  of  his 
own  monks,  named  Fintan  Maeldubh,  as  his  successor,  and 
'placed  liini  in  his  cliair.'  Then  calling;  all  the  members  of 
the  community  around  liim,  he  raised  his  hands  to  header, 
and  solemnly  gave  them  his  blessing.  After  which  he  re- 
ceived the  *'  Sacrifice,"  and  went  to  sleep  in  the  Lord.  He 
died  on  the  I7th  February,  about  the  year  a.d.  592,  some 
time  before  the  death  of  St.  Columba  in  a.d.  597. 

A  young  man  from  Leix  went  to  lona,  and  when  there 
asked  St.  Columba's  advice  as  to  the  choice  of  a  spiritual 
director,  when  he  should  return  home.  Columba  recom- 
mended Fintan  as  the  best  and  holiest  director  he  knew. 
We  are  told,  however,  that  shortly  after  this  young  man's 
return  to  Ireland,  Fintan  was  called  to  his  reward;  which 
shows  that  he  must  have  died  at  Clouenagh  before  St. 
Columba  died  at  lona.  He  was  buried  at  Clonenagh;  but 
there  is  now  no  trace  of  his  tomb. 

St.  Fintan  has  been  called  by  many  old  writers  the 
Father  of  the  Irish  Monks,  and  he  has  been  likened  in  his 
manner  of  life  to  St.  Benedict,  the  great  founder  of  western 
monastic! sm — at  least  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  He  was 
not,  indeed,  the  oldest,  nor  even  the  most  celebrated  of  the 
Second  Order  of  Irish  Saints,  who  devoted  themselves  to  the 
monastic  life.  But  he  founded  his  monasieiy  when  very 
young;  his  own  life  was  extiemely  ascetic;  and  he  had 
amongst  his  novices  and  disciples  several  ol  the  most  cele- 
brated founders  of  religious  houses  in  Ireland.  In  this  way 
it  came  to  pass  that  as  Finnian  of  Clonard  was  the  tutor  of 
the  Saints  of  Ireland,  so  Fintan  came  to  be  described  as  the 
Father  of  the  Irish  Monks.  And  as  Clonard  was  looked  upon 
as  a  great  school,  so  Clonenagh,  like  Aran,  came  to  be  re- 
garded during  the  life  of  its  holy  founder  as  a  kind  of 
noviciate  for  the  training  of  monks,  many  of  whom  went  to 
Bangor,  and  elsewhere ;  and  thus  diffused  through  Erin  his 
discipline  and  his  spirit. 

The  most  remarkable  scholar  of  Clonenagh  was  Sc. 
-^ngus,  the  Culdee. 

II. — St.  ..^Engits. 

j^ngus  was  a  student  at  Clonenagh  during  the  prelacy  of 
the  Abbot  Melaithgen  or  Melaithgenius. 

The  materials  for  a  Life  of  St.  JEngus  are  very  scanty. 
We  have  no  original  T^ife,  and  only  two  documents  that  tell  us 
anything   about    him — the    Scholiast's    Introduction    to    his 


ST.    ^NGUS.  405 

writings,  and  a  poem  in  praise  of  the  saint,  written  by  a 
namesake,  apparently  not  yery  long  after  his  death.  From 
these  two  sources  we  gather  the  following  facts  : — 

Through  his  father,  Oengoba,  son  of  Oblen,  he  derived 
his  descent  from  Coelbach,  King  of  Ireland,  who  belonged  to 
the  royal  race  of  the  Dalaradians  of  Ulster.  He  was  probably 
born  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Clonenagh,  about  the  middle  of 
the  eighth  century.  From  his  earliest  youth  he  seems  to  have 
been  trained  to  sanctity  and  learning  in  the  monastic  school 
of  Clonenagh,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  then  ruled  b)^  the 
learned  and  pious  Melaithgen.  Under  this  holy  master  the 
young  ^ngus  made  very  great  progress.  He  not  only 
became,  as  his  writings  prove,  an  accomplished  scholar,  but 
also  a  model  of  every  virtue.  He  seems  to  have  been  devoted 
to  ascetical  practices  even  from  his  earliest  youth ;  and  he 
loved  to  spend  most  of  his  time  in  prayer  and  solitude. 
Hence  he  came  to  be  called  by  excellence  the  Culdee,  that  is, 
the  Cei'/e  De,  or  servant  of  God.  He  was  probably  the  first 
to  whom  this  appellation  was  given,  as  a  kind  of  surname  in 
recognition  of  his  great  sanctity  and  self-denial.  Afterwards 
the  name  was  given  to  other  ascetic  solitaries,  who,  though 
not  a  religious  order  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  still 
formed  communities  of  anchorites  living  apart,  but  yet 
frequently  meeting  in  the  same  church  for  devotional  pur- 
poses, and  recognising  a  common  superior  to  whom  they  were 
duly  obedient.  Later  on  numbers  of  the  secular  clergy 
formed  themselves  into  somewhat  similar  communidesi, 
and  came  to  be  known  by  the  same  name.  They  were  in 
reality,  however,  what  is  known  as  Canons  secular,  that  is  a 
body  of  secular  clergy,  living  apart,  but  subject  to  a  common 
rule,  which  was  generally  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine. 

The  Cez7e  De  of  the  earlier  period  divided  his  time  between 
prayer,  manual  labour,  and  literary  employment,  if  he  were 
a  man  of  learning  and  ability.  He  was  never  a  burden  to 
others,  for  he  and  his  brethren  contrived  to  procure  from 
their  little  farms  not  only  their  own  scant  and  meagre  fare, 
but  also  the  means  of  hospitable  entertainment  for  the  poor 
and  the  stranger. 

^ngus  seerns  to  have  spent  many  years  in  this  kind  of 
solitary  life,  living  alone  in  his  little  cell,  and  finding  susten- 
ance in  the  roots  of  the  earth,  or  the  produce  of  his  garden. 
His  first  cell  was  probably  at  Disert-beagh,  which  is  not  more 
than  a  mile  from  Clonenagh,  and  likely  got  its  name  from 
having  been  the  desertum,  or  solitary  abode  of  the  saint.  He 
had  not  yet  forsaken  his  beloved  community  of  Clonenao^h  on 


406  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLO^ENAGH. 

thu  banks  of  the  infant  Norc  ;  and  ho  loved  thorn  doarly  to 
the  end,  if  we  may  believe  his  poetical  namesake  in  the 
Leabhar  Breac — 

"  Plf'asant  to  sit  heie  thus 
Beside  the  cold  pure  Nore," 

And  then  follow  the  stanzas  which,  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold 
declared,  show  as  fine  a  perception  of  what  constitutes  pro- 
priety and  felicity  of  style  as  anything  to  be  found  in  a  Greek 
epitaph  — 

•*  ^ngus  out  of  the  assembly  of  Heaven, 
Here  are  his  tomb  and  his  bed, 
It  is  hence  he  went  to  death, 
On  Friday  to  the  holy  Heaven ; 
It  is  in  Cluain  Eidnech  he  was  reared, 
It  is  in  Cluain  Eidnech  he  was  bnried, 
It  is  in  Cluain  Eidnech  of  many  crosses 
He  first  read  his  psalms.'' 

But  Disert-beaorh  was  not  lonely  cDough  for  ^'Engus — it  was 
too  near  the  great  monastic  school,  and  doubtlcsss  his  solitude 
was  often  disturbed  by  truant  youth,  or  inquisitive  strangers. 
tSo  he  put  his  books  in  his  satchel,  took  his  staff  in  his  hand, 
and  made  his  way  as  best  he  could  through  the  bogs  and 
moi  asses,  whore  the  raihvay  now  runs,  until  he  came  to  the 
place  called  after  him,  Dysert  Enos  or  the  Desert  of  -^ngus. 
It  is  about  eight  miles  from  Clonenagh,  and  two  to  the  south- 
east of  Maryborough  on  the  slope  of  a  broken  ridge  of  bluish 
gray  limestone,  that  relieves  to  some  extent  that  drear}^  an  i 
featureless  plain.  The  preseut  grave-yard,  surrounding  the 
roofless  Protestant  Church,  probably  marks  the  site  of  the 
primitive  oratory  founded  by  ^ngus  ;  and  shows  that  though 
dead  to  the  world,  like  most  of  his  countrymen  the  self- 
denying  ascetic  had  an  eye  for  the  natural  beauty  of  a 
picturesque  landscape.  It  afforded  him  too  what  he  no  doubt 
prized  much,  a  distant  prospect  of  his  beloved  Clonenagh, 
beyond  the  swampy  moorland,  under  the  shadow  of  Slieve 
•BJiom. 

In  this  lonely  retreat  ^ngus  practiced  the  severest 
penitential  observance.  lie  made  three  hundred  genuflections 
every  day  ;  and  moreover  recited  the  entire  psaltery.  But 
not  in  ordiuary  fashion  ;  he  divided  his  self-imposed  otiice 
into  three  parts.  Fifty  psalms  he  said  in  his  cell ;  fifty  more 
he  recited  in  the  open  air  under  the  shade  of  a  spreading  tree 
that  embowered  his  little  oratory  ;  the  last  fifty,  if  we  cun 
credit  his  biographer,   he  repeated  with  his  neck   chained 


ST.  ^NGUS.  407 

to  a  post,  anl  bis  body  half  plunged  in  a  huge  tub  of  cold 
water. 

Penance  like  tbis  showed  that  ^ngus  was  a  saint ;  so  in 
spite  of  his  efforts  to  conceal  himself  the  world  soon  found 
him  out,  and  strangers  began  to  disturb  him  once  more. 
Before  all  things  he  loved  to  be  alone,  and  so  once  again  he 
resolved  to  make  his  escape  from  men,  and  hide  himself  for 
ever  from  their  foolish  admiration  and  applause.  This  time 
he  resolved  to  adopt  another  plan,  and  strove  to  escape  from 
the  crowd  not  so  much  by  shunning  their  presence,  as  by 
concealing  his  identity. 

It  is  doubtful  if  ^ngus  when  setting  out  knew  what  was 
to  be  his  final  destination.  He  left  his  cell  at  Dysart  Enos, 
trusting  solely  to  the  guidance  of  Providence ;  and  Provi- 
dence never  deserts  those  who  put  their  trust  in  God. 

Shortly  after  setting  out  on  his  journey,  as  we  should 
now  say  towards  Dublin,  ^ngus  entered  a  way-side  church 
to  pray  to  God,  and  ask  His  guidance  and  protection.  This 
was  probably  the  first  church  which  he  met  on  his  way  ;  it 
is  now  called  Coolbanagher,  about  four  miles  from  Dysart 
Enos,  beyond  the  Heath  of  Maryborough,  and  not  far  from 
Portarlington.  There  he  saw  a  vision  of  angels  hovering 
around  a  newly-made  grave.  He  asked  the  priest,  who 
served  the  little  church,  whose  was  that  new  grave.  The 
priest  told  him  it  was  the  grave  of  a  soldier  who  had  served 
God  faithfully  for  many  years.  Then  iEngus  asked  him  was 
he  in  the  habit  of  practising  any  special  mortification,  or  any 
peculiar  devotion.  The  priest  knew  of  nothing  special,  or 
unusual,  in  his  case,  except  that  he  made  it  a  constant  practice 
every  day  to  invoke  the  intercession  of  all  God's  saints, 
whom  he  could  call  to  mind.  This  incident  made  a  very 
deep  impression  on  ^ugus.  He  saw  how  meritorious  it  was 
to  invoke  the  saints ;  and  so  he  resolved  thereafter,  if  he 
could  find  time  and  place,  to  compose  a  metrical  catalogue  of 
the  saints,  which  devout  souls  might  more  easily  remember 
and  recite  for  their  own  spiritual  welfare. 

Afterwards  j3Engus  went  his  way,  and  at  length  came  to 
St.  Maelruain's  monastery  at  Tallaght,  near  Dublin,  then,  and 
almost  ever  since,  a  favourite  home  of  religious  men.  He 
was  quite  unknown  to  the  inmates  of  the  monastery,  so, 
concealing  his  name  and  learning,  he  sought  admission  into 
the  commimity  as  an  humble  lay-brother.  His  pious  request 
was  readily  granted  ;  but,  of  course,  the  novice  was  put  to 
the  meanest  and  hardest  work  in  the  monastery.  He  reaped 
the  corn  in  the  field  ;  carried  it  to  the  barn  on  his  back  • 


408  rHE  scHooj.  of  oi.onenagh. 

threshed  it ;  winnowed,  dried,  and  ground  it  in  the  mill  for 
the  use  of  the  brotherhood,  lie  wore  the  poorest  rags  he 
could  find  during  his  rounds  of  daily  toil ;  his  hair  was  so 
unkempt  that  it  was  as  if  the  ears  of  corn  grew  in  it ;  his 
hands  were  horny  with  the  flail,  and  his  face  black  with 
sweat  and  dust.  So  he  lived  unknown  to  all,  labouring  with 
his  hands,  but  praying  to  God  in  his  heart. 

At  length  it  pleased  Providence  to  uncover  this  shining 
light,  so  that  it  might  be  seen  by  men.  A  truant  scholar  of 
the  monastery,  who  was  either  unable  or  neglected  to  learn 
his  lesson,  fearing  to  present  himself  before  the  abbot  in 
class,  took  refuge  in  the  barn  where  --Engus  was  working. 
He  sympathised  with  the  poor  boy,  bade  him  lie  down  in 
the  straw,  and  rest  himself,  and  that  all  would  be  well.  The 
boy  did  so,  and  soon  fell  fast  asleep  in  the  barn.  When  he 
awoke  refreshed,  ^ngus  asked  him  to  repeat  the  lesson  ;  he 
obeyed,  and  partly,  no  doubt,  by  the  instructions,  and  partly 
by  the  kind  encouragement  of  the  good  monk,  he  completely 
succeeded  in  mastering  his  lesson,  ^ngus  then  told  him  go 
to  the  school,  but  to  say  nothing  of  what  happened  in  the 
barn.  The  boy  went  to  his  class,  and  astonished  his  master 
by  having  his  lesson  perfectly — which  seems  to  have  been  in 
his  case  quite  an  unusual  occurrence.  The  abbot,  suspecting 
something,  made  inquiries,  and  insisted  on  learning  the 
whole  truth.  Then  the  boy  confessed  what  took  place  in  the 
barn,  and  how  the  lay-brother  had  gone  over  his  lesson  with 
him.  The  truth  at  once  flashed  upon  the  mind  of  Maelruain; 
he  had  probably  heard  of  the  disappearance  of  -ZEngus  from 
Dysart  Enos,  and  now  felt  certain  that  the  hard-working  lay- 
brother  was  no  other  than  the  great  scholar  of  Clonenagh. 
So  he  went  at  once  to  the  barn,  and  embracing  ^ngus 
most  tenderly,  reproached  him  for  so  long  concealing  himself 
from  the  community,  -^ngus  humbly  asked  pardon  of  the 
abbot,  which,  of  course,  had  been  already  granted,  and  was 
at  once  received  into  his  most  intimate  friendship — a  friend- 
ship that  endured  until  Maelruain's  death. 

The  abbot  now  resolved  to  utilize,  for  God's  glory,  the 
great  learning  and  talents  of  the  distinguished  scholar,  whom 
Providence  had  bestowed  on  the  community  of  Tallaght. 
TRngiifij  on  his  part,  was  most  anxious  to  co-operate  with 
Maelruain  ;  and  so  thc^e  two  holy  men  set  about  the  composi- 
tion of  those  works  which  have  contributed  so  much  to  the 
glory  of  God,  and  of  the  ancient  Church  of  Ireland. 

The  Martyrology  of  Tallaght  ^^9^  probably  their  first 
work  :  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  jomt  production  of 


ST.  JENGUS.  409 

^iigus  and  Maelruain.  If  so,  it  must  have  been  written 
before  the  year  a.d.  792,  when  Maelruain  died.  It  is 
described  by  O'Curry  as  a  catalogue  in  prose  of  the  saints 
of  Erin,  and  their  festival  days,  with  brief  notices  in  some 
instances  of  their  fathers  and  of  the  churches  which  they 
founded.  It  is  considered  to  be  the  oldest  of  our  Irish 
Marty rologies  ;  and  according  to  Michael  O'Clery — no  mean 
authority — it  furnished  the  materials  for  the  great  poem 
^  called  the  Felire^  or  Festology  of  the  Saints,  which  ^ngus 
susbequently  composed.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  explain  O'Curry's 
objection  to  this  hypothesis — namely,  that  it  contains  the 
names  of  several  saints  who  lived  longer  than  ^ngus 
himself — as,  for  instance,  of  Blathmac,  who  was  martyred 
in  Hy  by  the  Danes  in  a.d.  823,  and  Felimy  MacCriffan 
(Crimhthainn)  King  of  Munster,  who  died  in  a.d.  825 — for 
these  names  may  have  been  added  by  a  later  hand,  or  by 
the  first  copyist.  The  oldest  copy  of  this  Martyrology  is 
found  in  the  Book  of  Leinster^  but  Brother  Michael  O'Clery 
made  a  more  complete  copy,  which  is  now  in  the  Burgundian 
Library  at  Brussels.  It  was  borrowed  from  the  Belgian 
Government  in  1849,  and  copied  for  Dr.  Todd  by  the  late 
lamented  Eugene  O'Curry.  The  same  text  was  translated 
and  published,  with  notes,  by  Dr.  Mathew  Kelly,  of  May- 
nooth,  in  1847. 

The  most  celebrated,  however,  and  by  far  the  most  valu- 
able of  the  writings  of  ^ngus  is  his  Felire,  or  Festology  of 
the  Saints.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  this  work  from  thf» 
vision  of  Angels  which  he  saw  in  the  old  Church  of  Cool- 
banagher,  over  the  grave  of  the  poor  soldier,  who  used  to 
invoke  the  saints  of  God.  Doubtless,  as  an  aid  to  the  memory, 
it  is  written  in  verse,  and  in  what  O'Curry  pronounces  to  be 
the  best  and  purest  style  of  our  language — the  Gaedhlic  of 
the  eighth  century.  The  same  authority  declares  that  it  is 
the  oldest  and  the  most  important  of  all  our  Marty  rologies. 
One  of  the  best  copies  is  that  contained  in  the  famous  com- 
pilation called  the  Leabhar  Breac,  or  Great  Book  of  Duniry, 
in  the  county  Galway  In  the  preface  or  introduction  to  the 
work  there  is  a  short  notice  of  the  writer,  and  of  the  time, 
place,  and  purport  of  his  composition. 

The  time  of  its  composition  was  during  the  reign  of  the 
monarch  Aedh  Oirnidhe,  who  reigned  from  a.d.  793  to  817, 
so  that  though  planned  during  the  abbacy  of  Maelruain,  it 
was  not  written  until  after  his  death.  It  appeared  probably 
about  the  year  a.d.  800,  with  the  approbation  of  one  of  the 
greatest  scholars  of  the  time,  "  Fothadh  of  the  Canon." 


410  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONENAGII. 

O'Curry  conjectures  that  at  this  period  ^ngus  liad  left 
Tallaght  and  ret'jrned  to  his  first  cell  at  Disert-beugh,  near 
Clonenagh.  Aedh,  the  King,  just  at  this  time  made  an  in- 
cursion into  Leinster,  and  pitched  his  camp  not  far  from 
Monasterevan,  in  the  Queen's  County.  It  seems  that  up  to 
this  period  the  clergy  were  compelled  to  follow  the  native 
princes  in  battle,  and  even  sometimes  took  an  active  part  in 
the  conflict.  This,  however,  was  altogether  against  the 
Canon  Law  ;  and  on  the  present  occasion  Conmach,  the 
Primate-Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  his  clergy  protested 
against  the  practice,  and  appealed  to  the  king  to  allow  them 
to  return  home  and  confine  themselves  to  the  discharge  of 
their  spiritual  functions.  The  king  took  this  remonstrance 
in  good  part,  and  as  they  were  encamped  in  Leix,  offered  to 
refer  their  complaint  to  the  decision  of  Fothadh,  his  own 
poet,  tutor,  and  adviser.  Fothadh  thus  appealed  to,  gave  his 
decision  in  favour  of  the  clerics  and  against  the  king,  and 
being  a  poet  gave  it  in  rhyme.  His  decision  thus  given, 
exempting  the  clergy  from  military  service,  was  known  as 
the  Canon,  and  he  himself  came  to  be  called  Fothadh-na- 
Canoine. 

Fothadh  showed  the  stanzas  in  which  he  expressed  his 
decision  to  ^ngus,  who  entirely  approved  of  it  both  as  to 
matter  and  form,  ^ngus  on  the  same  occasion  showed  his 
own  poem  on  the  Saints  of  Erin  to  Fothadh,  for  he  was  fully 
sensible  of  the  great  importance  of  securing  for  his  own  work 
the  approbation  of  the  royal  Bard.  That  approval  was 
warmly  and  generously  given,  accompanied  with  a  strong 
recommendation  to  the  faithful  generally  to  use  the  poem  in 
their  public  and  private  devotions. 

The  Felire  is  divided  into  three  parts :  the  first  part  is 
introductory  to  the  body  of  the  work,  and  consists  of  five 
quatrains,  invoking  in  very  beautiful  language  the  gift  of 
heavenly  wisdom  from  the  Kini^:  of  the  White  Sun,  that  the 
poet  may,  with  a  pure  heart,  fitly  celebrate  the  praises  of  the 
royal  hosts  of  the  great  and  good  all-righteous  King.  He 
then  alludes  to  the  consolation  which  he  himself  found  in 
celebrating  the  praises  of  the  saints.  He  describes  the  various 
torments  which  the  soldiers  of  Jesus  suffered,  and  which 
they  endured  with  joyful  heroism.  Now  they  enjoy  their 
reward  for  ever  with  Mary's  Son ;  while  their  bodies  here 
below  are  enshrined  in  brio:ht  o-old.  Herod  and  Pilate  are 
then  contrasted  with  Christ,  Nero  with  Peter  and  Paul, 
Pilate's  queen  with  the  Virgin  Mary.  Earthly  power  ami. 
glory  are  fleeting  in   comparison  with  the  l6TJ  of  '  Mary's 


ST.  tENGUS. 


411 


Son/  and  earthly  princes  are  less  tlian  the  lowly  soldiers  of 
Jesus.  Tara  has  perished,  but  Armagh  is  still  crowded  with 
the  SODS  of  wisdom.  King  Laeghaire's  glory  is  gone,  but 
Patrick's  name  still  lives  and  will  live  for  ever. 

The  body  of  the  work  contains  365  quatrains,  in  which 
the  writer  celebrates  on  every  day  the  praises  not  only  of  our 
principal  Irish  saints,  but  also  commemorates  several  saints 
of  the  Universal  Church.  The  text  is  interlined  with  a  very 
ancient  gloss  and  commentary,  as  well  as  with  notes  fixing 
the  sites  of  the  churches  of  several  of  the  saints  referred  to. 
This  gloss  and  the  accompanying  notes,  whilst  adding  much 
to  the  difficulty  of  editing  the  work  itself,  render  it  an  in- 
valuable aquisition  to  the  historian  and  archseologist. 

In  the  third  part  the  author  recapitulates  his  poem,  explains 
its  construction  and  arrangement,  directs  the  faithful  how  to 
use  it,  and  apologises  for  the  fact  that  of  necessity  he  could 
only  introduce  the  chiefs  and  princes  of  the  saints  into  his 
poem.  Yet  he  spared  no  pains  to  make  it  as  complete  as 
possible,  consulting  lor  the  foreign  saints,  Ambrose,  Jerome, 
and  Eusebius  ;  and  for  the  Irish  saints,  he  not  only  consulted 
"the  countless  hosts  of  the  illuminated  books  of  Erin,"  but 
he  himself  travelled  throughout  the  entire  country  visiting 
their  churches  and  collecting  the  local  traditions  regarding 
them.  Lest,  however,  any  might  be  jealous  for  being 
omitted,  he  invokes  them  in  this  third  part  under  certain 
general  heads — patriarchs,  prophets,  virgins,  martyrs,  etc., 
etc. — so  that  not  a  single  one  of  the  heavenly  host  at  home 
or  abroad  can  complain  of  the  want  of  some  reference  to  his 
or  her  memory.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Felire 
of  ^ngus  is  on  the  whole  the  most  valuable  of  the  Irish 
ecclesiastical  treatises  that  have  happily  been  preserved  down 
to  our  own  times. 

Another  valuable  work  which  we  owe  to  the  indefatigable 
industry  of  ^-Engus  is  the  collection  of  Pedigrees  of  the  Irish 
Saints — the  oldest,  and  therefore  the  most  authentic  collec- 
tion that  we  possess,  and  enriched  moreover  with  valuable 
topographical  notes  and  references  to  many  of  our  ancient 
churches.  The  fifth  part  of  this  work  is  the  Book  oj 
Litanies,  which  has  been  published  in  the  third  volume  of 
^he  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record.  It  affords  conclusive  proof 
of  ooie  fact,  that  the  invocation  of  the  saints  was  not  only  a 
well  recognised,  but  quite  a  common  form  of  devotion  in  the 
early  Church  of  Ireland.  Indeed  there  is  scarcely  a  single 
folio  of  any  portion  of  the  writings  of  ^ngus  that  does  not 
afibrd  conclusive  evidence  of  the  same  fact. 


il2  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLONENAGH. 

The  last  work  of  ^ngus  is  the  Saltair-na-Rann,  which 
Euj^ene  O'Curry  describes  as  *'  consistiug  of  150  poems  or 
the  history  of  the  Old  Testament,  written  in  the  finest  styk 
of  the  Gaedhlic  language  of  the  middle  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury/* Probably  it  got  its  name  from  its  resemblance,  at 
least  in  number,  to  the  Psalms  of  David.  It  is,  according  to 
the  same  authority,  altogether  a  different  work  from  the  com- 
paratively modern  poem  of  the  same  name  in  the  British 
Museum. 

In  the  year  1880  the  Felire^  or  Metrical  Calendar  of 
JEngus,  edited  and  translated  by  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes,  was 
published  by  the  Royal  Irish  Acalemy.     In  a  paper  read  be- 
fore the  Academy  so  early  as  1871,  and  prefixed  to  this  work. 
Dr.  Stokes  asserts  that  .^ngus  cannot  have  been  the  author 
of  the  Felire ;  tliat  similar  linguistic  reasons  prove  that  he 
cannot  have  bjon  the  author  of  the  Saitair-ita-Ranrty  and 
that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  trustworthy  evidence  to  show 
that  ^ngus  ever  wrote  either  the  Pedigrees  of  the  Irish 
Saints^  or  his  celebrated  Litany  of  the  Irish  Saints.     Dr. 
Stokes  is  a  conscientious  and  painstaking  writer,  but  with  a 
love  of  originality  in  his  views.     We  carefully  examined  the 
reasons  which  he  gives  in  favour   of   these    very  original 
views,  and  we  must  say  we  thought  them  exceedingly  hollow. 
As  to  his  linguistic  reasons  for  asserting  that  the  Felire  and 
the  Saltair  could  not  have  been  written  before  the  close  of 
the  tenth  century,  we  may  confidently  set  the  opinion  of  an 
Irish   scholar   like    Eugene   O'Curry    against   that   of    Dr. 
Whitley  Stokes,  whose  knowledge  of  Irish  is  purely  book 
knowledge.     There  is  not  a  single  linguistic  form  in  the 
MSS.,  which  he  alleges  to  be  later  than  the  eighth  century, 
that  cannot  be  explained  by  the  well-known  custom  of  the 
copyists   modernizing   the  language  of  the  MSS.,    so  as  to 
make  their  copies  more  intelligible  to  those  for  whom  they 
wrote.i    We  have  already  explained  how  in  a  similar  way 
the  names  of  a  i^^^^  saints,  and  of  the  author  himself,  might 
have  been  added  to  the  Felire   by  a  copyist  who  wished  to 
pay  honour  to  a  favourite  saint  of  his  own  church.     Flimsy 
reasons  of  this  kind  manifestly  cannot  outweigh  the  explicit 
testimony  of  the  Scholiast's  Introduction — written  before  the 
twelfth  century  in  very  ancient  Irish — that  these  were  the 
works  of  ^ngus,  and  giving  us  the  time,  the  place,  and  the 
circumstances  of  their  composition,  with  the  few  facts  that 
are  known  to  us  concerning  the  life  of  the  writer. 


^  "  All  trauscripts,"  says  Skene,  "  show  the  orthogra^hv  and  l'orm»  of 
their  period"  of  tranwcription. -i^'owr  Anciait  Books  of  W  (i/w,  p.  IS-i 


ST.  ^.NGUS. 


413 


It  is  ver^'  likely  that  iEugus  died  in  Lis  beloved  retreat 
at  Disert'beagli ;  but,  according  to  the  ine'rical  Life,  he  was 
buried  at  Clonenagh.  He  had  laboured  long  and  travelled 
far  to  illustrate  the  history  of  the  saints  of  bis  native  land; 
and  now  that  long  day's  work  was  done,  and  he  lay  down  to 
sleep  in  the  bosom  of  the  dear  and  holy  scenes  of  his  child- 
hood. He  knew  that  the  pious  brotherhood  of  Clonenagh 
would  not  forget  to  chant  for  many  a  year  the  requiem  for  his 
soul's  repose ;  and  that  the  '  pure  cold  il^ore  '  of  his  youthful 
love  would  breathe  lis  gentle  murmurs  near  his  grave  for 
ever.  But  his  voice  has  not  been  stilled  by  the  flight  of 
centuries — even  now  he  speaks  to  us  on  earth  in  his  writings, 
and  he  prays  for  us  amongst  the  choirs  of  angels  and 
saints  in  heaven. 

Clonenagh  suffered  so  much  during  the  Danish  wars  thai 
it  gradually  fell  away  from  its  ancient  importance,  and  in  the 
twelfth  century  sank  to  the  rank  of  a  parochial  church.  At 
present  it  is  only  a  gieen  mound  associated  with  a  hisforie 
uan.^N 


CnAPTEE    XYIII. 
THE    SCHOOL    OF    GLENDALOUGH. 

I. — St.  Kevin. 

*•  By  that  lake,  whose  gloomy  shore 
Skylark  never  warbles  o'er, 
Where  the  cliff  hangs  high  and  steep, 
Young  St.  Kevin  stole  to  sleep." 

— jlfixire 

Glknpalough — the  Valley  of  the  Two  Lakes — is,  for  a 
religious  and  cultivated  mind,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
spots  in  Ireland.  Nature  has  made  it  wild  and  beautiful ; 
religion  has  hallowed  its  scenery  with  the  holiest  associations ; 
the  genius  of  song  has  lit  up  its  dark  lakes  and  mountains 
with  all  the  radiance  of  romance.  It  is  one  of  those  places 
the  very  sight  of  which  raises  the  mind  from  mean  and  sordid 
thoughts  to  the  contemplation  of  what  is  beautiful  and  good. 

This  will  be  felt  all  the  more  by  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  hol}^  and  self-denying  life  of  the  founder  of  Glenda- 
lough.  His  career  is  peculiarly  interesting  and  attractive ; 
for  he  was  a  man  of  the  most  amiable  disposition,  and  yet  of 
the  most  austere  virtue  ;  a  lover  of  nature  and  a  teacher  of 
men,  with  the  emotional  soul  of  a  poet,  and  a  conscience  of 
angelic  purity.  We  are  told  that  the  wild  birds  loved  to 
alight  on  his  shoulders,  and  that  the  savage  beasts  fawned  at 
his  feet.  He  felt  himself  most  at  home  in  the  midst  of  the 
wild  majestic  scenery  of  his  mountain  valley,  where  he  loved 
to  commune  with  Nature  and  with  Nature's  God.  We  are 
told  in  his  Life  that  his  eyes  and  ears  were  always  open  to 
the  sights  and  sounds  around  him — that  the  birds  made  sweet 
music  in  his  ears — that  the  toil  of  his  austere  life  wa$ 
lightened  by  listening  to  the  gentle  murmurs  of  the  wind 
through  the  leaves  of  the  trees  around  his  cell. 

Kevin — in  Irish  Coemghen,  or  the  Fair-begotten — caine 
of  the  loyal  stuck  uf  ijeinstur  both  ou  his  lather's  and  mother's 
side.  His  father,  Cocmlug,  was  seventh  in  descent  from 
Messincorb,  the  common  ancestor  of  the  Dal  Messincorb,  who 
himself  was  fion  of  Cucorb,  a  king  of  Leinster  in  the  beginning 
of  the  second  century.    Coemell,  his  mother,  was  tlie  daughter 


ST.  KEVIN.  415 

of  Ccnnandan,  a  chief  of  the  Dal  Cormac,  so  called  from 
Cormac  Caecli,  who  was  a  brother  of  that  Messincorb  already 
alluded  to. 

Coemghen  was  born  a.d.  498,  for  we  are  told  that  he  was 
one   hundred  and  twenty  years  old  when  he  died  a.d.  618. 
The  place  of  his  birth  is  not  given  in  his  Life ;  but  it  was 
somewhere  in  the  county  Wicklow,  the  south-eastern  corner 
of  which,  around  Rathdrum,  seems  to  have  been  the  patrimony 
of  his  famil3^     It  was  a  family  of  saints  ;  for  Kevin  had  two 
brothers  and  two  sisters,  whose  names  are  in  the  Calendar. 
One    of    the   brothers   was    Caemhan    of   Ard-Chaemhain, 
near  Wexford  ;  the  other  was  Mocuemin,  or  Nathchaemh, 
the  cousin  and  successor   of  St.  Columba  of  Terry  glass,  in 
Lower  Ormond.     The  sisters  were  St.  Coeltigerna,  mother  of 
St.   Dagan  of  Inver  Daoile,    in  Wicklow,   and  Melda,  the 
mother  of  the  younger  St.  Abban,  who  was  born  about  the 
year  a  d.   520.      TJien,   again,  Coemghen's  paternal   uncle 
was  St.  Eugenius,  Bishop  of  Ardstraw,  the  principal  patron 
saint  of  the  diocese  of  Derry. 

The  family,  too,  seems  to  have  been  remarkable  for 
personal  beauty  as  well  as  for  sanctity  of  life — all  its 
members,  male  and  female,  being  described  in  their  very 
names  as  *  beautiful '  or  '  fair-begotten.'  Young  Coemghen  of 
Glendalough  grew  up  to  be  a  youth  of  remarkable  beauty,  so 
that  his  good  looks  became  a  source  of  great  danger  and 
temptation  to  the  boy,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  child  was  baptized  by  a  priest  called  Cronan,  not  by 
an  Angel,  as  has  been  sometimes  foolishly  said.  It  is  stated, 
however,  in  the  saint's  Life  in  the  Salamanca  MS.,  that  an 
Angel  under  the  appearance  of  a  beautiful  boy,  met  the  child 
when  it  was  being  carried  to  the  font,  and  blessed  the  infant 
— a  fact  which  is  not  at  all  improbable. 

At  the  early  age  of  seven  the  child  was  placed  under  the 
care  of  St.  Pctroc,  a  learned  and  holy  man  who  came  from 
Cornwall,  and  hence  is  called  a  Briton  in  the  Life  of  St. 
Kevin.  Petroc  came  to  Ireland  in  a.d.  492,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  Sacred  Scripture,  as  well  as  to  the 
instruction  and  edification  of  his  neighbours  in  Wicklow, 
both  by  word  and  example.  He  afterwards  returned  to  his 
own  country,  where  he  continued  the  same  course  of  saintly 
life.  His  monastic  school  in  Cornwall  became  a  great  centre 
of  learning  and  holiness,  and  was  known  as  Petroc-Stowe, 
which  afterwards  came  to  be  corrupted  into  Padstow — its 
present  name. 

Under  the  care  of  this  venerable  master  young  Coemghen 


416  THK    SCHOOL  OP  GLENUALOUGH. 

leinained  for  twelve  years,  until  a.d.  512,  when  lie  was 
transferred  to  the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  St.  Eugenius,  after- 
wards founder  and  bishop  of  Ardstraw.  He  had  studied 
some  years  in  Britain  in  the  great  monastery  of  Rosnat 
which  by  some  writers  is  placed  in  Wales,  but  by  others, 
with  much  more  probability,  is  identilied  with  Whithern 
in  Galloway.  Eugenius,  after  his  return  to  his  own  country, 
in  conjunction  with  St.  Lochan  and  St.  Enna,  founded  a 
monastic  school  at  a  place  called  Kilnaraanagh,  in  his  native 
territory  of  Cualann.  There  is  a  townland  called  Kilna- 
managh  in  the  parish  of  Glenealy,  north-east  of  Rathdrura, 
in  Wicklow;  and  it  was  here,  doubtless,  that  Coemghen  lived 
under  the  care  of  these  three  saints,  making,  we  are  told, 
daily  progress  in  virtue  and  learning. 

St.  Eugenius,  though  he  had  studied  m  the  schools  of 
Britain,  was  probably  not  much  older  than  his  nephew.  He 
was  now,  it  seems,  desirous  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  native 
territory  of  his  mother,  who  came  from  the  North  of  Ireland, 
and  he  was  anxious  to  appoint  young  Coemghen  to  succeed 
him  at  Kilnamanagh.  Thereupon  Coemghen,  fearing  to  be 
raised  to  this  post  of  honour  and  responsibility,  fl(  d  from  his 
uncle's  monastery  to  the  desert  of  Glendalough,  and  hid 
himself  in  the  remotest  recesses  of  that  wild  mountain  valley. 

There  was  it  seems  another  reason,  too,  which  has  been 
much  distorted  by  poetic  licence,  that  induced  him  to  fly 
from  his  native  district.  The  genuine  story  is  told  in  his 
Life,  and  is  very  different  from  the  popular  and  poetic 
account.  Coemghen  was  a  very  handsome  youth,  and  his 
good  looks  won  the  affection  of  a  beautiful  girl  of  his  own  age, 
whose  sorrow  was  great  to  find  her  love  not  only  unrequited, 
but  unnoticed-  On  one  occasion  she  even  followed  the 
gracious  boy,  when  he  went  with  his  brothers  to  the  woods, 
and  finding  him  alone  exerted  all  her  blandishments  to  win 
his  heart.  The  young  saint,  tormented  instead  of  softened  by 
her  proffered  caresses,  whicti  he  had  tiied  in  vain  to  repel, 
resolved  to  give  her  a  lesson  for  the  future.  He  had  flung: 
himself  half-naked  into  a  brake  full  of  nettles,  and  now 
gathering  a  handful,  he  scourged  the  girl  with  the  burning 
nettles  on  her  face  and  arms.  "  The  fire  without,"  says  the 
author  of  the  saint's  Life,  **  extinguished  the  fire  within." 
Her  heart  was  touched  with  the  grace  of  penance.  She 
humbly  asked  Coemghen's  pardon  for  all  she  had  done  to 
tempt  him,  and  besought  him  to  pray  to  God  in  her  behalf. 
Such  piayers  could  not  but  be  heard  ;  and  so  we  are  told 
that  she  became  a  sincere  convert,  consecrating  her  virginity 


ST.  KEVIN-.  417 

to  God,  ami  faitu fully  following  all  the  years  of  her  life  the 
counsels  and  spiritual  guidance  of  St.  Coemghen.  To  scourge 
the  fair  Kathleen  with  nettles  for  the  good  of  her  souf  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  flinging  her  into  the  lake. 

Before  Kevin  retired  to  the  recesses  of  Glendalough,  he 
was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Lugaidh,  or  Lugidus.  Some 
persons  think  it  was  by  his  advice  that  Coemghen  sought  that 
Lonely  retreat. 

In  order  to  understand  the  subsequent  events  in  the  life 
of  St.  Coemghen,  or,  as  we  may  now  call  him,  St.  Kevin,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  some  idea  of  the  topography  of  Glendalough. 

The  valley  is  something  more  than  two  miles  long,  and 
about  three  quarters  in  average  breadth.  It  runs  from  east 
to  west,  slightly  trending  towards  the  north  at  its  western 
extremity.  Towards  the  east  it  gradually  opens  into  the 
valley  of  the  Avonmore  ;  but  on  the  other  three  sides  it  is 
completely  enclosed  by  lofty  and  precipitous  mountains.  To 
the  south,  or  left  hand,  looking  westward,  are  the  mountains 
of  Derrybawn  and  Lugduff,  the  latter  especially  rising  in 
steep  and  gloomy  grandeur,  like  a  great  wall,  from  the  floor 
of  the  valley.  On  the  north  or  right  hand  are  the  two 
mountains  of  Brockagh  and  Comaderry — neither  so  bold  nor 
so  steep  as  Lugduff ;  Comaderry,  however,  rises  to  the  height 
of  2,296  feet,  while  Lugduff  is  only  2,140  above  the  level  of 
the  sea. 

There  are  two  lakes  in  this  dark  valley,  one  called  the 
Upper,  or  western  lake,  which  is  the  larger  and  gloomier  sheet 
of  water  lying  under  the  gigantic  shadow  of  Lugduff",  whose 
cliffs  rise  sheer  from  the  water  to  the  height  of  1,000  feet. 
The  Lower,  or  eastern  lakelet,  is  smaller  and  brighter  in  its 
aspect,  and  leaves  a  foot  passage  on  either  side  between  its 
shores  and  the  mountains  to  the  north  and  south.  J^  the 
extreme  western  end  of  the  valley  a  mountain  torrent  dashes 
down  a  steep  ravine  into  the  lake,  forming  a  fine  cascade, 
which  may  be  seen  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake.  There 
is  another  mountain  stream  that  rushes  down  between 
Lngdulf  and  Derrybawn  on  the  south,  forming  a  o-rand 
waterfall  called  Pollanass,  escaping  from  which  its  waters 
enter  the  Upper  Lake  at  its  south-eastern  extremity.  Fed 
by  these  two  streams  and  numerous  rivulets,  the  Upper  Lake 
sends  out  its  surplus  waters  down  the  valley  in  a  considerable 
stream  called  here  the  Glenealo  Hiver,  which  rushes  eastward 
over  the  broken  ground  until  it  takes  rest  for  a  while  in  the 
Lower  Lake.  Emerging  thence,  and  still  flowing  eastward 
for   half  a  mile,  it  unites   with  another  stream  called  the 

2o 


418  THK  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDALOUGH. 

Glendasan  Kiver,  which  flows  down  the  back  of  Goran rlorry 
mountain.  For  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before  uniting, 
these  two  streams  flow  almost  parallel  through  the  valley, 
and  then  suddenly  bending  towards  each  other,  send  their 
united  waters  still  eastwar.i  to  join  the  Avonmore  at  Larab, 
towards  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Yalley  of  Glendalough. 
The  delta,  formed  in  the  valley  by  the  Glenealo  and  Glen- 
dasan rivers,  was  the  site  of  the  *  City'  of  Glendalough,  and 
there  still  the  principal  ruins  are  to  be  found. 

When  Kevin  fled  from  Kilnamanagh  and  its  dangers,  he 
penetrated  to  the  very  heart  of  this  wilderness,  and  took  up 
his  abode  in  its  most  inaccessible  retreats.  The  writer  of  his 
Life  gives  a  most  accurate  description  of  the  spot  which  he 
chose  for  his  place  of  abode.  "  It  was  a  'alley  closed  in  with 
lofty  and  precipitous  mountains,  and  in  the  westera  part  of 
this  valley  towards  the  south  he  tound  a  lake  enclosed 
between  two  mountains."^  On  the  shores  of  this  lake  he  lived 
for  seven  years  the  life  of  a  solitary,  without  fire,  without  a 
roof,  and  almost  without  human  food.  "  On  the  northern 
shore  his  dwelling  was  in  a  hollow  tree  ;  but  on  the  southern 
shore  of  the  lake  he  dwelt  in  a  very  narrow  cave,  to  which 
there  was  no  access  except  by  a  boat,  for  a  perpendicular 
rock  of  immense  height  overhangs  it  from  above."  This  is 
St.  Kevin's  Bed  on  the  face  of  Lugdufi*,  overhanging  the 
southern  shore  of  the  Upper  Lake,  whose  deep  waters  wash 
the  base  of  the  rock  30  feet  beneath.  Even  from  the  lake 
the  path  is  steep  and  diflicult,  but  not  dangerous.  Very 
few,  however,  have  the  steadiness  and  courage  to  descend  to 
the  cave  from  the  overhanging  cliffs  above. 

The  cave  itself  is  only  about  four  feet  square,  and  not 
high  enough  to  stand  upright  in.  But  there  is  a  smaller 
hollow  within  where  the  saint  might  lay  his  head  and  snatch 
his  few  hours  of  brief  repose.  It  was  a  dizzy  height,  and  a 
hard  bed  ;  but  we  cannot  judge  of  the  saints  of  God  by  our 
own  worldly  and  selfish  standard.  And  for  one  who  loved 
God  and  His  glorious  works,  as  St.  Kevin  did,  there  were 
never  wanting,  by  day  or  night,  sights  and  sounds  to  fill  his 
mind  with  manifold  ideas  of  the  wondrous  attributes  of  the 
great  Author  of  all.  The  majesty  of  these  dark  mountains, 
the  changing  glories  of  these  lakes  and  streams,  the  voices 
of  the  falling  waters,  the  roaring  of  the  storms  through  the 
wintry  hills,  Arturus  and  the  Bear  rising  over  the  lofty 
crest  of  Comaderry  and  for  ever  silently  sweeping  round  the 

1  "  Cujus  (valliH)    in  occidentali  pane  versus  meridieiu  oxtensuui  inter 
duoa  montfes  repperit  staguum." — Salamanca  MS, 


ST.  KEVIN.  419 

changeless  pole,  tlie  morning  sun  flooding  the  dark  valley  with 
light — a  pale  reflection  of  the  splendour  around  the  Great 
White  Throne — these  were  the  sights  that  met  his  eyes,  and 
the  voices  that  spoke  in  his  ears  during  the  days  and  nights 
that  he  spent  on  the  rocky  floor  of  his  narrow  cell.  He  spoke 
to  no  man,  but  he  communed  with  God  and  Nature — his  body 
was  on  the  naked  rock,  but  his  soul  was  in  heaven.  It  was 
during  these  years  that  the  birds  and  beasts  came  to  know 
and  to  love  the  gentle  saint,  who  lived  as  Adam  did  in 
Paradise.  He  had  made  for  himself  a  hut  of  boughs  on  the 
northern  shore  of  the  lake,  where  he  spent  much  of  his  time, 
and  we  are  told  that  the  birds  used  to  come  and  alight  on 
his  hands  and  shoulders,  and  sing  for  him  their  sweetest 
songs  ;  and  that  the  trees  were  like  ^Eolian  harps  whose 
melody  lightened  the  toilsome  routine  of  his  life.  As  for  his 
food,  '*  no  man  knows  on  what  he  lived  during  these  years, 
for  he  himself  never  revealed  it  to  anyone.'' 

But  now  it  pleased  God  to  make  known  the  virtues  of 
his  servant  to  his  fellow  men.  A  shepherd  discovered  the 
saint's  retreat,  and  told  far  and  wide  of  the  holy  man  who 
had  led  for  so  long  the  life  of  an  angel  in  the  desert.  Crowds 
of  persons  made  their  way  to  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  and 
St.  Kevin  could  no  longer  be  alone.  It  was  revealed  to  him 
that  he  was  destined  to  be  the  father  of  many  monks,  and  he 
submitted  to  the  will  of  Providence. 

Still  he  was  at  first  unwilling  to  go  far  from  his  beloved 

cave  in  Lugduff".     So  they  built  him  a  cell — a  circular  bee-hive 

hut  of  stones — close  to  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake  ;  and 

near  at  hand  his  disciples  also  built  him  an  oratory  on  a  rock 

projecting  from  the  base  of  Lugduff  into  the  lake,  hence  called 

Tempull-na-S kellig.   This  was  the  "  clara  cella  quae  Desertum 

Coemghini  appellatur."^     But  that  beautiful  and  celebrated 

oratory  is  now,  like  the  saint's  cell,  almost  a  heap  of  ruins — 

the  sight- seers  are  even  worse  than  the  Danes,   and  fifty 

years  of  tourists  in  the  mountain  valley  have  caused  more 

ruin  to  these  venerable  monuments  than  centuries  of  civil  ^ 

strife.     Not  far  from   Tempull-na-S  kellig,  and  on  the  same 

southern  shore  of  the  Upper  Lake,  there  is  another  ruined 

church   and    church-yard,    known   in    the    guide    books   as 

Rifearta  Church  ;  that  is,  the  *  royal  cemetery'  {righ-feartd)  of 

the  O'Toole  kings.     They  were  not  the  original  rulers  of  this 

district;  but  after  the  Norman  Conquest  they  retired  from  the 

plains  of  Kildare  before  the  invaders,  and  held  these  valleys 

*  Others  think  i^  was  the  Reefert  Church,  as  it  is  now  called. 


420  THE  SCHOOL  OF  G1,EN1)A1,0UGH. 

and  mountains  as  a  strongliold  of  freedom  against  the 
*  strangers.' 

But  this  place  became  too  small  for  the  multitude  of  the 
saint's  disciples,  who  now  dwelt  around  his  little  church — 
it  was  inconveniently  situated,  too,  and  very  difficult  of  access. 
So  God's  Angel  appeared  to  Kevin,  and  commanded  him  to 
go  and  build  his  monastery  at  the  eastern  shore  of  the  smaller 
lake,  about  half  a  mile  further  down  the  valley. 

"  If  it  was  God's  will,"  said  Kevin,  "  I  should  prefer  to 
remain  until  my  death  near  this  place,  where  I  have  laboured 
in  His  service."  "  Nay,"  said  the  Angel,  "  if  you  dwell 
where  I  sa}^  many  thousands  of  happy  souls  will  have  their 
resurrection  there,  and  go  with  you  to  the  heavenly  king- 
dom." Then  the  Angel  led  the  saint,  after  he  had  spent  four 
years  at  Lug  duff,  to  the  eastward  of  the  smaller  lake,  and 
marked  out  the  site  of  his  church  and  monastery  ;  and  **  there 
he  built  that  celebrated  monastery  of  the  Valley  of  the  Two 
Lakes,  w^hich  was  the  mother  house  of  many  others." 

And  there,  too,  he  lived  as  of  old  in  the  practice  of  the 
most  rigid  austerit3^  '*  He  was  clothed  in  the  coarsest  gar- 
ments ;  his  bed  was  the  bare  ground ;  he  broke  his  fast  at 
evening  on  a  meal  of  herbs  and  water  ;  he  kept  constant  and 
prayerlul  vigils  often  in  the  open  air ;  and  so  he  lived  a  long 
time  in  the  monastery,  as  he  used  to  live  in  the  desert,  until 
at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  many  holy  men  he  consented  at 
last  to  live  like  his  monks  in  the  ordinary  monastic  way."  It 
is  evident  that  the  saint  was  most  reluctant  to  give  up 
those  habits  of  extreme  asceticism  which  he  had  adopted  in 
the  desert ;  and  he  only  yielded  in  deference  to  the  en- 
treaties of  other  venerable  men  who  feared  to  lose  so 
precious  a  lite. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  large  crowds  of  disciple- 
came  to  the  monastery  of  this  great  servant  of  God,  and  were 
anxious  to  place  themselves  under  his  guidance,  so  that 
Glendalough  became  a  seminar}^  of  saints  and  scholars,  who 
went  Ibrth  from  its  halls  to  found  other  monasteries,  and  rule 
other  churches.  In  lact,  it  became  quite  a  *  city '  in  the 
desert,  whose  citizens  were  *'civts  s:inctoruni  et  domt^stici 
Dei,'*  clothed  with  human  nature,  but  living  like  the  house- 
hold of  God  in  heaven. 

At  this  period  Kevin  must  have  been  still  a  comparatively 
young  man,  certainly  not  exceeding  forty  years  of  ago  For 
all  these  events  are  narrated  in  his  life  as  if  happening 
before  he  left  Glendalough  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  holy  abbots, 
Columba,  Comgall,  and  Canice,  who  met  the  saint  of  Glenda- 


St.  KEVIN.  421 

lougli  at  tlie  ceLbrukcl  hi.l  of  Uisnccli  (now  TJsney)  in 
Westrneath.  This  visit  is  represented  as  having  taken  place 
only  a  few  days  after  the  death  of  St.  Ciaran  at  Clonmac- 
nois,  which  happened  in  a.d.  544,  so  that  the  large  monastery 
of  Glendalough  was  probably  founded  about  a.d.  540,  when 
the  saint  was  42  years  of  age.  The  hill  of  Uisnech.  was  from 
time  immemorial  a  celebrated  place  of  meeting,  being  situated 
in  the  centre  of  Ireland,  and,  though  belonging  to  Meath,  it 
was  consicJered  neutral  ground,  with  the  privilege  of  sanctuary 
during  these  meetings.  It  is  probable  these  holy  abbots, 
Columba  of  Kells  and  Durrow,  Com  gall  of  Bangor,  Canice  of 
Aghaboe,  were  met  together  for  the  transaction  of  some 
weighty  matters  arising  from  the  accession  of  the  new  king 
of  Tara,  Diarmaid  Mac  Cearbhaill,  and  they  invited  to  their 
meeting  the  already  famous  abbot  of  the  great  Leinster 
monastery.  In  the  Life  of  Kevin  it  is  said  that  he  went  to 
establish,  or  confirm,  a  league  of  brotherly  friendship  with 
these  saints ;  and  so  much  was  he  respected  that  Columba 
stood  up  at  his  approach,  and  remained  standing  until  he 
arrived.  And  when  the  ruder  multitude  (plebs)  censured  the 
great  Columba  for  acting  thus  in  deference  to  an  unknown 
stranger,  Columba  warmly  replied  :-^"  Foolish  men !  why 
should  not  I  stand  at  the  approach  of  that  servant  of  God,  in 
whose  honour  God's  Angels  in  heaven  will  yet  rise  from  their 
thrones?" 

After  his  return  to  Glendalough  he  presided  over  that 
great  monastery  and  school  for  60  years  more,  leading  still 
the  same  heavenly  life,  training  others  by  word  and  example 
to  walk  in  the  paths  of  holiness,  and  confirming  his  teaching 
by  the  performance  of  many  miracles.  But  as  was  well  said 
by  one  of  his  disciples,  his  own  life  was  the  oreatest  miracle 
of  all.  Special  mention  is  made  of  two  of  his  favourite 
disciples — St.  Berach,  who  him  self  afterwards  founded  a  great 
monastery  at  Cluaincairptlie,  since  called  Tarmonbjrry,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Shannon,  and  Mochoroy,  a  Briton,  who  was 
for  many  years  a  loving  disciple  of  the  saint  and  founder  of 
the  Church  of  I)elgany.  Ue  enjoyed  the  great  privilege  of 
giving  the  Viaticum  to  Kevin,  when  the  holy  old  man  was 
about  to  be  called  away  to  his  reward.  St.  Kevin  died  on 
the  3rd  of  June,  a.d.  618,  at  the  great  age  of  120  years,  and 
was  buried  by  his  sorrowing  children  in  his  own  church  at  . 
Glendalough. 

I  he  memory  of  St.  Kevin  is  greatly  revered,  not  only  in 
Wicklow  but  in  all  parts  of  Ireland ;  and  he  seems  to  hold  a 
place  in  popular  affection  next  after  the  great  patron  saints 
of  Ireland,  Patrick,  Bridgets  and  Columcille. 


422  THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLEK  DA  LOUGH. 

Some  writing's  have  been  attributed  to  the  saint,  amongst 
others  a  Life  of  St.  Piitrick,  but  without  sufficient  evidence. 
He  was  certainly  the  author  of  a  very  celebrated  monastic 
Hulr,  which  urdiappily  is  no  longer  extant.  It  would  be 
invaluable  as  exhibiting  the  special  bent  of  his  mind  in  the 
formation  of  the  religious  character.  It  was  in  this  that  his 
great  influence  made  itself  felt  during  the  long  years  of  his 
life.  It  was  by  this  means  he  stamped  his  own  character  on 
the  minds  of  his  disciples,  and  made  Glendalough  famous 
during  subsequent  centuries  as  a  nursery  of  holy  and  learned 
men.  His  monastery  was  for  the  East  of  Ireland  for  many 
ages  what  Aran  of  St.  Enda  was  for  the  West — a  great  school 
of  asceticism,  a  novitiate  for  the  training  of  the  young  saints 
and  clergy  of  Erin  in  virtue  even  more  than  in  knowledge. 
It  was  alfeO  his  noble  ambition  to  elevate  the  standard  of 
ecclesiastical  knowledge,  and  make  the  cloister  not  only  the 
home  of  all  virtue,  but  an  asylum  of  the  liberal  arts.  This 
was  all  the  more  necessary  in  a  turbulent  and  semi-barbarous 
age,  when  the  strong  hand  made  its  own  laws.  In  this  respect 
the  seclusion  of  Glendalough,  as  well  as  the  sanctity  of  its 
founder  and  of  its  holy  places,  rendered  it  a  most  secure 
asylum  down  to  the  advent  of  the  Danes,  and  even  after  their 
departure  down  to  the  time  of  the  Anglo-Normans. 

II. — Ruins  at  Glendalough. 

The  existing  ruins  in  the  ancient  city  of  Glendalough 
may,  as  we  have  observed,  be  divided  into  two  groups — those 
at  the  shore  of  the  Upper  Lake,  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  and  those  at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  and  east 
of  the  Lower  Lake,  which  constitute  the  city  proper.  This 
group  of  buildings  was  enclosed  by  a  caiseal,  or  strong  stone 
wall,  which  not  only  served  the  purposes  of  defence,  but  also 
marked  the  limits  of  the  clmisura,  or  enclosed  space,  which 
females  were  not  allowed  to  enter,  nor  the  monks  to  leave 
without  permission.  Within  this  enclosure  are  the  ruins  of 
the  following  buildings: — (1)  the  cathedral ;  (2)  the  round 
tower ;  (3)  Cro  CoenigJiin^  or  St.  Kevin's  kitchen ;  (4)  the 
Church  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

The  wall  of  the  cashel  has  now  almc^st  entirely  disap- 
peared ;  but  the  magnificent  gateway  by  which  it  was  entered, 
after  crossing  the  bridge  of  the  Glendasan  river,  still  remains. 
"  This  gateway  was  very  nearly  a  square,  being  sixteen  feet 
between  the  side  walls  and  sixteen  ieet  six  between  the  per- 
forated or  arched  walls."^     It  was  built  of  mica  slate — the 

^  Potrio — Round  Towers,  p.  45  L 


1 


RUINS  AT  GLEN DALO UGH.  423 

stone  of  the  district — except  the  arches  and  pilasters,  which 
are  built  of  large  chiselled  blocks  of  granite.  The  two  arches 
are  of  equal  height — five  feet  to  the  chord  and  ten  to  the 
soffit.  A  tower  arose  originally  over  this  double  arch,  but 
it  has  now  quite  disappeared.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  gateway  tower  and  cashel  were  coeval  with  the  completed 
monastery,  and  date  from  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century. 

The  nave  of  the  great  church  or  cathedral,  and  the  round 
tower  are,  in  Petrie's  opinion,  coeval,  and  also  belong  to  the 
early  part  of  the  seventh  century.  He  bases  his  opinion 
mainly  on  the  character  of  the  masonry,  which  in  the  tower 
is  perfectly  similar  to  that  of  the  round  tower  of  Kilmacduagh. 
There  is  historical  evidence  that  the  great  Church  of  Kilmac- 
duagh was  built  by  Guaire  Aidhne,  about  the  year  a.d.  610. 
The  masonry  of  this  church  is  so  similar  to  that  of  the  tower 
at  Kilmacdu'cjgh  that  they  must  be  regarded  as  of  contempor- 
aneous construction.  The  magnificent  tower  of  Glendalough 
is  still  110  feet  high;  with  its  conical  cap  it  would  have  been 
originally  132  feet  high.  The  door^way  is  at  present  ten  feet 
from  the  ground,  and  is  perfectly  similar  in  construction  to 
the  door- ways  of  the  ancient  churches  in  the  valley — in  this, 
that  they  are  all  constructed  of  chiselled  blocks  of  granite, 
while  the  walls  are  built  of  the  rubble  masonry  with  the 
stones  of  the  district.  The  door- way  is  five  feet  seven  inches 
high,  two  feet  wide  at  the  sill,  and  one  foot  ten  inches  at  th« 
arch,  which  is  cut  out  of  the  stone — a  feature  characteristic 
of  our  earliest  churches.  The  nave  of  the  great  church  which 
is  of  the  same  date  (the  chancel  is  in  the  later  ornamented 
style),  and  of  perfectly  similar  masonry,  was  55  feet  in  length 
by  37  in  breadth;  the  chancel  seem  to  have  been  a  later  addi- 
tion 

The  building  called  St.  Kevin's  Kitchen,  with  its  belfry 
tower  and  high  pitched  stone  roof,  is  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  building  at  Glendalough,  and  was,  there  is  no 
longer  reason  to  doubt,  like  Columcille's  House  at  Kells,  the 
oratory  and  dormitory  of  the  saint.  It  is  evident,  upon  close 
examination,  that  the  chancel  and  sacristy  annexed  to 
it,  as  well  as  the  belfry,  were  later  additions.  It  was 
originally  a  simple  oblong  30  feet  long  and  a  little  more  than 
22  feet  wide ;  the  side  walls  are  11  feet  in  height,  whilst  its 
height  to  the  ridge  of  the  roof  is  31  feet.  The  lower  apart- 
ment was  an  oratory  arched  with  stone,  the  high  pitch  of  the 
stone  roof  leaving  space  for  the  croft,  or  upper  chamber, 
'vhich  was  at  once   tiie  cell  and   sleeping  apartment  of  the 


424  THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLKNDAl.OUGH. 

saint  himself — the  oratory  beneath  was  what  would  now  bo 
called  a  private  oratory.  The  belfry  is  a  small  round  tower, 
with  conical  cap,  at  tlie  western  end  of  the  building. 

"Our  Lady's  Churcb"  is  situated  a  little  to  the  west 
of  these  buildings  already  described,  which  arc  in  close 
proximity  to  each  other.  It  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
church  built  by  the  saint,  eastward  of  the  smaller  lake ;  and 
its  architecture  confiims  this  tradition.  The  door-way  is  of 
singular  beauty,  and  of  the  most  primitve  tvpe.  It  is  figured 
in  Petrie's  great  work,  and  exhibits  all  the  characteristic 
features  of  the  earliest  doorways.  The  architrave,  however, 
is  ornamented  with  a  plain  double  moulding  ;  and  a  cross, 
saltier- wise,  is  carved  on  the  soffit  of  the  lintel.  St.  Kevin 
himself  was  buried  within  this  ancient  church,  which  he  had 
dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary.^  His  grave  was  shown 
^  in  the  last  century,  but  it  seems  that  it  is  now  covered  over 
with  rubbish  from  the  falling  walls.  This  is  also  called  the 
Ivv  Church,  for  its  walls  are  festooned  with  that  charitable 
creeper  which  flings  so  much  beauty  around  ^ecay. 

This  group  of  buildings  was  all  erecited  during  the  life- 
lime  of  the  saint,  or  shortly  after  his  death  There  were, 
however,  two  other  edifices  further  down  the  valley  to  the 
east,  of  a  more  ornamental  character  and  of  later  date. 

'  Trinity  Church '  is  about  a  furlong  eastward  of  ti.e 
'  City '  proper,  standing  alone  close  to  the  road  on  the  left  from 
Larah  to  those  buildings  which  we  have  just  described.  It 
has,  or  rather  had,  a  chancel  with  a  very  beautiful  semi- 
circular chancel  arch,  and  also  a  round  towe?-,  which  Petrie 
thinks  w^as  built  so  late  as  the  thirteenth  century  when  the 
valley  of  the  saints  had  become  *'  a  nest  of  robbers  and 
murderers.^'  Still  further  to  the  east  near  Larah  bridge,  and 
about  a  mile  from  the  *  City,'  was  the  Priory  of  St.  Saviour, 
or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  Monastery.  It  is  now  almost 
a  heap  of  ruins;  portions,  however,  of  the  pilasters  supporting 
the  chancel  arch  still  remain.  The  nave  of  this  church  was 
42  feet  long  by  26  in  breadth  ;  the  monastic  buildings  seem  to 
have  been  annexed  to  the  north  side  of  the  church,  but  cannot 
now  be  traced.  Its  most  interesting  feature,  however,  was  the 
elaborate  carving  in  low-relief  on  the  bases  and  capitals  of 
the  piers  (at  one  side  only)  that  suj)poi  ted  the  chancel  arch. 
The  character  of  the  ornamentation  would  seem  to  point  to  the 


^  Petrie  says  there  were  no  sucli  early  dedications  to  the  B.  V.  Mary  ;  but 
the  Life  of  Cartlinnh  of  Tjismoro  shows  that  ^e  buUtand  dedicated  a  church 
in  honour  of  tlic  ]^>  V.  i\r  i  y. 


ST.  MOLING.  425 

end  of  the  eleventh,  or  the  beginning  of  tlie  twelfth  centurv, 
as  the  probable  date  of  this  once  beautiful  building.  The 
little  oratory  within  the  cathedral  cemetery,  called  the 
"Priest's  Hou^e,"  which  has  now  completely  disappeared, 
but  of  which  drawings  are  preserved,  also  belonged  to  the 
E-omanesque  period.  It  was  called  the  '  Priests'  House,' 
according  to  Petrie,  leoause  it  was  reserved  for  the  burial 
place  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  the  SKi'rounding 
districts. 

Within  the  cemetery,  which  surrounds  the  cathedral  and 
is  much  overcrowded  witb  graves,  was  the  famous  yew  tree, 
said  to  have  been  planted  by  8t.  Kevin  himselt ;  but  it  has 
now  entirely  disappeared.  It  is  said  that  some  of  its  branches 
were  lopped  off  to  make  furniture,  and  that  the  ancient  tree 
then  gradually  withered  and  decayed. 

In  close  proximity  to  St.  Kevin's  Kitchen  thei*e  were 
anciently  beveral  other  buildin*:s,  all  traces  of  which  have 
now  quite  disappeared.  Mention  is  made  of  Cro-Chiarain  or 
St.  Ciaran's  House,  and  also  of  the  church  of  the  "  Two 
Sinchells  " — Pe(>les  an  da  Sinchell — the  patron  saints  of 
Killeigh  in  the  King's  County.  These  saints  were  friends 
and  contemporaries  of  St.  Kevin,  and  probably  resided  for  a 
while  in  the  *  Houses '  which  they  or  their  disciples  had  con- 
structed in  the  holy  valley.  The  remains  of  numerous 
ancient  crosses  and  tombbtones  have  been  discovered  during 
the  recent  restorations,  and  are  now  better  cared  for  than 
they  were  heretofore. 

III.— St.  Moling. 

Many  celebrated  scholars  were  trained  in  Glendalough 
from  the  time  of  St.  Kevin  to  St.  Laurence  O'Toole.  The 
See  of  Glendalough,  too,  occupied  a  highly  honourable  posi- 
tion amongst  the  bishoprics  of  Leinster,  sometimes  claiming 
the  place  of  honour  next  to  Kildare  itself.  Yet  there  is  no 
evidence  that  St.  Kevin  himself  was  laised  to  the  episcopal 
dignity  ;  and  we  may  fairly  assume  that  if  he  were  a  bishop 
the  fact  would  not  have  been  passed  over  in  silence  by  the 
writers  of  his  Life.  But  the  fame  of  the  monastery  and 
schools  became  so  great  during  the  life  of  the  holy  founder, 
that  his  successor  and  nephew,  St.  Molibba,  was  consecrated 
bishop,  and  probably  during  the  lifetime  of  St.  Kevin  him- 
self. The  subsequent  prelates  are  styled  sometimes  *  bishops,' 
and  sometimes  '  abbots '  of  Glendalough ;  and  in  one  instance, 
at  least,  that  of  the  abbot  Cormac,  who  died  in  a.d.  925,  the 
same  person  is  styled  bi^^hop  and  abbot. 


426  THK  SCHOOL  OK  GLENDALOUGH. 

It  was  duriiifj:  the  abbacy  of  Molibba  that  the  school  of 
Glendaloiigh  produced  a  distinguished  pupil,  whose  name  is 
well  known  in  Leinster,  that  is,  St.  Moling,  the  patron  and 
founder  of  St.  Mullins. 

St.  Moling  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  holy  and 
learned  men  who  were  trained  in  Glendalough  during  the 
lifetime,  or  shoi  tly  after  the  death  of  the  founder.  His  name 
is  still  preservtd  in  the  parish  and  barony  of  St.  Mullins,  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Barrow,  in  the  extreme  south-west  of 
tbe  county  Cat  low,  Moling's  first  name  was  Daircell  or 
Taircell.  He  came  of  the  royal  race  of  Cathaoir  Mor,  a  cele- 
brated king  of  Leinster  in  the  third  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  His  father's  name  was  Faolain,  whence  he  is  sometimes 
called  Mac  Faolain,  and  his  mother  Eamhnat,  is  said  to 
have  been  a  Kerry  woman.  Though  sprung  from  the  Ui 
Deagha,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Barrow,  he  was  probably 
born  in  his  soother's  country ;  and  hence  he  is  sometimes 
called  Moling  Luachra,  from  the  mountain  district  in  Kerry, 
where  he  was  either  born  or  fostered  amongst  the  friends  of 
his  mother.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  not  known  ;  but  as  he 
died  in  a.d.  697,  it  was  probably  some  time  in  the  early  part 
of  the  same  century. 

Few  particulars  of  his  early  life  are  preserved,  except 
certain  miraculous  stories,  which  we  need  not  refer  to 
here.  It  is  expressly  stated,  however,  that  he  spent  some 
time  in  tne  monastery  of  Glendalough,  which  was  not  very  far 
from  Hy-Kinsellagh,  and  was  then  the  most  celebrated 
establishment  in  Leinster.  As  St.  Kevin  died  about  a.d.  618, 
young  Moling  cannot  have  seen  much  of  that  great  saint, 
if  indeed  he  ever  had  an  opportunity  of  meeting  him 
at  all.  But  the  spirit  of  Kevin  was  there — his  Rule  and  his 
discipline  flourished  in  Glendalough  ;  and  hence  in  any  case 
we  may  regard  St.  Moling  as  his  disciple.  It  was  most  pro- 
bably at  Glendalough  that  the  young  saint  acquired  that 
great  knowledge  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  w^hich  ho  afterwards 
manifested,  as  well  as  those  exalted  virtues  which  bore  such 
lasting  fruit  on  the  banks  of  the  Barrow. 

The  place  where  he  founded  his  cell  and  monastery  was 
then  called  Achadh  Cainidh;  but  the  name  was  soon  changed 
into  Teach  Moling — the  House  of  Moling — since  corrupted 
into  St.  Mullins.  He  chose  for  his  home  a  beautiful  spot  on 
a  gentle  eminence  overlooking  the  noble  river,  which  at  this 
point  mingles  its  viators  with  the  rising  tide  between  the 
green  meadows  and  rich  groves  that  crown  its  swelling  banks. 
A  small  stream  here  joins  the   Barrow,  and  Moling  built  his 


ST.  MOLING. 


427 


monastery  on  the  high  ground,  between  the  junction  of  the 
river  and  the  stream.  His  own  cell  he  built  lower  down, 
close  to  the  river,  for  he  loved  to  be  alone  with  God  as  much 
as  possible^  although  he  frequently  visited  his  monastery,  and 
allowed  his  monks  to  confer  with  himself  whenever  it  was 
necessary. 

He  had,  too,  that  love  of  useful  labour  which  pre-emin- 
ently marked  the  great  Benedictine  Order.  Laborare  est 
orare.  To  labour  is  to  pray — when  the  labour  is  sanctified  by 
its  motive  and  its  object.  Moling  wished  to  grind  the  corn 
for  his  monks,  and  for  this  purpose,  with  his  own  hands,  he 
dug  a  mill-race  from  the  stream  already  referred  to,  in  such 
a  way  as  to  convey  the  water  more  than  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  river,  even  through  high  ground,  in  order  to  get  a 
fall  for  the  water  to  turn  the  mill-wheel  near  his  monastery. 
He  kept  a  curragh,  too,  on  the  river,  near  his  own  cell,  and 
was  always  ready  to  ferry  strangers  across  the  broad  river, 
who  came  to  pray  and  do  penance  at  the  monastery.  During 
all  this  time  his  food  was  herbs  and  water  ;  and  according  to 
some  accounts — probably  in  imitation  of  St.  Kevin — he  lived 
a  lon*>-  time  within  a  hollow  tree. 

His  austerities  and  his  virtues  soon  attracted  around 
Moling  a  great  number  of  disciples,  so  that  a  large  com- 
munity was  formed  under  his  guidance  and  direction.  The 
ruins  of  four  ancient  churches  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  Barrow  and  the  streamlet, 
some  of  which  were  certainly  built  in  his  time.  It  is  said, 
too,  that  a  portion  of  the  mill-stone  of  Moling's  mill  was 
found  in  the  stream,  and  that  the  mill-race  which  he  dug 
out  can  still  be  clearly  traced. 

St.  Aidan,  called  also  Mo-Eadan,  which  has  been  shortened 
into  Moedog  and  Moque,  the  celebrated  Bishop  of  Ferns,  died 
A.D.  632.  It  is  said  that  he  wished  St.  Moling  to  be  his  suc- 
cessor, and  that  the  princes  and  clergy  of  Leinster  invited 
Moling  to  become  the  Bishop  of  Ferns.  Heluctantly  the 
saint  complied  with  their  wishes — for  he  loved  Teach  Moling 
much — and  preferred  to  spend  his  life  there  in  solitude, 
attending  only  to  himself  and  the  direction  of  the  chosen  souls, 
who  placed  themselves  under  his  direction.  But  God  willed 
it  otherwise;  and  Moling  became,  at  least  for  some  years. 
Bishop,  or  High-bishop  of  Ferns — for  at  this  period  a  certain 
kind  of  precedence  was  claimed  for  Ferns  over  the  other 
bishoprics  of  Leinster.  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  however, 
that  Moling  became  Bishop  of  Ferns  in  immediate  succession 
to  Aidan  in  a.d.  632.     If  so  he  must  have  afterwards  resigned 


428 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDALOUGH. 


his  Ste,  which  is  highly  probabh^  and  thus  m  ide  roo:ii  for 
(Hlier  bishops  of  P'eriis,  whose  names  are  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  that  See  during  the  seventh  century,  and  during 
the  lifetime  of  Moling  himself.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be 
determined  whether  he  became  Bishop  of  Ferns  in  a.u.  632 
or  (391 — the  former  is,  however,  tlie  more  piobable  date. 

Moling  procured  for  his  tribesmen  one  signal  temporal 
advantage — the  remission  of  the  celebrated  cow -tribute,  called 
the  Borumha,  which  was  levied  by  the  King  of  Tara  in 
Leinster  every  three  years.  It  was  an  oppressive  tax,  origin- 
ally inflicted  for  a  great  crime  committed  by  the  King  of 
Leinster  in  a.d.  106,  and  was  productive  of  much  bloodshed, 
and  mutual  hatred  between  the  men  of  Leinster  and  the  Lly- 
Niall.  !Now  King  Finnach'a  the  Festive  had  alieady  twdce 
exacted  the  tribute,  and  was  coming  to  levy  it  a  third  time. 
The  Lagenians  resolved  to  fight  rather  than  to  pay  ;  but 
first  of  all  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  get  St.  Moling  to  uj^e 
his  great  influence  in  their  behalf  to  have  the  tribute  remitted. 
The  saint  succeeded  beyond  their  expectations,  although,  it 
is  said,  he  made  use  of  an  equivocation  to  effect  his  purpose. 
Failing  to  get  a  promise  of  the  absolute  remission  of  the 
tribute,  he  asked  the  king  to  grant  him  a  stay  of  execution 
until  luan.  The  king  promised  to  grant  this  stay.  Now 
liian  means  Monday  ;  and  so  the  king  understood  it,  but  it  also 
means  the  Judgment  Day,  in  which  sense  Moling  understood^ 
it,  and  insisted  on  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise  in  that  sense. 
The  king  feared  the  saint,  and  moreover  was  unwilling  to  be 
deemed  a  pledge-breaker,  so  he  was  constrained  to  remit  the 
tribute  for  ever.  The  remission,  however,  was  a  most  im- 
popular  act  with  his  own  northern  subjects ;  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  storv  of  the  equivocation  was  invented  by 
the  king's  friends,  who  wished  to  please  the  saint,  and  yet  to 
throw  the  odium  of  this  unpopular  measure  on  one  who  was 
much  better  able  to  bear  it  than  Finnachta.  Even  the  wise 
Adamnan  is  represented  as  counselling  his  royal  master  to 
assert  the  legal  claims  of  the  great  Hy-Niall  race  to  which 
he  himself  belonged  ;  and  he  is  said  to  have  blamed  the  king 
for  yielding  so  weakly  to  the  Leinster  saint.  The  remission 
was  made  about  the  year  a.d.  693  ;  and  the  cow-tax  was  never 
levied  in  Leinster  afterwards. 

St.  Moling  is  said  to  have  been  a  great  scholar,  and  a 
great  writer.  More  ancient  Irish  poems,  sevt  ral  of  which 
are  still  extant,  have  been  asciibed  to  St.  Moling  than  to  any 

^  Sro  pa^o  342.  whoro  the  e<iu: vocation  is  put  in  ant>ther  way. 


ST.  MOLING.  429 

otlier  of  our  Irish  saints,^  witli  the  exception,  perhaps,  of 
Columcille.  Some  of  these  have  reference  to  that  Borromean 
Tribute  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  ;  others  pur- 
porting to  be  prophetical,  give  a  list  of  the  kings  of  Erin, 
their  battles,  victories,  and  death.  In  consequence  of  thes(3 
and  several  other  prophetical  poems,  St.  Moling  has  been  set 
down  as  one  of  the  four  great  prophets  of  Erin.  The  others 
are  St.  Patrick,  St.  Columcille,  and  St.  Berchan  of  Clonsast. 
One  of  Moling's  prophecies  foretells  the  coming  of  the  Anglo- 
Normans  to  Ireland,  and  the  '  conquest'  of  the  country  by 
Henry  II.  Some  of  these  poems  are  manifest  forgeries 
written  after  the  event.  They  were  ascribed  to  St.  Moling, 
because  he  was  pre-eminently  a  holy  man,  who  enjoyed  in 
his  own  time  the  reputation  of  a  prophet  amongst  all  the 
people. 

Keating  had  in  his  possession  a  work  which  he  calls  the 
Yellow  Book  of  St.  Moling,  but  which  has  since  been  unfor- 
tunately lost.  Hence  we  know  nothing  of  it  beyond  the 
name.  It  was  probably  begun  by  St.  Moling  and  afterwards 
continued  by  his  monastic  successors  as  an  authentic  record 
of  local  and  national  events,  like  the  Annals  of  Ttghernach^ 
or  the  Chronicon  Scotorum  at  Clonraacnoise.  Colgan  observes 
that  St.  Moling  had  a  great  devotion  for  St.  Kevin,  and 
constantly  invokes  that  saint  in  his  poems  and  prophecies. 
He  was  probably  privileged  to  see  during  his  boyhood  the 
venerable  Kevin  at  Glendalough,  and  must  have  been  greatly 
impressed  by  that  saintly  master.  St.  Moling  died  towards 
the  close  of  the  seventh  century. 

Notwithstanding  its  remoteness,  the  Danes  frequently 
ravaged  Glendalough  during  the  ninth  century  ;  and  again 
repeated  their  ravages  during  the  tenth  and  following  century. 
Tijcre  could  be  no  peace  for  the  monks  of  St,  Kevin  whilst 
the  flef^ts  of  foreigners  were  on  the  Boyne,  the  LifFey,  and 
even  at  the  moutb  of  the  Bray  River — if  it  be  the  Inner-na- 
mbarc  referied  to  by  the  Four  Masters  in  a.d.  836,  as 
O'Donovan  conjectures.  Still  the  sanctuary  retained  at  least 
to  .^ome  extent  its  ancient  fame  even  during  these  troubled 
times,  for  Cormac  Mac  Cullinnan  before  his  death  in  a.d.  907, 
bequeathed  to  Glendalough  an  ounce  of  gold  and  an  ounce 
of  silver,  as  an  offering  to  secure  the  prayers  of  the  com- 
munity. It  contained  *  learned  men  '  and  *■  anchorites,'  as 
we  know, during  this  century,  for  the  death  of  one  of  them  is 
recorded  by  the  Four  Masters  in  a.d.  953  (recte  954) ;  and 


*  See  O'Hanlon,  Volume  vi.,  pf.ge  714. 


430  TllK  SCHOOL  OK  GLENDALOUGH. 

the  death  of  several  other  anchorites  is  noticed  by  the  Masters 
in  this  same  centur3^  They  were  probably  the  same  as  the 
inclusi  of  whom  we  read  later  on — each  of  them  living  in 
his  own  little  cell,  or  *  kitchen,'  which  was  at  once  liis  house 
and  his  oratory.  One  of  them  was  also  what  was  called  *Head 
of  the  Ilule '  at  Grlendalough,  and  died  in  a.d.  965.  The 
death  of  a  lector  or  reader  ia  theology  is  also  noticed  the 
previous  year ;  both  bore  the  surname  of  O'Manchan,  and  were 
probably  members  of  the  same  family. 

But  it  was  not  the  Danes  alone  who  w^asted  the  abbey-lands 
and  destroyed  the  sacred  edifices.  Native  Irishmen  now 
followed  their  bad  example  both  at  Glendalough  and  else- 
where. In  A.D.  983,  "  the  three  sons  of  Cearbhall,  son  of 
Lorcan,  plundered  the  termon,  or  abbey -lands  of  Coemghen  ; 
but  the  three  were  killed  before  night  through  the  miracles 
of  God  and  Coemghen."  No  one  can  regret  their  fate  ;  it 
was  an  example  and  a  warning  greatly  needed  in  those  rude 
and  lawless  days.  Five  times  during  the  next  thirty  year? 
8t.  Kevin's  sacred  city  was  plundered  and  destroyed  by  the 
Danes  ;^  yet  it  was  still  a  venerated  and  much  frequented 
shrine  during  the  whole  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries. 
In  A.D.  1095  died  the  Brehon  O'Manchan,  Comarb  of  St.  Kevin, 
and  a  most  celebrated  judge.  He  was  doubtless  a  member 
of  the  same  distinguished  family,  which  had  already  given 
many  abbots  and  anchorites  to  Glendalough. 

Noble  ladies,  too,  we  find,  used  to  go  on  the  pilgrimage  to 
Glendalough  ;  for  in  a.d.  1098,  Dearbhforgaill,  daughter  of 
Tadhg  Mac  Gillaphadraig,  and  mother  of  Murtogh  and 
Tadgh  O'Brian.  died  in  piiffrimaee  at  Glendalough.  The 
same  year  Mac  Maras  Cairbreach,  a  nobie  priest  and  learned 
senior,  died  in  the  sacred  vale  ;  but  whether  on  his  pilgrimage 
or  in  his  own  monastery  is  not  stated.  In  a.d.  1127,  the 
abbot  Gilla  Comghall  O'Toole  was  slain  by  the  men  of 
Fertuathal ;  he  was  doubtless  a  member  of  the  same  family 
as  the  illustrious  Laurence  O'Toole,  the  greatest  glory  of 
Glendalough  after  its  founder,  of  whom  we  must  give  a  more 
particular  account,  for  he  was  the  last  canonized  of  the 
countless  saints  of  ancient  Erin. 

The  Four  Masters  in  a.d.  1085  record  the  death  of  **  Gilhi 
na-Naomh  Laighen  (the  Leinster-man),  noble  bishop  of 
Gleann-da-locha,  and  afterwards  head  of  the  monks  of 
Wiirzburg."  The  celebrated  monastery  of  Wiirzburg  in 
Germany,    called    in    Latin    Herbipolis,    was    founde<i    by 


1  See  Archdall* 


ST.  MOLING.  431 

St.  Killian.  There  is  still  preserved  in  tlie  library  of  its 
university  a  famous  MS.  called  the  Codex  Paulinus,  or  Codex 
of  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  in  Latin,  with  copious  glosses, 
both  marginal  and  interlinear,  in  the  Irish  language,  which 
were  largely  made  use  of  by  Zeuss,  in  the  composition  of  his 
Grammatica  Celtica.  .  This  MS.  is  hardly  of  the  time  of 
St.  Killian  himself.  Zeuss  thinks  it  was  written  either  by 
Marianus  Scotus,  or  more  probably  brought  from  Ireland  by 
one  of  the  learned  pilgrims,  who  crowded  the  Scoto-Grerman 
monasteries  at  that  time.  He  makes  special  reference  to 
Gilla  na-Naomh,  Bishop  of  Glendaloch ;  and  it  may  be  that 
he  was  the  writer  of  this  Codex,  which  still  proves  to  the 
learned  world  how  carefully  the  Scriptures  were  studied  in 
our  Irish  schools,  and  how  the  Irish  language  was  cultivated 
by  our  native  scholars  during  the  *  darkest '  of  the  Middle 
A-ges. 


CHAPTER  XYlll- {continued). 

THE  SCHOOL   OF   GLENDALOUGK. 

St.  Laurencb  O'Toole. 

"  And,  Thou,  O  mighty  Lord,  whos*^  ways 

Are  far  above  our  feeble  minds  to  understand. 
Sustain  us  in  these  doleful  days, 

And  render  light  the  chain  that  binds  our  fallen  land. 
Look  down  upon  our  dreary  state  ; 

And  through  the  ages  that  may  still  roll  sadly  on, 
Watch  Thou  o'er  hapless  Erin's  fate, 

And  shield,  at  least  from  darker  ill,  the  blood  of  Conn." 

■ — Clarence  Mangan, 

Something  like  this  was  the  prayer  of  St.  Laurence  O'Toole 
when  he  was  dying  in  a  foreign  land.  He  was  the  last  of 
our  saints ;  and  he  was  also  the  associate  and  intimate  friend 
of  the  last  of  our  kings.  At  one  time  both  had  high  hopes 
that  the  demon  of  civil  strife  might  be  banished  from  the 
land  ;  and  that  Celtic  learning  and  Celtic  art  would  find 
their  highest  development  under  the  protection  of  a  strong 
government  and  a  united  people. 

Together  they  drew  a  sword,  that  could  not  save,  in 
defence  of  hapless  Ireland.  Together  they  were  forced  to 
bow  the  knee  in  homage  to  the  Norman  king.  But  St. 
Laurence  did  not  forget  his  old  master  in  his  new  loyalty. 
He  was  faithful  through  all  his  misfortunes  to  the  unhappy 
Roderick  O'Connor ;  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  met 
his  noble  death  striving  to  obtain  Henry's  pardon  for  the 
discrowned  king,  and  "  to  render  light  the  chains  that  bound 
his  fallen  land.*'  The  saint's  career,  from  every  point  of 
View,  is  full  of  interest ;  and  therefore  we  make  no  apology 
for  tracing  his  history  at  some  length. 

It  is  fortunate  that  in  the  cuse  of  St.  Laurence,  or  Lorcan 
O'Toole,  we  are  not  left  to  tradition  or  imagination  to  enab'e 
us  to  ascertain  what  manner  of  man  he  was.  We  have  an 
accurate  and  autlientic  Life  of  the  saint,  rich  in  all  details, 
and  written  by  one  who  was  in  every  way  qualified  for  the 
task.  The  writer  was  a  member  of  that  community  at  Eu, 
in  whose  bosom  St.  Laurence  found  a  home  and  a  grave  ; 
and  he  must  have  had  ample  and  authentic  information  at 
his  disposal.     For  the  Life  was  written  shortly  after  the 


ST.  LAURENCE  o'tOOLE.  433 

saint's  deatli ;  its  author  must  have  seen  and  probably  con- 
versed with  Laurence  himself;  and,  doubtless,  he  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  clergy  who  accompanied  him  from  Ireland 
to  Normandy.  Above  all,  he  had  at  his  command  the  official 
documents,  which  were  transmitted  from  Dublin  to  Rouen,  at 
the  request  of  the  Bishop  and  Chapter  of  that  Cathedral, 
and  which  were  drawn  up  by  the  Bishop  of  Kildare  and  the 
Prior  of  Christ's  Church  by  command  of  Henry  de  Loundres, 
Archbishop  of  Dublin,  for  the  process  of  the  saint's  canoni- 
zation. 

Laurence  O'Toole,  both  by  father  and  mother,  came  of 
the  noblest  stock  of  Leinster.  His  father,  Murtough,  was 
hereditary  prince  of  the  Hy-Murray,  a  race  that  inhabited 
the  fertile  lands  of  south-eastern  Kildare  (which  still  belongs 
to  the  diocese  of  Dublin),  until  they  were  driven  into  the 
mountains  of  Wicklow  by  the  Normans.  His  mother  was 
the  daughter  of  0 'Byrne,  the  ruler  of  north-eastern  Kildare, 
who  shared  the  same  fate ;  for  both  were  driven  from  the 
plains  into  the  mountains,  where  they  maintained  a  sturd}' 
but  turbulent  independence,  down  to  a  period  within  the 
memory  of  men  still  living. 

The  young  Lorcan.  was  baptized  at  St.  Brigid's  famous 
shrine  in  Kildare,  by  the  hands  of  the  bishop  of  that  ancient 
see,  who  seems  to  have  been  in  some  way  connected  with  the 
family  of  the  saint.  We  need  not  dwell  on  the  alleged 
prophecies  of  the  saint's  future  greatness — too  often  these 
prophecies  were  composed  after  the  event.  A  few  years  at 
most  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  Dermott  M'Murrough,  of 
infamous  memory,  became  king  of  Leinster,  and,  as  GeraUl 
Barry  testifies,  he  was  a  tyrant  from  the  beginning,  a  cruel 
oppressor  of  the  nobles,  a  man  whose  hand  was  agamst  every 
man,  and  who  had  every  man's  hand  against  him.  The 
father  of  the  young  Lorcan  being  suspected  or  defeated  by 
the  tyrant,  was  forced  to  give  his  youngest  child  as  a  hostage 
to^  M'Murrough.  Sometimes  these  hostages  were  treated 
with  ^  great  cruelty ;  and  if  any  violation  of  faith,  real  or 
imaginary,  took  place,  were  not  unfrequenfly  put  to  death 
with  circumstances  of  the  greatest  atrocity.  M'Murrough  was 
a  savage,  and  treated  the  child  savagely.  He  had  him  at  the 
tender  age  of  ten  led  away  in  bonds ;  he  caused  him  to  be 
sent  into  a  desert,  stony  land,  somewhere  probably  to  the 
north  of  Ferns,  and  there  the  child  was  lett  almost  without 
foofl,  until  he  was  nearly  starved  to  death,  and  his  clothes 
were  reduced  to  rags ;  so  that,  as  the  author  of  his  Life  tells 
us,  he  had  nothing  to  shelter  him  from  the  biting  north  winds 

2  « 


434  THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLKN  DALOUGH. 

of  winter.  It  was  the  discipline  of  the  Cross  which  sometime 
or  other  God  prepares  for  those  whom  lie  destines  for  a  high 
degree  of  sanctity,  that  they  may  thus  k'arn  the  best  of  all 
lessons — the  lesson  of  patient  endurance  at  the  foot  of  the 
Cross. 

When  his  iather  lieard  of  the  sad  plight  to  which  his 
poor  son  was  reduced — knowing  that  prayers  would  be 
fruitless  with  such  a  man — he  fortunately  made  prisoners  of 
twelve  of  M'Murrough^s  followers,  and  then  gave  the 
tyrant  to  understand  that  if  his  son  were  not  released,  he 
would  take  summary  vengeance  on  the  captives.  The  threat 
was  effective ;  M'Mur rough  could  not  afford  to  lose  his 
followers.  So  he  agreed  to  give  up  the  boy  to  the  Bishop  of 
Glendalough  on  condition  that  his  own  followers  were  at  once 
released. 

It  was  fortunate  for  young  Lorcan  that  the  chances  of  war 
brought  him  to  Glendalough,  for  it  was  the  crisis  of  his  life. 
His  captivity  was,  after  all,  a  blessing  in  disguise,  since  it 
ended  in  thus  bringing  him  to  the  holy  city  of  St.  Kevin.  In 
spite  of  the  ravages  of  the  Danes,  and  of  other  spoilers  like 
Dermott  M'Murrough,  the  lamp  of  learning  still  burned 
brightly  in  the  mountain  valley,  and  the  virtues  of  St.  Kevin 
were  still  cultivated,  at  least  to  some  extent  by  his  monastic 
children.  There  were,  it  is  true,  from  time  to  time  burnings 
at  Glendalough,  and  deeds  of  violence  were  perpetrated  even 
under  the  shadow  of  its  holy  mountains.  But  the  learnint^ 
and  holiness  acquired  by  St.  Laurence  in  its  cloisters — for  it 
was  his  only  school — is  the  clearest  proof  that  both  sacred 
and  profane  studies  were  there  cultivated  in  comparative 
peace,  and  that  the  churches  of  Glendalough  were  crowded 
with  holy  and  learned  monks  until  the  Norman  spoilers 
came,  when  it  was  made  a  desert,  which  afforded  refuge 
only  to  the  robber  and  the  outlaw. 

Young  Lorcan  was  at  once  placed  under  the  protection 
of  the  bishop;  and  when  his  father  cametto  bring  him  home, 
the  noble  boy  asked  permission  to  remain  for  ever  in  the 
family  of  St.  Kevin,  amd  forego  his  hopes  of  an  earthly  and, 
in  those  days,  a  very  brilliant  inheritance.  The  father 
gladly  consented  ;  and  thus,  at  the  early  age  of  twelve, 
young  Lorcan  was  given  over  to  God,  and  like  Samuel,  was 
brought  up  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  serving  day  and  night 
before  His  altar.  His  whole  time,  like  that  of  his  young 
companions,  was  given  to  prayer  and  study.  It  was  hi« 
highest  privilege  to  be  allowed  to  attend  at  the  altar,  to 
tnjiu  his  young  voice  to  sing  the  praises  of  God  with  the 


ST.  LAURENCE  o'tOOLE.  43-'^ 

monks  in  the  choir,  and  prepare  the  requisites  for  tne  Holy 
Sacrifice,  especially  the  spotless  host,  and  the  wine,  and  the 
limpid  water  from  St.  Kevin's  well.  He  was  assiduous  in 
attendance  at  all  the  lessons  of  the  lectors,  that  is  the  readers 
'n  Divinity  and  Sacred  Scriptures,  who  were  attached  to  the 
monastic  school,  and  delivered  their  lectures  in  a  somewhat 
free  and  easy,  hut  very  effective,  sort  of  way.  In  rainy 
weather  they  assembled  in  the  church,  or  the  abbot's  house, 
or  the  reading  room  ;  but  when  the  sun  shone  the  professor 
and  monks  strolled  about,  or  sat  down  under  the  shade  of 
St.  Kevin's  yew,  while  the  teacher  expounded  the  sacred  page, 
or  read  the  lives  of  ancient  saints,  or  went  through  tne 
canons  of  the  Church,  explaining  how  the  law  was  violated, 
how  transgressors  were  punished,  and  how  the  truly  repent- 
ant after  condign  penance  were  reconciled.  It  was  not  so 
elaborate  a  system  as  we  have  at  present ;  but  it  was  admir- 
ably suited  to  the  wants  of  the  time.  It  certainly  produced 
great  prelates  and  great  saints ;  and  beyond  all  doubt  it  was 
more  healthy  for  soul  and  body  to  hear  the  Word  of  God  ex- 
plained in  the  bracing  air  of  Grlendalough,  under  the  shadow 
of  its  majestic  mountains,  than  to  be  cooped  up  in  a  dusty 
hall,  \^here  one  could  hardly  ever  catch  a  ray  of  the  glorious 
sun  struggling  through  the  murky  atmosphere. 

Lorcan  was  a  diligent  and  keen-witted  scholar.  He  w-s. 
says  the  writer  of  his  Life,  ''Fervens  in  audiendo,  sagax  h 
repetendo,  prudens  in  discern endo,  soUicitus  audita  tenaci 
memoriae  commendare."  No  good  quality  of  a  perfect  student 
was  wanting.  He  was  not  merely  an  attentive  but  an  eager 
listener — fervens  in  audiendo.  He  went  carefully  and  wisely 
over  what  he  had  heard  or  read — sagax  in  repetendo.  This 
improved  his  natural  talents,  and  made  him  a  youth  of  keen 
and  penetrating  judgment — prudens  in  discernendo — and  the 
knowledge  which  he  acquired  he  stored  up,  not  in  a  confused 
heap,  but  with  system  and  order,  which  helped  to  strengthen 
his  retentive  memory,  and  enable  him  to  have  his  know- 
ledge ready  for  use — sollicitus  audita  tenaci  memoriae  com- 
mendare. 

For  thirteen  years  he  spent  his  life  in  the  service  of  God, 
in  the  improvement  of  his  mind,  and  the  acquisition  of  sacred 
knowledge.  They  were  probably  the  happiest  years  of  his 
life  ;  his  young:  heart,  pure  and  free  from  care,  was  given  to 
the  only  love  that  begets  perfect  happiness,  the  love  and 
service  of  God.  Then  it  came  to  pass  that  the  abbot  of 
Glendalough,  the  comarb  of  St.  Kevin,  died ;  and,  young  as 
he  was,  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  clergy,  and  of  the  people, 


436  THE  SCHOOL  OF  fiLEN  DA  LOUGH. 

called  for  Loroan  as  his  successor.  He  was  only  twenty-five 
— too  young,  indeed,  in  ordinary  circumstances  to  be  placed 
at  the  head  of  a  great  community  ;  but  his  virtues,  his  learn- 
ing, and  his  prudence  far  exceeded  the  measure  of  his  years, 
and  so  they  placed  him,  reluctant  as  he  was,  at  the  head  ol 
the  great  establishment  of  St.  Kevin,  probably  about  the 
year  a.d.  1153,  when  we  read  that  the  abbot  Dunlaing  Ua 
Cathail  died. 

We  cannot  stay  to  recount  his  wisdom,  his  zeal,  and,  above 
all,  his  great  charity  in  his  new  post.  The  abbey  lands  were 
wide  ;  the  family  of  St.  Kevin  was  very  large ;  the  duties  of 
the  abbot  very  onerous  ;  but  we  find  young  Lorcan  discharged 
all  these  duties  with  complete  success.  Above  all,  his  charity 
to  the  poor  was  remarkable.  A  time  of  great  scarcity  had 
come  upon  the  people  in  all  that  mountain  region,  and  great 
numbers  would,  undoubtedly,  have  perished  of  cold  and 
hunger,  but  the  abbot  found  means  to  be  generous  to  all — 
no  appeal  was  made  to  him  in  vain  ;  no  one  left  the  gates  of 
the  monastery  hungr}^  When  necessary  he  gave  the  scanty 
meal  from  his  own  table  to  feed  the  starving  people.  Perhaps 
it  was  that  he  was  too  profuse  of  the  property  of  the  monastery, 
or  because  in  the  common  need  he  made  all  give  a  share  to 
the  poor,  but  it  is  certain  that  at  this  period  in  his  own 
religious  family  there  were  false  brethren  who  calumniated 
their  abbot,  whispering  evil  things  against  him.  Yet  he  bore 
all  with  perfect  patience,  and  took  no  measures  to  vindicate 
his  own  character,  until  his  enemies,  from  very  shame,  were 
forced  to  confess  that  they  did  injustice  to  their  blameless 
abbot. 

Shortly  after  the  see  of  Glendalough  became  vacant  and 
the  eyes  of  all  were  turned  on  Laurence  as  the  most  suitable 
person  to  assume  the  mitre.  But  the  pious  abbot  this  time 
absolutely  refused ;  they  made  him  a  religious  superior 
against  his  will ;  but  he  would  not  become  bishop  at  any  rate; 
and  that  for  two  very  good  reasons — first,  because  he  had  not 
yet  attained  the  canonical  age ;  and  secondly,  because  in  his 
humility  he  thought  himself  unable  to  bear  so  heavy  a 
burden. 

But  Providence  reserved  him  for  greater  things. 

Shortly  after  the  archiepiscopal  See  of  Dublin  became 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Gregory  in  October,  a.d.  1161.  Next 
year  the  abbot  of  Glendalough  was  chosen  to  succeed  to  the 
vacant  See,  and  was  consecrated  in  Christ  Church  Cathedral 
by  tlie  Primate  Gelasius,  attended  by  several  other  prelates 
and  abbots  from  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.      The  choice 


ST.  LAURENCE  o'toOLE.  437 

of  Lorcan  to  fill  the  See  of  Dublin  is  a  singular  proof  of  the 
great  esteem  is  which  he  was  held  by  all  classes  of  his  country- 
men, both  clergy  and  l.ilty.  For  the  citizens  of  Dublin  were 
mostly  of  Danish  origin,  and  had  small  sympathy  with  the 
jatives.  Hitherto  their  prelates  were  either  of  foreign 
extraction,  or  Irishmen,  who  had  been  trained  and  educated 
in  England.  They  were  consecrated  too  by  the  Archbishops 
oi"  Canterbury  ;  and  they  invariably  took  an  oath  of  obedience 
and  subjection  to  the  see  of  Canterbury. 

But  the  election  of  Lorcan  inaugurated  a  new  era  He 
was  Irish  of  the  Irish  ;  trained  and  educated  at  home,  as  far 
as  we  know,  exclusively  within  the  shadow  of  the  Wicklow 
Mountains.  He  was  consecrated  by  the  Primate  of  Armagh, 
and  of  course  he  was  neither  asked,  nor  if  asked,  was  he  a 
man  to  promise  obedience  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  which 
certainly  had  no  cLnm  de  jure  to  the  obedience  of  any  Irish 
prelate.  Nor  did  any  prelate  after  him  consecrated  for 
any  Irish  see  promise  or  pay  any  such  CLinonicai  obedience 
to  any  prelate  except  the  Pope.  So  that  in  the  person  of 
Ijorcan  the  Irish  Church  was  finally  emancipated  fiom  this 
dependence  on  the  Primate  of  all  England,  which  in  after 
days,  had  it  continued,  might  have  been  the  means  of  causing 
the  shipwreck  of  our  country's  faith. 

Laurence  was  consecrated  Archbishop  of  Dublin — 
Glendalough  was  not  yet  united  to  the  Archdiocese — in  the 
year  a.d.  1162.  In  the  same  year  we  find  that  there  was  a 
Synod  of  the  Irish  prelates  held  at  Clane  in  the  co.  Kildaie, 
at  which  twenty-six  bishops  and  several  abbots  are  said  to 
have  assembled  for  the  reformation  of  abuses,  and  the  enact- 
ment of  salutary  discipline.  The  Primate  Gelasius  presided  ; 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  many  of  the  same  prelates 
assisted  at  the  consecration  of  St.  Laurence  in  Dublin. 

At  that  time  the  city  seems  to  have  been  greatly  in  need 
of  some  moral  reformation  ;  and  the  holy  prelate  at  once  girt 
up  his  loins  for  the  difiicult  task. 

He  began  with  the  clergy  ;  for  he  knew  that  the  people 
would  readily  follow  their  good  example.  He  persuaded  the 
secular  clergy  of  the  Cathedral  Church  to  form  themselves 
into  a  kind  of  religious  community.  With  the  sanction  of 
the  Poi  e  they  adopted  the  rule  of  life  followed  by  the  Regular 
Canons  of  Aroasia — a  reform  ttjat  had  been  in i reduced  inio 
the  diocese  of  Arras  in  France  some  eighty  years  before.  The 
Archbishop  himself  adopted  the  same  rule  of  life,  and  became 
a  living  model  of  its  perfect  observance  for  all  his  clergy. 
"VVe  fortunately  have  accurate  detuiis  regarding  his  manner 


438  THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDA LOUGH. 

of  life  at  this  period  ;  and  beyond  all  doubt  it  was,  as  tbe 
lessons  lead  on  his  festival  declare,  a  life  of  marvellous 
austerity. 

Beneath  his  episcopal  dress  he  wore  the  habit  of  a  Canon 
Regular,  but,  unlike  the  others,  next  his  skin  he  wore  a 
coarse  hair  shirt  night  and  day ;  and  as  if  that  was  not 
enough  to  mortify  his  flesh,  he  had  himself  frequently 
scourii(^d,  often  no  less  than  three  times  in  the  day,  by  an 
attendant  who  knew  how  to  keep  the  scourging  secret.  He 
dined  in  the  same  refectory  with  the  other  canons,  and,  as 
with  St.  Augustine  and  his  clergy,  whilst  the  body  was 
refreshed  with  food,  the  spirit  was  nourished  by  spiritual 
reading.  He  was  most  abstemious  too  at  all  his  meals,  and 
never  tasted  meat.  On  Friday  his  only  food  was  bread  and 
water  ;  and  sometimes  on  that  day  he  absolutely  abstained 
from  all  food — feeding  his  soul,  however,  with  meditation  on 
the  passion  of  Christ.  Yet  he  was  hospitable  as  became  a 
great  prelate,  and  had  banquets  rich  and  abundant  prepared 
for  his  guests.  He  even  pretended  on  these  occasions  to  take 
a  share  of  the  good  things  provided  for  the  strangers,  and 
•oloured  his  water  with  a  little  wine,  lest  his  own  abstinenc  e 
might  prevent  them  from  fully  enjoying  the  bountiful 
hospitality  prepared  for  them. 

He  was  assiduous  in  prayer,  and  before  all  things  anxious 
to  promote  the  beauty  of  God's  house,  as  well  as  the  splendour 
and  regularity  of  Divine  worship.  Here,  too,  the  example  of 
the  holy  prelate  must  have  exercised  a  very  powerful  in- 
fluence both  on  the  clergy  and  on  the  people.  We  are  told 
by  the  writer  of  his  Life  that  he  was  a  constant  attendant  at 
all  the  offices  of  the  Church,  when  not  visiting  his  diocese  ; 
and  not  content  at  presiding  at  the  daily  offices,  he  regularly 
got  up  at  midnight  to  recite  matins  and  lauds  with  his 
canons  ;  and  when  they  retired  to  rest  after  the  office  was 
completed,  he  generally  remained  behind  in  the  choir,  before 
the  miraculous  crucifix  of  Christ  Church,  sometimes  stand- 
ing, or  sitting,  or  kneeling,  but  always  praying  ;  so  that  lie 
often  continued  reciting  the  psaltery  until  the  morning- 
dawned,  and  then  he  would  go  out  to  the  cem^  tery  to  say  a 
prayer  for  the  dead  before  retiring  for  a  few  hours'  brief 
repose  Yet  in  all  things  which  might  win  pepuhir  favour 
or  applause,  he  loved  to  hide  even  his  good  works,  lest  they 
might  beget  self-esteem  or  hypocrisy. 

Such  a  life  was  sufficiently  rigorous,  but  it  v  as  not  enough 
for  this  man  of  God.  His  nephew  Thomas,  whom  he  greatly 
loved,  became  Abbot  of  Glendulough;  ;iud  then  the  holy  pro- 


ST.  LAURENCE  O' TOOLE.  439 

late  having  one  in  whom  he  could  confide,  used  to  retire  to 
his  beloved  mountain  valley  at  the  approach  of  Lent,  in  order 
to  giye  himself  up  to  a  fortj^  days'  retreat  in  the  desert.  All 
the  saints  of  God  loved  solitude,  and  longed  to  fly  from  the 
haunts  of  men.  They  seem  to  have  been  especially  anxious 
to  select  for  their  place  of  retreat  those  secluded  spots  where 
the  sights  and  sounds  of  nature  might  be  most  apt  to  raise 
their  minds  to  God.  Hence  we  find  them  in  the  islands  of 
the  great  sea,  or  of  some  lonely  lake;  or  they  retired  to  the 
majestic  solitude  of  some  mountain  valley,  where  no  mean  or 
sordid  thoughts  could  cross  their  minds;  nay,  rather  everything 
around  tlicm  helped  to  raise  their  souls  to  heaven.  It  was  in 
this  spirit — the  spirit  of  a  noble  generous  soul  that  Laurence 
used  to  leave  the  city  and  go  rut  to  meet  and  commune  with 
God  in  the  solitude  of  the  mountains  of  Wicklow.  It  was  the 
same  Spirit  of  God  that  brought  Moses  to  Nebo,  and  Eliseus 
to  Horeb.  Therefore  it  was  that  St.  Gall  sought  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  Alps,  and  St.  Kevin  the  deepest  valleys  of  the 
Wicklow  mountains.  So  Laurence,  like  another  Kevin,  took 
up  his  abode  not  with  his  nephew  in  the  monastery  at  the 
bottom  of  the  valley,  but  in  the  bosom  of  the  hills — in  the 
very  cave  where  St.  Kevin  himself  spent  his  earliest  peniten- 
tial years.  There  St.  Laurence  dwelt  in  the  grotto  in  the 
face  of  Lugduff,  under  the  mountain's  brow,  overlooking  the 
gloomy  lake,  to  which  access  could  be  gained  only  by  a  boat, 
or  by  a  ladder  planted  in  the  lake  itself.  Twice  a  week  his 
nephew  brought  him  a  little  bread  and  water  to  support  life, 
and  ascertained  his  wishes  or  commands  in  all  things  con- 
cerning the  government  of  the  diocese.  If  urgent  business 
called  him,  he  went  at  once  from  his  retreat ;  but  this  rarely 
h.ippened.  Whilst  there  he  saw  no  one  but  his  nephew. 
His  bed  was  the  rock  ;  his  canopy  the  sky  ;  his  lamps  the 
midnight  stars  that  shone  above  the  summit  of  Comaderry 
mountain.  He  was  there  in  cold  and  hunger,  in  storm  and 
sunshine,  alone  all  the  day  and  all  the  dreary  night.  Yet  he 
was  perfectly  happy,  for  he  lived  with  God.  The  saints  are 
not  alone  in  these  solitudes,  they  are  watched  by  angels  ;  the 
light  of  heaven  is  around  them  ;  the  glow  of  perfect  love  is  in 
their  hearts  ;  God  speaks  to  them  in  all  che  voices  of  the 
mountains,  and  they  see  Him  in  all  the  majestic  sights  before 
their  eyes.  He  spoke  by  day  and  night  to  Laurence,  as  He 
spoke  to  holy  Job  of  old. 

But  what  useful  purpose  does  this  extreme  austerity  serve? 
We  can  only  answer  very  briefly  that  it  serves  two  things — 
first,  it  serves  to  emancipate  and  ennoble  the  soul  in  its  con- 


440  niK  SCllOOI.  OF  GLKNDALOUGH. 

Hict  with  the  flesh  ;  second,  it  serves  to  assimilate  us  with 
Christ  crucified.  We  with  our  selfish  hearts,  our  sordid  un- 
generous souls,  cannot  understand  the  saints  of  God  ;  we  can- 
not realize  how  God  speaks  to  them,  and  comforts  them,  and 
feeds  them  like  the  ravens  in  the  wilderness.  Yet  this  bishop 
was  a  man  like  ourselves,  a  man  whose  life  was  cast  on  evil 
days,  and  who  lived  in  the  midst  of  a  wicked  and  perverse 
generation. 

Yes,  the  prelati;  was  a  {Saint  and  an  Apostle  ;  but  the 
people  were  sensual  and  wicked ;  they  would  not  hearken  to 
his  word,  nor  turn  away  from  their  evil  courses.  Danish 
Dublin  at  this  time  was  not  a  model  city,  nor  a  truly 
Christian  city.  It  was  still,  in  many  ways,  half  pagan  ;  or  if 
they  had  faith,  they  certainly  had  not  works.  I'he  Arch- 
bishop was  sorely  grieved;  he  forewarned  them,  like  another 
Jereraias,  of  the  wrath  to  come.  He  told  them,  what  even 
human  sagacity  might  perceive,  that  every  kingdom  divided 
against  itself  must  fall ;  that  an  evil  day  was  in  store  for 
them,  as  well  as  for  the  wicked  and  perverse  generation  that 
was  over  all  the  land.  God  had  sent  them  prophets,  and 
they  would  not  hearken  ;  apostles,  but  they  would  not  be 
converted.  "  So  the  day  is  at  hand,  and  thy  house  will  be 
laid  desolate."  It  was  even  at  their  doors — a  day  of  wrath 
and  vengeance — and  yet  a  day  of  justice  and  mercy,  because 
their  bitter  chastisement  was  yet  their  salvation. 

Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  Norman  freebooters  in  the 
year  a.d.  1169,  Dermott  M'Murrough  and  Maurice  Fitzgerald 
made  their  first  attack  on  Dublin.  On  this  occasion  the 
citizens  kept  within  their  gates,  and  the  enemy  was  not 
strong  enough  to  take  the  city.  But  the  midnight  sky  was 
red  with  the  glare  of  burning  homesteads  through  all  the 
valley  of  the  Liffey  ;  and  wnen  the  plunderers  departed, 
scarcely  a  living  thing  survived  in  all  that  fertile  region. 

Next  year  the  attack  was  renewed  in  force,  and  this  time 
it  was  directed  against  the  city  itself.  The  citizens  had  great 
reason  to  fear  the  vengeance  of  M'Murrough,  for  they  had 
put  his  father  to  a  cruel  death  in  the  midst  of  their  city,  and 
had  shamefully  buried  him  with  a  dog.  Now  M'Murrougb, 
with  the  Normans  led  on  by  Strongbow  in  person,  was 
thundering  at  their  gates.  The  city,  too,  was  badly  prepared 
for  a  siege,  and  there  were  traitors  within  the  walls ;  so  the 
citizens  resolved  to  make  the  best  terms  they  could,  and 
surrender  the  city.  The  Archbishop  was  asked  to  negotiate 
tke  terms  of  surrender  ;  but  even  whilst  he  and  the  Earl 
were  in  confc  reuce  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  Milo  de 


ST.  LAURENCE  O' TOOLE.  4^  \ 

Cogan,  and  some  of  the  more  lawless  spirits,  burst  over  the 
walls,  and  attacked  the  town.  They  burned,  robbed,  and 
slaughtered  as  usual,  so  that  the  streets  were  filled  with  the 
dead  and  dying.  Then  it  was  that  St.  Laurence  proved  him- 
self a  true  pastor.  Kushing  from  the  false  parley,  he  entered 
the  city,  and  snatched  from  the  brutal  soldiers  the  palpitating 
bodies  of  their  victims.  A  hundred  times  he  interposed  his 
own  borly  to  ward  off  the  fatal  stroke  from  others.  He  went 
about  through  the  slippery  streets  in  his  episcopal  robes, 
with  the  cross  in  his  hands,  imploring  the  merciless  foe  for 
Christ's  sake  to  stop  the  horrid  carnage  ;  and  when  he  could 
do  no  more,  he  gave  absolution  to  the  dying,  and  helped  to 
bury  the  heaps  of  dead.  It  was  a  fearful  foretaste  of  what 
his  native  land  was  destined  to  endure  in  the  future. 

But  the  Archbishop  was  not  only  a  true  pastor,  but  a 
true  patriot.  He  knew  that  the  first  adventurers  were 
simply  robbers,  some  of  whom  were  afterwards  imprisoned 
for  daring  to  effect  a  hostile  landing  in  Ireland,  without  the 
licence  of  the  kin^,  at  the  invitation  of  a  traitor.  So  he 
stimulated  the  slothful  king,  Rory  O'Connor,  to  action ;  he 
implored  the  native  princes  to  give  up  for  a  while  their 
insane  divisions,  to  unite  against  the  common  foe,  and  come 
to  the  aid  of  the  Capital.  These  efforts  were  partially 
successful.  Some  thirty  thousand  Irish  soldiers  under  the 
supreme  command  of  Roderick  himself  beleagured  the  city 
from  Dalkey  to  Clontarf,  whilst  the  ships  of  Hasculf  the 
Dane  crowded  the  river,  and  watched  the  river-gate.  It  was 
the  supreme  moment  of  Ireland's  destiny.  Had  the  Irish 
been  soldiers,  or  even  men,  they  might  have  Miiniliilated  their 
foes.  But  they  were  neither.  After  a  two  months'  siege,  in 
which  the  garrison  was  reduced  to  the  verge  of  starvation, 
Milo  de  Cogan  made  a  desperate  sall}^  with  a  few  hundred 
soldiers,  and  routed  the  hosts  of  the  Irish,  almost  with  a 
shout,  as  boys  frighten  away  the  flocks  of  birds  from  tlie 
fields  in  spring. 

The  Archbishop  doubtless  saw  clearly  enough  from  what 
he  witnessed  on  that  occasion,  that  the  Irish  soldiers  had  no 
discipline,  that  their  leaders  had  no  union  amongst  them- 
selveS;  and  that  such  a  heap  of  un cementing  sand,  as  the 
event  proved,  would  have  no  chance  of  withstanding  the 
mail-clad  warriors,  who  were  victorious  on  every  battlefield 
in  Europe.  So  when  the  king  himself  came  over  towards 
the  close  of  a.d.  1171,  Laurence  O'Toole,  with  the  rest  of  the 
Irish  prelates,  followed  the  example  of  the  kings  of  the 
VVest,  andSouthj  and  Ea>t,  who  had  all  submitted  to  Henry 


4,42  THE  SCHOOL  OF   GLENDALOUGH. 

without  striking  a  blow.  Herein,  too,  he  proved  himself  a 
true  patriot,  although  submission  must  have  cost  him  a  bitter 
pang.  He  had  seen  enough  to  prove  that  resistance  was 
utterly  hopeless,  and  that  his  duty  to  God  and  to  the  people 
was  to  yield  to  a  power  which  he  could  not  oppose.  So  we 
find  his  name  amongst  the  prelates  who  assembled  at  Cashel  in 
A.D.  1171,  or  the  beginning  of  a.d.  1172,  to  enact  such  discip- 
linary laws  as  the  deplorable  state  of  the  times  had  rendered 
imperatively  necessary  for  the  reformation  of  morality  and 
the  reform  of  discipline.  From  the  Pope's  reply  to  the 
Sy nodical  letter  of  this  Council  we  can  readily  infer,  vvba.^ 
indeed  we  might  naturally  expect  from  the  disturbed  state  ol 
the  times,  that  very  grave  abuses  prevailed  at  this  period  in 
various  parts  of  the  country — abuses  which  it  was  a  blessing 
to  have  reformed  almost  at  any  cost. 

Yet  the  great  Archbishop  was  devotedly  loyal  to  his  own 
sovereign,  Rory  O'Connor,  and  continued  to  be  faithful  to 
him  to  the  end,  even  when  he  became  a  crownless  king, 
forsaken  by  his  own  subjects,  and  despised  and  imprisoned 
by  his  own  sons.  Indeed  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
Laurence  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  that  worthless  king 
whose  misfortunes  he  had  done  so  much  to  alleviate. 

In  A.D.  1175  Bory  O'Connor  finally  and  formally  gave  up  all 
claims  to  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  and  was  content  to  accept 
his  own  hereditary  kingdom  of  Connaught  as  a  fief  from  the 
English  monarch.  The  treaty  is  still  extant ;  and  we  find 
the  name  of  Laurencius  Dubiinensis  as  Chancellor  for  the 
unfortunate  King  of  Connaught.  He  even  went  over  to 
London  in  person  in  company  with  the  Archbishop  of 
Tuam,  and  the  Abbot  of  St.  Brendan's,  Clonfert,  to 
negotiate  the  treaty  for  his  old  and  beloved  monarch. 
Such  fidelity  to  fallen  princes  is  rare,  and  is  highly 
honourable  to  the  great  prelate  of  Dublin. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  a.d.  1178  Alexander  III. 
convoked  for  the  first  Sunday  of  the  following  Lent  a 
General  Council  to  meet  in  Rome,  in  order  to  heal  the 
deplorable  wounds  which  the  Church  had  received  from  a 
schism  of  some  twenty  years'  standing.  The  Letters  of 
Convocation  did  not  arrive  in  Ireland  until  near  Christmas ; 
the  journey  to  Home  was  toilsome  and  perilous,  especially  in 
the  winter  season  ;  yet  the  good  Archbishop  at  once  preparetl 
to  obey  the  Voice  of  the  Pope  as  the  voice  of  God.  Ho 
started  immediately  after  Christmas,  and  crossing  over  to 
England  was,  with  the  Irish  prelates,  his  companions,  very 
rudely  treated  by  the  kin;r.     Before  they  were  allowed  to 


ST.  LAURENCE    0*TOOLE.  443 

cross  to  Fraiice  the  jealous  tyrant  compelled  them  to  swear 
that  during  their  stay  in  Rome  they  would  do  nothing 
derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  English  crown.  But  in 
spite  of  every  obstacle  they  succeeded  in  making  their  way 
to  E-ome,  and  were  present  at  all  the  sessions  of  the  Council. 
It  is  a  proud  thing  to  find  the  names  of  six  Irish  prelates 
amongst  the  signatories  of  that  great.  Council — a  larger 
number  than  came  from  Enoland  and  Scotland  toorether-  ' 
and  at  their  head  stands  the  name  of  Laurence,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin. 

But  Laurence  did  more  than  attend  the  sessions  of  the 
Council.  Pie  opened  the  eyes  of  the  Pope  to  the  true  state  of 
affairs  in  Ireland,  and  not  only  secured  many  privileges  for 
his  own  Church  in  Dublin,  but  also  insisted  on  the  Pope 
recognising  and  safeguarding  the  liberty  and  independence 
of  the  Church  in  Ireland.  Unfortunately  our  information  on 
this  question  is  very  scanty.  However  we  are  inclined  to 
think  that,  when  it  is  said  St.  Laurence  secured  the 
liberty  of  the  Church  in  Ireland,  it  means  not  only  that,  like 
Thomas  a  Becket,  he  took  measures  to  protect  it  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  civil  power,  but  what  was  at  least  of 
equal  importance,  he  preserved  it  from  all  dependence  on  the 
See  of  Canterbury,  It  was  only  two  years  before  in  a.I).  1177 
that  the  Scottish  prelates  and  abbots  were  forced  to  swear 
obedience  to  the  Archbishop  of  York  as  their  metropolitan. 
The  same  crafty  policy  would  no  doubt  be  also  attempted  in 
Ireland;  and  although  we  cannot  prove  it,  we  are  convinced  in 
our  own  mind  that  it  is  to  St.  Laurence  O'Toole  we  owe  the 
spiritual  independence  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Ireland. 

The  Pope  conceived  a  very  strong  regard  for  St. 
Laurence  ;  he  conferred  on  him  the  high  and  special  honour 
of  Apostolic  Legate  in  Ireland  ;  and  the  independence  of  the 
Irish  Church,  having  thus  been  once  formally  recogni-ed  in 
Rome,  could  not  afterwards  be  easily  undermined.  But  we 
must  hasten  to  the  end.  Laurence  came  home  to  Ireland ; 
his  stay,  however,  was  very  briei,  wlien  he  was  again  com- 
pelled to  travel  to  England  in  the  interest  of  Rory  O'Connor, 
the  discrowned  king.  Several  abortive  attempts  were  made 
to  get  rid  of  the  English  influence  in  the  West  of  Ireland ; 
Rory,  or  at  least  his  sons,  were  implicated  in  these  designs, 
and  Henry,  who  only  wanted  an  excuse,  threatened  to  depose 
the  old  king,  and  confiscate  all  his  territories  to  the  Crown. 
Rory  was  alarmed,  and  what  was  worse,  he  was  helpless. 
His  own  sons  had  turned  against  him ;  so  in  his  misery 
he    implored    the    Archbishop    to   be    hi 9.    mediator    with 


444  THE  SCHOOL  OF  GLENDALOUGH. 

the  king.  He  had  no  one  else  to  rely  on,  and  the 
Archbishop  did  not  disappoint  him.  Again  he  left  the 
shores  of  Ireland  on  a  mission  of  charity  ;  and  doubtless  his 
eyes  were  not  dry  as  he  gazed  on  the  lessening  summits  of 
the  far-off  Wicklow  mountains,  and  thought  of  the  manv 
happy  days  he  had  spent  in  the  wild  solitude  of  his  beloved 
Gleudalough.  When  he  arrived  in  England  Ht  nry  could 
not,  or  would  not,  see  him  ;  moreover,  he  forbade  the  prelate 
to  return  again  to  Ireland,  and  he  himself  sailed  away  to 
Normandy.  For  three  weeks  the  Archbishop  was  kept  as  a 
sort  of  prisoner  in  the  monastery  of  Abingdon,  when,  resolv- 
ing to  dare  all  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose,  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  find  out  the  king  beyond  the  Channel.  He 
embarked  at  Dover ,-  but  a  fever  had  already  laid  hold  of 
him,  so  that  when  he  landed,  he  was  unable  to  travel.  He 
struggled  onward,  however,  for  a  little  until  he  came  to  the 
brow  of  the  hill  which  overlooks  the  chui:ch  and  monastery 
at  the  little  town  of  Augum  or  Eu,  on  the  borders  of  Nor- 
mandy. Enquiring  the  name  of  the  place,  he  learned  that 
it  was  the  Church  of  the  Canons  Kegular  of  St.  Victor,  a 
branch  closely  allied  to  his  own.  Thereupon  he  cried  out — 
*' Haec  rtquies  mea  in  aeternum,  hie  habitabo  quoniam  elegi 
cam." 

Arriving  at  the  monastery,  he  first  paid  a  visit  to  the 
church,  and  after  spending  some  time  in  fervent  prayer 
before  the  altar,  he  was  carried  to  the  hospice.  The  scene 
that  followed  is  touching  in  the  extreme,  and  is  taken  exacti} 
from  the  Latin  Life  written  by  a  brother  of  the  Order.  After 
reposing  a  little  he  sent  for  the  Abbot  Osbert,  and  made  hi& 
confession  with  great  sorrow  and  humility.  But  still  his 
mind  was  not  easy  ;  for  the  task  for  which  he  crossed  the  sea 
was  unaccomplished,  and  he  was  no  longer  able  to  plead  in 
person  before  the  king.  Then  he  called  one  of  his  attendant 
clerics,  David  by  name,  thetutor  of  Rory's  son,  who  was  to  be 
given  as  a  hostage  to  Henry  for  his  father's  loyalty.  '*  Go," 
said  he  to  David,  *'  find  out  King  Henry,  tell  him  1  am  dying, 
and  ask  him  in  God's  name  to  forgive  the  King  of  Connaught, 
and  receive  him  again  into  favour."  David  bowed  his  head, 
and  set  out  to  find  the  king.  He  was  favoutably  received, 
for  his  story  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  king,  whose 
hard  heart  was  softened  by  the  sufferings  of  the  Archbishop 
in  the  cause  ot  his  sovereign.  He  granted  the  boon,  and 
pledged  his  royal  word  that  he  would  receive  Rory  again 
into  favour.  So  David,  after  four  days,  returned  to  the 
dying  prelate,  who  anxiously  awaited  his  arrival,  and  iold  of 


ST.  LAURENCE  o'tOOLE.  445 

his  success.  Then  St  Laurence  called  David  to  him,  made 
him  sit  close  by  his  side,  for  he  was  almost  unable  to  speak, 
and  laid  his  head  upon  the  bosom  of  the  priest  to  imply  that 
he  was  now  satisfied,  and  that  he  would  die  in  peace. 

Shortly  after,  his  mind  being  now  at  ease,  he  received  the 
Viaticum  with  the  greatest  devotion,  and  then  begged  to  be 
anointed.  Some  one  of  the  bystanders  suggested  that  now, 
as  he  had  received  all  the  sacraments,  it  were  well  if  the 
Archbishop  made  his  will.  Raising  his  eyes  to  heaven  he  made 
use  of  these  solemn  and  memorable  words : — "  I  declare 
before  God  that  I  have  not  one  penny  under  the  sun  to  dis- 
pose of — not  one  penny " — he  was  a  religious,  a  Canon 
Regular ;  he  professed  poverty  and  he  kept  his  vow.  What- 
ever he  possessed  he  gave  to  the  poor ;  indeed  he  never 
possessed  anything  at  all.  No  sooner  was  it  got  than  it  was 
gone  again.  Happy  the  priest  who  at  his  dying  hour  can 
make  the  same  declaration  with  the  same  truth.  Then  his 
thoughts  wandered  back  to  his  native  land — that  native  land 
which  he  loved  so  wisely  and  so  well,  which  he  tried  in  vain 
to  save,  and  which  he  now  saw  torn  with  internal  dissensions 
and  trampled  under  foot  by  foreign  foes — and  he  dying  far 
away,  and  leaving  no  one  behind  him  to  guide  his  people  or 
heal  his  country's  wounds.  These  bitter  thoughts  sank  deep 
into  his  heart ;  and  in  anguish  of  mind  he  exclaimed — alas  ! 
we  know  how  propheticallv — "  Heu  popule  stulte  et  insipiens, 
quid  jam  facturus  es — quis  sanabit  aversiones  tuas?  Quis 
medebitur  tui?"  Ah,  foolish  and  misguided  people,  what 
will  now  become  of  thee?  Who  will  cure  thy  dissensions  ? 
Who  will  heal  thy  wounds  ?  He  longed  to  be  dissolved  and 
to  be  with  Christ ;  yet  for  the  sake  of  his  perishing  flock  he 
would  still  remain.  But  the  end  was  now  at  hand.  With 
dim  eyes  he  kept  reading  a  MS.  copy  of  the  Seven  Peniten- 
tial Psalms  which  he  had  brought  to  him;  and  when  he  could 
read  no  more,  orally  or  mentally,  about  twelve  o'clock  on 
Friday,  the  14th  of  November,  the  glorious  Confessor  closed 
his  eyes  in  a  peaceful,  happy  death. 

The  body  of  the  holy  Confessor  was  buried  in  presence 
of  Cardinal  Alexis,  the  Papal  Legate  of  Scotland.  But  it 
remained  in  its  place  of  burial  only  four  years  and  six  months, 
when  the  many  wondrous  miracles  wrought  at  his  tomb 
caused  the  remains  of  St.  Laurence  to  be  transferred,  and 
with  great  solemnity  enclosed  in  a  crystal  case  before  the 
high  altar  of  the  church. 

Shortly  after,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  Canons  Regular 
and  the  faithful  of  Eu,  a  petition  for  the  canonization  of  the 


4  in  THE  SCHOOL  OF  CLEND  \  L'Jt'Oli 

holy  servant  of  God  was  sent  to  Kome  by  the  Arch Oi shop 
and  Chapter  of  Rouen,  to  which  diocese  the  church  of  Eu 
belongs.  The  Pope,  Honorius  III.,  ordered  the  usual  inves- 
tigation to  be  made  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities.  As 
St.  Laurence  came  from  Ireland  shortly  before  his  death, 
it  became  necessary  to  have  an  officinl  report  concerning 
the  life  of  St.  Laurence  from  that  country.  The  task  was 
committed  by  the  Pope  t)  Henry  de  Loundres,  Archbishop 
of  Dublin ;  but  he  being  absent  in  England  on  affairs  of 
State,  commissioned  the  Bishop  of  Kildare  and  the  Prior  of 
Christ's  Church  to  collect  the  necessary  depositions  and  trans- 
mit them  to  Rome.  After  the  usual  proce  ss  with  legal  proof 
of  the  practice  of  heroic  virtues  during  life  and  miracles  after 
death,  Honorius  III.,  in  the  tenth  year  of  his  pontificate,  in 
a  Bull  issued  from  Reate,  solemnly  enrolled  St.  Laurence 
O'Toole  amongst  the  canonized  saints  of  the  Church.  It  was 
the  year  of  oui*  Lord  a.d.  1225  that  the  latest  of  our  saints 
was  thus  formally  canonized. 

It  is  the  greatest  glory  of  the  School  of  Glendalough  to 
have  produced  such  a  man — so  learned,  so  holy,  so  faithful  to 
his  king  and  to  his  country  in  the  hour  of  trial.  When  shall 
we  see  his  like  again  ?  And  who  will  deny  that  the  Church 
which  produced  such  men  as  St.  Laurence  and  St  Malachy 
was  sound  at  the  core  in  spite  of  many  faults  and  abuses? 

After  his  death  the  School  and  Monastery  of  Glendalough 

fradually  fell  into  decay,  until  at  length  the  holy  valley  ot 
t  Kevin  became  little   better  than  a  nest  of  robbers  and 
murdejera. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 
I. — The  School  of  Lismore,  St.  Cahthach. 

"  I  found  in  eacli  great  church,  moreo'er. 
Whether  in  island  or  on  shore, 
Pity,  learning,  fond  affection, 
Holy  welcome  and  kind  protraction." 

— King  Aldfi'id^s  Poem  on  Ireland. 

The  Munster  Schools  were  of  somewhat  later  origin  than 
the  monastic  schools  of  the  North ;  but  during  the  seventh 
century  some  of  them  became  very  celebrated,  especially  the 
great  School  of  Lismore,  which  was  second  only  to  that  of 
Cloninacrioise.  It  was  founded  by  St.  Car*  hacii  about  the 
year  a.d  636,  and  soon  became  the  chief  seminary  in  the 
South  of  Ireland. 

St.  Carthach,  its  founder,  was  born  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century  in  that  remote  district  of  West  Kerry, 
which  also  gave  birth  to  St.  Brendan  of  Clonfert.  He  was 
sprung,  too,  from  the  same  race  as  Brendan,  for  his  father 
Firaull,  son  of  Fingin,  derived  his  descent  from  the  renowne  1 
Fergus  Mac  Roy,  the  northern  hero,  so  celebrated  in  romantic 
legend  and  bardic  song.  His  mother,  Findmaith — the  noble- 
fair  one — is  said  to  have  been  the  daughter  of  another  Fingin, 
who  was  chieftain  of  Corcoduibhne,  in  the  same  County 
Kerry.  This  lady  was  twice  married,  and  by  the  second 
marriage  became  the  mother  of  St.  Cuanna  of  Kilcoony,  and 
probably  of  other  saints  also. 

The  infant  was  baptized  by  a  priest  called  Aidan,^  who 
gave  him  Carthach  as  his  baptismal  name  ;  but  the  future 
saint  was  more  commonly  called  Mochuda,  which  seems  to 
have  been  a  pet  name  given  to  the  boy  by  his  teacher 
St.  Carthach  the  Elder. ^  The  Elder  Carthach  at  this  time, 
about  A.D.  570,  lived  at  his  monastery  at  the  foot  of  Slemlsh 
(Slieve  Mis)  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Mang,  not  far 

^  See  Life  in  the  Salamanca  MS. 

*  It  is  likely  that  his  first  name  was  Cuda,  and  that  he  got  the  name  of 
Carthach  Junior  in  honour  of  his  master. — Martyrology  of  Donegal. 


448  SCHOOT.S  or  THE  SEVENTH  OENTURY. 

from  Castlemaine.  His  younger  namesake  had  just  attained 
the  age  of  twelve,  and  was  according  to  the  writer  of  his 
Life,  a  handsome  youth,  whose  brio^ht  face  and  winning  ways 
made  him  a  great  favourite  with  all  who  knew  him.  As  yet, 
however,  he  had  received  little  or  no  training  either  in  virtue 
or  learning.  Like  St.  Patrick  at  the  same  age,  he  was 
employed  in  herding  his  father's  swine  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  when  it  chanced  that  he  came  near  the  monastery  of 
St.  Carthach.  Just  then  he  happened  to  hear  the  monks 
pouring  foi  th  the  solemn  strains  of  sacred  psalmody,  and  was 
filled  with  such  rapture  that  he  remained  all  night  near  the 
holy  place  without  food  or  shelter.  When  asked  by  his 
parents  where  he  had  spent  the  night,  he  told  them ;  and 
added  that  he  was  ready  to  leave  all  and  join  that  sacred  choir 
of  white- robed  monks.  His  parents  gladly  consented,  and 
sending  for  the  Bishop  Carthach;  they  handed  over  the  boy 
for  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

The  bishop  trained  the  youth  in  sacred  learning,  and  saw 
him  dail\,  to  his  great  joy,  make  even  greater  progress  in 
virtue,  so  that  after  some  years  he  ordained  him  priest.  The 
holy  prelate  then  after  a  short  term  of  trial  gave  him  per- 
mission to  found  a  monastery  of  his  own  at  a  place  called 
Killtulach,  which  is  described  as  between  Slemish  mountain 
and  the  river  Man^: — net  far  it  would  seem  from  Castlemaine, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  This  was  about  the  3^ear 
A.D.  590  ;  so  that  we  may  assign  the  date  of  his  birth  to  about 
the  year  a.d.  5b0. 

It  was  very  usual  at  this  period  for  young  monks  to  travel 
to  different  monasteries,  and  spend  a  period  in  each  in  order 
to  perfect  themselves  in  sanctity  and  learning.  Bangor  had 
acquired  great  fame  under  the  rule  of  St.  Comgall,  and  so 
Carthach  weut  to  visit  his  kinsmen  in  the  far  north,  and 
make  himself  still  further  acquainted  with  monastic  discipline 
under  so  great  a  master.  After  staying  some  time  at  Bangor 
he  returned  home  to  Kerry  ;  but  once  more  went  northward  to 
the  extreme  limit  of  Munster  to  pay  a  visit  to  St.  Molua  of 
Clonfert  Molua,  whose  monastery  was  situated  at  the  roots 
of  Slieve  Bloom  at  the  place  now  called  Kyle.  It  still  forms 
a  part  of  the  diocese  of  Killaloe,  though  quite  close  to  the 
frontier  of  the  ancient  Meath. 

Shortly  afterwards  we  find  him  at  the  great  monastery 
founded  by  Colman-elo,  and  called  from  him  Land-elo,  now 
Lynally,  quite  near  to  Tullamore,  and  only  three  railos  from 
Rahan,  where  the  saint  was  soon  to  found  an  establishment 
of  his  own. 


THE   SCHOOL  OF    LISMORE,  ST.  CAKTHACH.  449 

It  IS  evident  that  it  was  St.  Colman-Elo  who  advised 
St.  Carlhach  to  found  a  monastery  near  his  own  in  the 
territory,  not  of  Munster,  but  of  Meath — in  fact  it  was  neai 
the  site  of  some  of  our  most  famous  battles,  which  the  sons 
Df  Heber  and  Hereraon  fought  for  supremacy  on  this  border 
land.  The  name  Raithain  signifies  filicetuMy  or  the  Ferney 
Land  ;  and  it  was  not  more  than  three  miles  from  Lynally, 
the  ancient  Land-elo,  which  is  derived  by  some  from  ealla, 
meaning  an  ancient  grove  or  wood. 

St.  Carthach  lived  at  Rahan  for  nearly  forty  years,^  and  at 
Lismore,  certainly  not  more  than  two  years ;  yet  his  name  is 
generally  connected  with  the  latter,  and  hardly  ever  with 
the  former  monastery.  Perhaps  it  was  because  the  men  of 
Meath  treated  the  saint  so  badly  after  his  long  and  laborious 
career  at  E,ahan.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  evident,  that  it  was 
jealousy — jealousy  which  the  Hy-Niall  monks,  probably  of 
Durrow,  near  Rahan,  felt  at  the  success  of  St.  Cnrthach — 
that  prompted  them  to  expel  the  saint  and  his  scholars  from 
the  dear  old  convent,  where  he  had  lived  so  long.  There 
are  few  things  less  creditable  to  the  Southern  Hy-Niall, 
both  princes  and  priests,  than  their  conduct  on  this  occasion. 
It  is  manifest  that  Carthach  by  his  piety  and  learning  had 
gathered  around  him  a  great  monastic  school  at  Rahan. 
For  not  to  speak  of  boys  and  servants,  the  Life  in  the 
SalCi'i>Kiinca  MS.j  tells  us  that  he  had  gathered  round  him 
some  847  monks,  who  supported  themselves  and  succoured 
the  poor  by  the  labour  of  their  own  hands,  and  with  their 
holy  founder  served  God  together — unanimiter — with  one 
mind  and  in  one  spirit.  "  Their  toil,"  says  the  Life,  "  was 
severe,  but  the  fire  of  charity  lightened  the  burden  of  this 
labour,  so  that  to  none  of  them  did  it  seem  heavy  '*  (Yita  I., 
sect.  15).  It  is  said,  too,  that  Carthach  himself  was  raised  to 
the  episcopal  dignity  in  Rahan. 

Now,  the  *  native  clerics,'  says  the  Life,  of  the  Hy-Niall 
race,  were  jealous  of  this  success,  and  instigated  by  Satan, 
they  resolved  to  drive  the  southern  monk  from  their  terri- 
tories. The  Kerryman,  of  course,  though  a  saint,  was,  no 
doubt,  annoyed  by  these  proceedings  of  the  men  of  Meath. 
It  was  indeed  hard  to  be  borne,  for  his  was  a  holy,  a  useful, 
and  an  inofiensive  life.  He  had  spent  forty  years  amongst 
them.  His  soul  clung  to  the  place,  because  he  fondly 
believed,  as  it  was  the  scene  of  his  labours,  so  also  it  would 
be  the  place  of  his  resurrection.  He  had  built  for  himself 
and  his  monks  a  very  beautiful  church,  the  ruins  of  which 
are  still  to  be  seen.     He  had  established  a  famous  school,  and 

1  Constantine,  a  British  king-,  was  vice-abbot  of  Rahan,  some  time 
between  688  when  he  was  converted,  and  596,  waeu  he  was  martyred  in 
Kintyre.     See  Forbes'  Caletulars,  page  311. 


450  SCHOOLS  OF  THK  SRVRNTH  CENTURY. 

crowds  of  youiig  men  had  placed  tliemselvt'S  under  his 
direction,  and  were,  doubtless,  tenderly  attached  to  their 
master.  He  was  near  the  monasteries,  too,  of  some  of  his 
dearest  friends,  who  dwelt  around  Slieve  Bloom.  And  now 
they  were  going  to  drive  him  from  his  home,  and  his  monks, 
and  his  friends,  at  an  age  too  when  the  strength  of  his  arm 
was  weakened,  and  the  vigour  of  his  mind  diminished. 

It  was  a  wanton  and  a  cruel  eviction,  for  which  Prince 
lilatl.mac,  son  of  Aedb  Shiine,  set-ms  to  have  been  primirily 
responsible.  The  Annalists  denounce  this  expulsion  ;  but 
they  seem  afraid  to  mention  openly  the  authors  of  the  crime. 
The  Ulster  Annals  (a.d.  635),  call  it  the  *  effugatio '  of 
Garth. ich  from  Eahan,  which  is  not  merely  a  fliglit  but  an 
expulsion.  The  Four  Masters  say  that  he  was  '  banished  ' 
from  Rahan,  and  date  it  as  taking  place  in  a.d.  (531  ;  but 
both  the  Chronicon  Scoiorum  and  the  Annals  of  Ulster  ^vsq 
A.u.  635,  at  Easter,  which  is  in  all  probability  the  true 
date. 

The  Life  of  St.  Carthach,  however,  assigns  the  real 
motive  for  thus  evicting  the  saint.  The  clergy  of  the  district 
moved  by  jealousy  at  the  su  ;cess  of  Carchach,  resolved  to 
expel  the  *  stranger'  irom  their  province;  and  Blathmac, 
then  ruler  of  that  territory,  was  persuaded  to  carry  out  this 
wicked  purpose.  Can  it  be  that  the  Columbian  monks  of 
Durrow  were  envious  at  seeing  the  fame  of  their  own  estab- 
lishment eclipsed  by  the  greater  renown  of  Rahan  ?  It  is 
not  at  all  unlikely,  although  it  is  not  expressly  stated ;  for 
the  Life  attributes  it  simply  "to  some  of  the  native  clergj^  of 
that  province.''  Elsewhere  it  is  said  that  ih^  expulsion  of 
Carthach  is  one  of  the  three  evil  things  for  which  certain 
*  saints'  of  Erin  were  responsible — the  other  two  being  the 
shortening  of  St.  Ciaran's  life,  and  the  banishment  of 
Columcille  to  lona.  We  entirely  sympathise  with  this 
traditional  sentiment.  If  any  of  the  '  saints'  were  responsible 
for  driving  away  the  venerable  old  man  from  his  monastery 
at  Rahan,  they  must  have  done  penance  for  the  deed  before 
they  could  deserve  the  name.  It  was  a  cruel  and  an  evil 
deed ;  and  although  Providence  brought  much  good  from  the 
evil  by  the  foundation  of  Lismore,  there  is  some  reason  to 
fear  that  it  broke  the  old  man's  heart,  and  brought  down  his 
grey  hairs  in  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

When  the  edict  went  forth  that  Carthach  and  his  monks 
were  to  be  driven  from  Rahan,  we  are  told  that  he  departed 
reluctantly.  ''Leave  this  city  with  your  monks,"  said  the 
chiefs  of    Meath,   *'  and   seek  a  settlement   in   some   other 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LISMORE,  ST.  CARTHACH.  451 

oonntry.''^  *'  1  wish  to  end  my  days  here,"  said  Carthach, 
"  for  I  have  served  God  many  years  in  this  place,  and  now 
my  end  is  nigh.  Therefore,  I  will  not  depart,  except  I  am 
compelled,  lest  men  think  me  inconstant  of  purpose.  I  am 
ashamed  to  become  a  wanderer  in  my  old  age."  After  some 
hesitation  the  men  of  Meath  plucked  up  an  ignoble  courage  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  Blathmac  himself  took  the  hand  of  the 
saint,  and  led  him  forth  from  his  monastery. 

The  poor  old  man  was  not  equal  to  long  journeys  ;  and  so 
slowly  and  regretfully  he  travelled  southward,  having  turned 
his  back  for  ever  on  the  jealous  and  ungrateful  men  of 
Meath. 

The  first  night  he  stopped  with  St.  Barrind  (or  Barrindeus) 
of  Drumcullen,  in  the  barony  of  Eglish.  The  name  is  stilL 
retained  as  that  of  an  old  parish  church,  about  four  miles 
north-east  of  Parsonstown.  Drumcullen  is  about  three  miles 
east  of  Eglish  old  church  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  It 
cannot  be  more  than  ten  miles  from  Rahan,  and  thus  marks 
the  extent  of  the  first  day^s  journey. 

But  the  saint  was  now  in  his  native  Munster,  and  could 
proceed  with  greater  leisure  and  more  security.     The  second 
night  he  rested  in  the  famous  old  monastery  of  St.  Ciaran 
of  Saigher.     This  was  one  of  the  cradles  of  Christianity  in 
Ireland.     If  we  may  accept  the  statement  in  the  Life  of  St. 
Ciarariy  he  was  directed  by  Grod's  Angel  to  go  to  a  well  in 
the  middle  of  Ireland,  and  found  his  church  at  the  place 
where  his  bell  would  ring  of  itself.     The  saint  obeyed,  and 
travelled  onward  until  he  came  to  the  place  now  called  Bell 
Hill,  near  the  fountain  Huaran.     There  his  bell  tolled,  and 
close  at  hand  he  founded  his  church,  at  Saigher,  now  called 
Seir  Ciaran,  which  is  not  more  than   two   miles   south  of 
Drumcullen,   under  the  western  shadow  of   the    mountain^ 
There  was  every  reason  why  St,  Carthach  the  Younger  should 
rest  at  Seir  Ciaran.     His  old  master,  St.  Carthach  the  Elder, 
to  whom  he  owed  so  much,  had  been   once  bishop  of  that 
ancient  See,  in  succession  to  Ciaran  himself.     It  was  about 
the  year  a.d.  540,  before  Carthach  the  Younger  vvas  born,  for 
it  appears    that  it   was   after  leaving   Seir   Ciaran,   about 
A.D.  560,  that  Carthach  the  Elder  came  to  his  native  Kerry, 
and  there  met  with  his  younger  disciple  of  the  same  name. 

There  was  reason  why  Carthach  should  love  that  old 
monastery,  under  the  (shadow  of  the  morning  sun  when  risin^*- 
over  Slieve  Bloom,  where  his  beloved  master  had  spent  so 


^O'Hanlon's  Lives,  page  263,  Vol.  v. 


452  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SKVENTH  CENTURY. 

many  years,  and  where  tlie  first-born  of  the  Celtic  Saints  of 
Erin  had  gone  to  his  rest. 

It  was  a  short  stage  from  Seir  Ciaran  to  Roscrea — some 
seven  or  eight  miles  ;  but  Roscrea  had  become  even  then,  in 
A.i).  6B5,  so  famous  a  retreat  for  saintly  men,  that  it  could 
not  be  passed  by  witliout  a  visit.  There  was  no  town  of 
Roscrea  there  at  the  time  ;  all  the  low- lying  lands  were  con- 
stantly flooded,  and  formed  the  Stagnum  Cre  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  Lives  of  the  Saints  of  that  district.  The 
RoSy  or  wooded  promontory,  on  which  St.  Cronan  founded  his 
monastery,  rose  up  from  these  flooded  lowlands  At  first  he 
established  himself  at  Seanros,  a  wooded  hill  in  Corville 
Demesne,  where  his  church  is  still  to  be  seen  ;  but  afterwards, 
about  the  year  a.u.  606,  he  founded  a  second  monastery  on 
the  Ros  of  Tiough  Cre,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by 
the  Catholic  Church  of  the  town  of  Roscrea.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  dead  before  the  visit  of  St.  Carthach ;  but  all 
the  same,  his  monastery  and  his  spirit  were  there  on  the 
great  Munster  highway. 

Leaving  Roscrea  the  saint  seems  to  have  made  his  way 
to  the  royal  rath  of  Failbhe  Flann,  King  of  Magh  Femhin, 
as  he  is  called  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  Magh  Femhin  was  the 
fertile  and  picturesque  plain  stretching  from  Cashel  to  Slieve- 
namon  on  the  east,  and  on  the  south  to  the  Knockmealdown 
Mountains,  which  separated  it  from  the  territory  of  the  Desii. 
It  was  a  rich  and  fertile  land,  watered  by  swelling  rivers, 
and  bounded  towards  the  south  and  east  by  bold  and  savage 
mountains. 

Failbhe  Flann,  the  ancestor  of  the  MacCarthys,  was  then 
king  at  Cashel,  and  kindly  received  Carthach,  who  showed 
his  gratitude  by  curing  the  king's  son  of  a  sore  eye.  The 
king  offered  Carthach  a  site  for  a  monastery  in  his  own 
territory  of  Magh  Femhin  ;  but  Carthach  knowing  that  this 
was  not  God's  will  in  his  regard,  declined  the  prince's 
generous  ofier,  anrl  resolved  to  go  further  >5<nithward.  It  is 
likely  that  the  saint  met  at  the  court  of  Failbhe  that  princi^'s 
son-in-law,  Maeloctraigh,  Chief  of  the  Desii  of  Waterford, 
who  offered  to  Carthach  a  huge  tt-rritory  beyond  the  mountain 
(of  Knockmealdown),  where  he  might  establish  himself  and 
his  brother  monks  in  peace  beside  the  Great  River,  and  with- 
out any  fVnr  of  further  disturbance  during  the  brief  span  of 
his  remaining  life. 

The  saint  gladly  accepted  this  offer,  and  stopping  for  a 
brief  rest  at  Ardfinnan,  which  was  destined  for  tniother  saint 
later  on^  be  crossed  the  rugged  hills  that  rose  up  before  him, 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LISMORE,  ST.  CARTHACH  453 

probably  by  the  pass  leading  southward  from  Clogheen,  and 
coming  down  the  southern  slopes  of  the  hill  he  saw  stretched 
before  him  that  beautiful  valley  through  which  the  Blackwater 
forces  its  way  from  Lismore  to  Cappoquin.  **  Here  shall  be 
my  rest,  for  I  have  chosen  it,"  exclaimed  the  saint,  and  cross- 
ing, not  without  miraculous  aid,  it  is  said,  the  swelling  wavres 
of  the  Avonmore,  he  crept  up  the  wooded  heights  that 
overhung  the  southern  bank  of  the  stream,  and  sat  down  on 
Magh  Sciath— the  Plain  of  the  Shields — close  to  what 
Keating  calls  Dunsginne — the  great  rath  surmounting  the 
height  to  the  east  of  the  present  town  of  Lismore. 

Many  writers  have  asserted  that  there  was  a  monastery  at 
Lismore  before  St.  Carthach's  arrival  there.  Mention  is 
certainly  made  of  the  death  of  Lugaid  of  Lismore  in  the 
Ulster  Annals,  a.d.  591  ;  and  the  Four  Masters  record  the 
death  of  Neman,  Abbot  of  Lismore,  in  a.d.  610.  In  a.d.  634 
the  Annals  of  Ulster  tell  us  that  Eochaidh  of  Lismore  died. 
O'Donovan  thinks  these  entries  refer  to  Lismore  on  the 
Blackwater ;  it  is  more  probable,  however,  that  the  reference 
is  to  Lismore — an  island  near  Oban  in  Scotland — where  an 
Irish  saint  called  Molua  or  Moluag  had  founded  a  famous 
monastery  much  celebrated  in  later  times. 

Assuming  with  the  Ulster  A  nnals  that  Carthach  came  to 
Lismore  after  Easter  of  the  year  a.d.  635,  he  cannot  have 
lived  there  more  than  two  years — and  probably  died  on  the 
14th  of  May,  a.d.  637.  The  Ulster  Annals  fix  his  death  in 
a.d.  636 ;  but  from  the  statements  in  his  Life  we  gather  that 
he  must  have  spent  at  least  two  years  at  Lismore.  We  are 
told  that  on  his  arrival  there  he  at  once  proceeded  to  mark 
out  the  site  of  his  monastery,  surrounding  it  as  usual  with  a 
strong  fence  and  ditch.  Thereupon  the  holy  virgin  Coemell, 
whose  cell  was  not  far  off,  came  to  see  the  saint,  and  finding 
him  at  work  she  inquired  what  the  saint  and  his  monks  were 
doing.  They  replied  that  they  were  building  for  themselves 
'i  small  habitation — Lios-beg,  it  would  be  in  Irish.  "Not 
so,"  replied  the  virgin  saint ;  "  this  place  will  be  called  Lios- 
mor,"  '*  which,"  says  the  writer  of  the  Life,  "  means  in  Latin 
atrium  magnum,"  or  Great  Hall ;  "  and  her  prophecy," 
adds  the  author,  "  was  verified  by  the  event.  For  Lismore  is 
now  a  laro^e  city,  half  of  which  is  an  asylum  where  no  female 
is  allowed  to  enter,  for  it  is  full  of  cells  and  other  monastic 
buildings,  and  a  great  number  of  holy  men  always  dwell  there. 
For  they  come  there  in  great  numbers,  these  saintly  persons, 
not  only  from  every  part  of  Ireland,  but  also  from  England 
(Anglia),  and  from  (Britannia)  Britain."      This  distinction 


454  scHooi.s  OF  11  ii:  sknenth  century. 

between  An<>lia,  or  Suxon  land,  and  Ih-itannia,  or  the  country 
from  the  Clyde  to  the  Severn  inhabitated  by  the  native 
Britons,  shows  that  this  Life  was  wiitten  at  a  very  early  date 
— probably  in  the  seventh  or  eighth  century. 

Having  founded  his  monastery,  the  saint  wished  to  retire 
from  community  life  for  some  time  to  prepare  himself  for  death 
by  undivided  communion  with  God.  The  great  fame  of  Car- 
thach  was  attracting  numbersof  monks  and  students  to  this  new 
foundation,  so  that  he  was  frequently  disturbed  by  this  great 
influx  of  pious  visitors.  Labour  and  old  age  too  were  telling 
on  his  emaciated  frame,  and  he  knew  that  the  end  was  not 
far  off.  Then  he  retired  to  a  lonely  cave,  which  was  under 
the  monastery,  and  there  for  one  year  and  six  months 
gave  himself  up  to  the  service  of  God  in  solitude.  The 
monks,  however,  especially  the  older  ones,  were  still  allowed 
to  visit  their  beloved  father;  and  he  seeing  the  difficulty  they 
had  in  reaching  the  high  ground  on  which  the  monastery 
was  built,  resolved  to  return  to  the  community  once  more. 
So  the  brethren  came  to  carry  him  up  the  steep  ascent,  and 
now  thev  had  reached  the  middle  of  the  ravine,  when  the  old 
man  seeing  a  ladder  reaching  up  to  the  open  heavens  told 
the  brethren  to  lay  him  on  the  ground  and  administer  to  him 
the  last  sacraments.  Tenderly  and  piously  they  did  so,  **and 
having  partaken  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Body  and 
Blood  and  given  his  last  injunctions  to  the  brethren,  he  bacie 
them  all  a  tender  farewell,  and  giving  to  each  of  them  the  kiss 
of  peace  he  died  in  their  arms  on  the  day  before  the  Ides  of 
May,'*  in  the  year  a.d.  637,  which  seems  to  be  the  true  date. 

Like  St.  Ciaran  of  Clonmacnoise,  Carthach  spent  only  a 
very  short  time  with  his  monks  in  this  monaster}^  that  was 
afterwards  to  become  so  famous.  He  laid,  however,  the 
foundations  of  the  spiritual  edifice  as  well  as  of  the  material 
building.  During  his  long  residence  at  Bahan,  he  wrote  a 
Rule  for  the  guidance  of  his  monks,  which  no  doubt  was  the 
same  that  was  adopted  at  Lismore.  Many  of  the  monks  of 
Rahan,  too,  when  expelled  by  the  Hy-Niall,  accompanied 
their  beloved  father  to  Lismore.  These  were  no  doubt  the 
holy  *  Seniors,'  who  used  to  visit  him  in  his  cell  in  the  lonely 
valley  ;  and  who  ruled  the  community  after  his  death  in  the 
same  spirit  and  in  obedience  to  the  same  Bule. 

Many  striking  miracles  are  recorded  in  the  I^irs^  Life  of 
St.  Carthach^  to  only  one  of  which  we  shall  make  reference 
here. 

When  Carthach  and  his  companions  were  coming  to 
Lismore — the  place  given  by  the  prince  of  the  Desii,  **  where 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  LISMORE,  ST.  CARTHACH.  455 

they  might  live  on  the  fruits  of  tlieir  own  labour,  and  s^^r^e 
God  in  peace,  without  becoming  a  burden  to  anyone  " — 
they  saw  from  the  high  lands  a  great  impetuous  river,  swollen 
by  the  tide  of  the  neighbouring  estuary,  barring  the  way,  so 
that  there  was  no  means  of  crossing  to  the  southern  bank. 
Then,  whilst  the  others  were  in  doubt  what  to  do,  Carthach, 
with  his  friends,  Colman-elo  and  Molua  (of  Kyle),  bent  their 
knees  in  earnest  prayer  to  God,  and  lo !  the  waves  were 
divided  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  opening  a  passage 
for  the  saints  to  cross  over  on  dry  ground.  And  so  these 
true  Israelites,  with  hymns  of  praise  to  God,  crossed  the  bed 
of  the  Avonmore,  and  came  to  Lismore,  as  it  was  afterwards 
called — the  place  which  God  himself  had  prepared  for  them. 
The  word  lis,  anciently  les,  properly  signihes  the  mound 
surrounding  the  buildings,  and  also  by  a  secondary  significa- 
tion, the  space  enclosed  within.  Here  it  includes  both — the 
defending  mound  and  the  enclosed  space  which  contained  all 
the  ecclesiastical  buildings — the  church,  the  cells,  the  refec- 
tory, the  stores  and  other  necessary  adjuncts  to  a  great 
monastery.  In  those  early  days  these  buildings  were  oi 
rude  materials  and  simplest  structure  ;  but  all  the  same  they 
were  the  choice  abodes  of  learning  and  holiness. 

The  most  interesting  literary  monument  connected  with 
Lismore  is  the  Rule  of  St.  Carthach.  It  is  one  of  the  eight 
Monastic  Eules  of  our  early  Church  still  extant  in  Dublin 
manuscripts,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  0' Curry,  is  certainly 
authentic.  The  language,  the  style,  the  matter,  are  all 
such  as  might  be  expected  from  the  person  to  whom 
they  are  attributed  at  the  time  it  is  supposed  to  have  been 
composed.  We  know,  too,  from  other  sources  that  these 
saints  really  did  compose  what  are  called  Monastic  Hules, 
and  hence,  when  we  find  these  Rules  in  ancient  MSS. 
bearing  their  names,  we  are  not  justified  in  rejecting  their 
authenticity  without  some  tangible  reason. 

It  is  to  be  regretted,  although  it  is  an  additional  proof  of 
their  authenticity,  that  almost  all  these  ancient  rules  have 
been  written  in  verse.  The  construction  of  these  verses  is  very 
intricate  and  artificial,  and  as  a  consequence,  the  matter  was, 
to  some  extent,  sacrificed  to  the  form — we  lose  in  precision 
what  we  gain  in  harmony. 

The  Rule  of  Carthach,  or  Mochuda,  is  much  more  than  a 
Monastic  Rule  in  the  ordinary  sense.  It  gives  precepts  for 
the  spiritual  guidance  of  almost  all  classes  of  persons.  The 
entire  poem,  as  translated  by  0' Curry,  consists  of  135  four- 
lined  stanzas.  The  first  eight  of  these  stanzas  contain  a  general 


456  SCHOOLS  OV  THE  SEVKNTH  CEMURY. 

exhortation  addressed  to  all  Christians,  urging  on  them  the 
observance  of  the  great  law  of  charity,  as  well  as  of  all  the 
other  command ments  of  God. 

The  next  nine  stanzas  are  addressed  to  *  Bishops,*  and 
contain  some  judicious  and  wholesome  admonitions.  The 
Bishop  is  responsible  to  Christ,  and  must  be  a  vigilant 
shepberd  and  an  orthodox  teacher,  checking  the  pride  of 
kings,  resisting  evil-doers,  and  conciliating  the  la}^  multitud(\ 
He  is  to  be  skilled  in  Holy  Scripture,  for  if  he  is  not  a  learned 
man  he  is  only  a  step- son  of  the  Church.  He  is  bound  to 
condemn  all  heresy  and  crime,  for  it  is  certain  that  on 
the  Day  of  Judgment  he  will  have  to  answer  not  only  for  his 
own  faults,  but  for  the  sins  of  those  under  his  government. 

Then  the  Rule  for  an  abbot  is  prescribed.  It  is  a  noble 
office  to  be  *  Chief  of  a  Church,'  but  the  holder  must  be  worthy 
of  it,  and  set  his  subjects  a  good  example  by  his  own  deeds. 
He  is  to  exhort  the  aged,  and  to  instruct  the  young  ;  to 
reprove  the  silly,  and  censure  the  disorderly — but  in  all 
patience,  modesty,  and  charity.  He  must  be  constant  in 
preaching  the  Gospel,  and  ''in  offering  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
Body  of  the  great  Lord  upon  the  altar."  Otherwise  he  will 
be  the  enemy  of  God,  and  cannot  become  the  Heir  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

The  "  priest,"  as  distinct  from  the  abbot,  is  enjoined  to 
lead  a  truthful,  laborious  life,  and  to  offer  up  worthily  the 
Body  of  the  King.  His  learning  should  be  correct,  and 
he  should  be  accurate  in  the  observance  of  the  rule  and  of 
the  law.  When  he  goes  to  give  Communion,  at  the  awful 
point  of  death,  he  must  receive  the  confession  without  shame 
and  without  reserve. 

The  '  soul's-friend '  is  admonished  not  to  be  a  blind 
leader  of  the  blind,  but  to  teach  the  ignorant,  to  receive 
their  confessions,  not  their  alms,  candidly  and  devoutly  ; 
and  not  lead  them  into  sin  in  imitation  of  himself.  If  he 
has  not  Mass  on  ever}^  day,  he  will,  at  least,  on  Sunday  and 
Thursday,  to  banish  every  wickedness  far  from  him. 

Still  more  minute  prescriptions  are  given  to  regulate  the 
conduct  of  a  "  monk."  All  the  faults  he  is  to  avoid,  and  all 
the  virtues  he  is  to  practise  are  described  in  great  detail ;  but 
as  they  really  contain  nothing  new,  we  need  not  further  refer 
to  them  here. 

The  special  dutiea  of  the  Ce/e  De,  or  Culdee,  are  also 
defined,  and,  if  we  may  judge  from  this  Rule,  they  were  not 
*  recluses  *  living  alone,  nor  yet  monks,  supporting  themselves 
by  the  labour  of  their  hands  in  the  fields  ;  but  regular  clergy, 


ST.  CATHALUUS  OF  TARENTUM. 


457 


living  in  community,  engaged  in  the  celebration  of  Mass,  the 
recitation  of  the  Divine  Office,  the  instruction  of  the  ignorant 
in  the  church,  and  the  teaching  of  the  novices  and  students 
in  their  schools.  The  statements,  however,  are  so  vague  that, 
to  some  extent  at  least,  they  would  apply  to  all  the  clergy, 
whether  secular,  regular,  or  monastic. 

"  The  order  of  the  Refectory  "  is  prescribed  with  great 
minuteness,  but  as  we  have  already  referred  to  this  subject, 
we  shall  not  deal  further  with  it  here.  Taken  in  all  its 
parts  this  Rule  of  St.  Carthach  is  a  highly  interesting,  and 
most  important  monument  of  the  early  Irish  Church. 

II. — St.  Cathaldus  of  Tarentum, 

The  great  glory  of  the  School  of  Lismore  was  St.  Cathaldus. 
Like  many  other  Irishmen,  who  left  home  and  died  abroad, 
he  has  been  almost  forgotten  by  our  native  writers.  But  the 
country  of  his  love  and  of  his  adoption  has  not  been  ungrate- 
ful to  Ireland.  With  one  accord  all  foreign  writers,  following 
the  testimony  of  Tarentum  itself,  proclaim  that  Cathaldus, 
its  second  aipostle  and  patron  saint,  was  an  Irishman  and  a 
scholar  of  the  great  School  of  Lismore. 

Lismore  is  far  away  from  Taranto,  as  it  is  now  called.  It 
was  a  city  of  ancient  Magna  Graecia,  frequently  hostile  to 
Rome,  and  at  the  best  of  times  yielding  only  a  reluctant 
obedience  to  the  Queen  of  the  Seven  Hills.  She  preferred 
Pyrrhus  and  Hannibal  to  the  Curii  and  Scipios.  Seated  on  the 
southern  sea  that  looks  towards  Greece,  its  cultured  and  pleasure- 
loving  inhabitants  had  more  affection  for  their  ancient  mother- 
land than  for  their  stern  mistress  by  the  Tiber.  Even  in  the 
days  of  the  Empire  they  were  more  loyal  to  Byzantium  than 
to  Rome.  Strange  that  this  Greek-Italian  city,  situated  in 
the  very  heel  of  Italy,  should  get  its  apostle  from  a  Munster 
monastery.  Yet  such  is  the  fact,  to  which  its  own  writers 
bear  unanimous  and  grateful  testimony. 

The  Life  of  St.  Cathaldus  has  been  written  by  two 
Tarentines — the  brothers  Bartholomew  and  Bonaventure 
Morini — of  whom  the  former  wrote  his  account  of  the  saint 
in  prose,  and  the  latter  in  poetry.  Both  being  citizens  of 
Taranto,  were  acquainted  with  all  the  traditions  of  the  place 
in  reference  to  their  patron  saint,  and,  moreover,  formally 
appeal  to  the  testimony  of  the  ancient  public  records  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  city  in  all  those  things  to  which  these 
ancient  records  could  bear  witness,  and  also  to  the  Office  for 
the  Feast  of  St.  Cathaldus,  which  was  published  at  Rome  in 
the  year  a.dl  1607,  by  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Taranto, 


458  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SKVKNTH  CENTURY. 

with  the  ftdTiction  of  the  Holy  See.  The  brothers  Morini 
shorlly  afterwards  wrote  the  Life  of  the  Saint.  The  poetic 
Life  by  Boiiavcnture  Moriiii  was  first  written  in  eight  books  ; 
and  IS  greatly  and  justly  praised  for  the  elegance  of  its  Latin 
style.  Bartholomew  Morini  gives  a  briefer,  but  more 
authentic  narrative  in  prose,  which  he  hoped  would  help  to 
make  known  beyond  the  bounds  of  their  own  city  the  labours, 
and  virtues,  and  miracles  of  the  saint,  whom  his  brother  had 
already  celebrated  in  verse,  and  whom  Providence  had  sent 
from  the  remotest  shores  of  Ireland  (Hibernia)  to  be  the 
patron  and  protector  of  their  native  city.  Unfortunately  we 
have,  as  I  observed  before,  no  account  of  St.  Cathaldus  in  our 
domestic  Annals  ;  and  we  must,  therefore,  follow  the  guidance 
of  those  foreign  writers,  who,  whilst  unanimous  as  to  the 
place  of  birth  and  education  of  our  saint,  so  render  the 
uncouth  Irish  names  in  the  Latin  tongue,  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  identify  the  persons  and  places  to  whom  they 
refer.     The  substance  of  their  account  is  as  follows  : — 

Cataldus,  or  Cathaldus,  wbich  is  the  Latin  form  of  Cathal, 
a  very  common  Irisb  name,  **  came  from  Hibernia,  which  is 
an  island  beyond  Britain,  in  the  western  sea,  smaller  in  area, 
but  fully  equal  to  it  in  fertility  of  soil  and  productiveness  of 
cattle  ;  whilst  in  the  warmth  of  the  land,  in  the  temperature 
of  the  climate,  and  the  salubrity  of  the  air,  it  is  even  superior 
to  Britain." 

Some  say,  continues  Morini,  that  Kachau  was  tbe  Irisb 
city  in  which  he  was  born,  because  in  many  books  he  is  called 
Cathaldus  of  Rachau ;  but  the  writer  rather  thinks  his 
native  town  was  Cathandum,  which  by  a  change  of  letter 
would  be  Cathaldum,  the  town  of  Cathal.  He  was,  he 
thinks,  called  Cathaldus  of  Rachau,  because  he  was  bishop  of 
that  place  in  Ireland ;  but  the  name  Cathaldus  he  got  from 
his  native  town,  so  that  the  saint's  name  would  be  a 
patronymic. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  ascertain  where  these  two  places 
were.  Colgan,  a  very  high  authority,  seems  to  think  that 
Cathaldum  or  Cathandum  was  Baile-Cathail  (/>.,  Ballycahill) 
in  Ormond,  which  was  the  birthplace  of  the  saint,  and  that 
Rachau  was  the  foreign  way  of  expressing  Rahan,  the 
original  monastery  and  See  of  St.  Carthagh,  and  of  which 
Cathaldus  might  have  become  bishop  on  the  expulsion  of  it^ 
holy  founder  by  the  Hy-Niall.  On  the  whole,  we  think  this 
is  a  probable  explanation,  and  not  inconsistent  with  the 
facts  narrated  in  the  Lives  both  of  St.  Carthagh  and  of 
St.  Cathaldus. 


S  r.  CATHA1.DUS  OF  TARENTUM.  459 

For  all  tlie  accounts  agree  that  the  native  place  of 
Cathaldus  was  in  Momonia,  or  as  some  call  it,  Mumenia, 
which  in  the  Office  of  the  saint  is  changed  by  mistake  of  a 
letter  into  Numenia.  But  the  reference  is  clearly  to  Munster, 
in  Irish  Murahan,  which  is  usually  latinized  Momonia,  or 
more  accurately,  perhaps,  Mumonia.  There  are  three  town- 
lands  in  North  Tipperary  called  Ballycahill,  one  of  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  parish  of  Ballycahill,  west  of  Thurles, 
in  the  barony  of  Eliogarty.  Seeing  that  this  church  took  its 
name  from  Bally-Cahill,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  village 
itself  got  its  name  from  a  saint  who  was  a  native  of  the  place, 
and  under  whose  protection,  too,  the  church  of  his  native 
village  would  naturally  be  placed.  There  is  every  reason  to 
assume  that  Cathaldus  was  of  the  royal  blood  of  the  Munster 
kings,  and  that  he  lived  not  very  far  from  Lismore  ;  both  of 
which  circumstances  would  very  well  apply  to  Ballycahill. 
Cashel,  the  royal  residence  of  the  Munster  kings,  is  about 
twelve  miles  further  south  ;  and  Ballycahill  itself  was  on 
the  highway  from  north  to  south  Munster,  the  very  road  that 
Carthagh  and  his  monks  would  follow  in  their  flight  from  the 
North  to  the  court  of  Failbe  Flann  at  Cashel,  on  their  way 
to  Lismore. 

His  father's  name  was  Euchus,  and  his  mother's  name  is 
rendered  Achlena  or  Athnea.  Euchus  is  an  attempt  at 
latinizing  the  Irish  Eochaidh.  Achlena  was  a  not 
un frequent  Irish  female  name,  whicli  was  borne  by  the 
mothers  of  St.  Fintan  and  St.  Columbanus.  More  likely, 
however,  the  original  name  was  the  Irish  form  Ethnea — a 
very  common  name — which  the  Taren tines,  with  their  Greek 
tastes,  would  very  naturally  render  Athnea  in  Latin. 

As  to  the  date  of  the  saint's  birth  there  is  more  difference 
of  opinion.  The  Morini,  who  speak,  however,  doubtingly, 
beem  to  thmk  the  saint  was  born  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor- 
Adrian,  and  came  to  Tarentum  during  the  reign  of  Aurelius, 
or  Antoninus  Pius.  In  this,  however,  they  appear  to 
have  merely  made  a  conjecture,  having  no  ancient  authority 
to  follow.  They  were  anxious  to  make  this  second  foundation 
of  the  Tarentine  Church  after  St.  Peter  and  St.  Mark,  who 
were  said  to  have  first  preached  the  Gospel  there,  as  ancient 
as  possible.  It  is  evident,  however,  even  from  their  own 
narrative  that  a  much  later  date  must  be  assigned  to  the 
advent  of  Cathaldus  to  Tarentum.  For  he  came  there  on  his 
return  from  Jerusalem,  where  with  his  companions  he  had 
been  to  visit  the  Holy  Sepulchre  of  our  Lord.  But  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  was  not  discovered  until  the  time  of  St.  Helen,  in 


460  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

A.D.  336,  after  which  this  pilgrimage  became  common  in 
Christendom,  so  that  we  cannot  assign  by  any  possibility  this 
early  date  to  the  mission  of  Cathaldus  at  Tarentum. 

Of  course,  too,  the  history  of  the  Irish  Church  is  entirely 
inconsistent  with  so  early  a  date  for  the  apostolate  of  this 
Irish  saint.  For  we  are  told  that  he  studied  and  taught  at 
Lismore  ;  that  he  was  Bishop  of  Rachau  ;  that  he  preached 
the  Gospel  successfully  in  Ireland  before  he  left  for  the 
Holy  Land — facts  which  more  clearly  mark  the  seventh  than 
the  second  century  as  the  period  during  which  he  lived  and 
flourished. 

The  young  Cathal,  who  seems  to  have  been  born  about 

the  year  a.d.  615,  grew  up  in  holiness  and  grace  before  God 

and  men ;  and,  according  to  the  author,  was  whilst  yet  a 

youth  sent  to  study  in  the  great  monastic  school  of  Lismore 

(Lesmoria).    It  was,  as  we  have  seen,  founded  by  St.  Carthach 

in  the  year  a.d.  <)35.     Indeed,  Morini's  account  of  our  saint 

at   Lismore  would   seem  to   imply  that  he  was  a  professor 

there  as  well  as  student,  for  he  tells  us  that  the  fame  of  his 

learning  and  virtues  attracted  many   disciples  to  the  new 

college,^  and  what  is  more,  raised  up  against  himself  some 

powerful  enemies.     He  not  only  taught  in  the  schools,  but 

he  preached  the  Gospel  most  successfully  in  all  the  country 

of   the   Desii,    working    many   miracles   too,    and   building 

churches  —one   of  which  dedicated  to  the   Blessed  Virgin 

Mary,  is   specially  mentioned  in  his  Life  as   the   glory  of 

Lismore.     The  author  even  exaggerates  his  labours,  for  he 

adds,  chat  no  one  was  left  throughout  all   Ireland   whom 

Cathaldus   did  not   instruct    in    the    saving   truths   of   thtf 

Gospel. 

Now  the  king  (of  Munster  no  doubt),  was  jealous  of  the 
great  popularity  of  the  saint,  and  fearing  that  Cathal,  relying 
on  the  good  will  of  the  people,  might  aspire  to  the  throne,  he 

^  In  the  Office  of  St.  Cathaldus  it  is  stated  that  : — 
Adolescens  liberalibus  disciplinis  eruditus  ad  earn  brevi  doctiiiire  excel 
lentiara  pervenit  ut  ad  ipsum  audiendum  Galli,  Angli,  Scoti,  Theutonei^ 
aliique   hnitimarum    aliarum    regionum   quam    plurimi   Lesiuoriam  oon- 
venirent. 

Morini  tells  in  elegant  verse  of  the  same  influx  of  students  to  Lismore 
from  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe. 

Celerea,  vastissima  Rheni 
Jam  vada  Teutonici,  jam  deseruere  Sicambri ; 
Mittit  ab  extremo  gelidos  Aquilone  lit)i'mot», 
Albis  et  Arverui  coeunt,  Batavique  fr«M|uente8 
Et  quique  colunt  alta  sub  rape  Gebenuas  .  .  . 
Certatim  hi  properant  diverso  tramite  ad  iirbem 
Lesmoriam,  juvoiiis  primos  ubi  transijrit  aiiiu>>. 


ST  CAT H  ALDUS  OF  TARENTUM.  461 

sailed  io  Lismore,  intending  to  seize  and  imprison  the  saint. 
But  God  protects  His  own.  This  evil-minded  prince  was 
warned  by  two  Angels  in  a  vision  not  to  touch  Cathaldus  at 
his  peril ;  but  rather  to  make  him  successor  to  Meltrides, 
the  regulus  of  the  Desii,  who  had  inflamed  by  evil  counsel 
the  king's  mind  against  Cathaldus ;  and  lo  !  whilst  the  king 
was  narrating  this  vision  in  the  morning  to  his  counsellors 
a  messenger  came  to  announce  the  sudden  death  of  this 
Meltrides,  the  king's  evil  counsellor.  The  king",  now  filled 
with  terror,  asked  pardon  of  Cathaldus,  who  was  then  a 
deacon,  and  was  going  to  make  him  ruler  over  the  Desii  ;  but 
Cathaldus  modestly  refused  the  honour,  preferring  to  serve 
God  in  religion.  Thereupon  he  was  made  bishop,  and  the 
king  assigned  him  men  sal  lands  around  Lismore,  in  the 
territory  of  Meltrides,  and  he  became  not  only  bishop,  but 
even  an  archbishop,  with  twelve  sufiragan  sees  subject  to 
him  as  metropolitan  !  The  facts  here  seem  much  exagger- 
ated, but  were  probably  quite  true  in  substance. 

Meltrides  seems  to  have  been  that  prince  of  the  Desii, 
who  gave  Lismore  to  St.  Carthach  in  a.u.  635.  His  death  is 
recorded  under  date  a.d.  670.  If  Cathaldus  were  a  deacon,  in 
A.D.  670,  he  can  hardly  have  been  a  disciple  of  St.  Carthach, 
who  died  thirty-three  years  before.  Colga,  son  of  Failbe 
Flann,  was  King  of  Munster  at  this  period,  for  his  death  is 
noticed,  in  a.d.  674  by  the  accurate  Chronicon  Scotorum,  It 
is  not  unlikely  then  that  Cathaldus,  the  professor  of  Lismore, 
who  was  supposed  to  be  aiming  at  the  crown  of  Munster, 
was  a  member  of  the  rival  line  sprung  from  Fingin,  the  elder 
brother  of  Failbe  Flann.  Fingin  died  in  a.d.  619,  leaving 
the  crown  to  Failbe  ;  but  of  course  his  sons  would  have  a 
better  claim  than  Failbe's,  when  they  grew  up  to  man's 
estate.  These  two  princes,  Fingin  and  Failbe  Flann,  were 
respectively  the  heads  of  the  great  rival  families  of  Minister, 
the  O'SuUivans  and  McCarthys;  and  although  the  laiter 
rose  to  greater  power,  the  former  was,  it  is  said,  the  senior 
branch  of  that  royal  stock,  and  retained  their  lands  in  the 
Golden  Vale  down  to  the  advent  of  the  Anglo-Noimans, 
when  they  were  driven  to  the  mountains  of  Kerry.  It  was 
Colga,  therefore,  King  of  Munster,  in  a.d.  670,  who  caused 
Cathaldus  the  deacon  to  be  elected  Bishop,  and  not  only 
endowed  his  See  of  Rachau  with  the  lands  of  the  Desii,  but 
also  subjected  to  his  authority  all  the  Bishops  of  the  South, 
whose  sees  were  within  the  kingdom  of  Cashel.  In  this  way 
we  can  explain  the  statement  in  the  Life  that  Cathaldus  was 
made  an  archbishop  with  twelve  suffragan  puelates  subject 


4<)2  SCHOOLS  OF  TTIK  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

to  his  {luthority.  Colga  would  lend  himself  all  the  more 
readily  to  this  project,  becaus.'  there  would  be  now 
leFs  danger  of  Cathaldus,  alter  he  became  a  bishop,  aiming  at 
the  crown  of  Munster. 

But  where  was  the  See  of  Ruchau  ?  We  cannot  agree 
with  Colgan  that  it  was  Rahan.  Rahan  was  in  Meath  in 
the  territory  of  the  Southern  Hy-Niall,  and  we  may  assume 
it  as  certain  that  the  spirit  of  jealousy,  which  in  a.d.  Q']5, 
drove  St.  Carthach  from  Rahan  would  never  tolerate  the 
appointment  of  this  Munster  prince  as  bishop  in  any  part  of 
Meath.  It  is,  of  course,  still  more  improbable  that  the  same 
jealous  rivals  would  consent  to  give  him  metropolitan  juris- 
diction over  the  princes  and  prelates  of  their  own  race. 

From  the  narrative  in  the  saint's  Life,  if  it  can  be  relied 
upon,  it  is  quite  evident  that  Rachau  was  not  far  from  Lis- 
more,  that  it  was  in  the  territory  of  the  Desii,  and  like  the 
see  of  Sletty,  it  may,  for  a  while,  have  attained  to  a  certain 
pre-eminence  in  Munster  in  consequence  of  the  learning  and 
virtue  of  Cathaldus.  Still  it  is  very  difficult  to  ascertain  the 
exact  locality  of  this  *  city  of  Rachau.'  There  was,  as  we 
know  from  the  Four  Masters,  a  mountain  in  this  district, 
about  six  miles  north  of  Dungarvan,  which  was  called  Slieve 
Cua,  now  Slieve  Gua.  There  must  have  been  an  old  church 
in  the  district  also,  for  there  is  a  parish  called  Slievegue  ;  and 
if  there  was  a  rath  named  from  the  territory,  it  would  be 
Rath-cua,  or  Rachau,  as  any  Irish  scholar  will  readily  admit. 
There  was  a  pass  thr.  u^h  the  valley  beneath  Slieve  Cua, 
w^hich,  as  it  led  from  Magh  Femhiii  into  Decies  without  th  • 
Drum,  was  in  ancient  times  the  scene  of  many  a  bloody  battle. 
We  are  inclined  to  think  that  Rachau  of  the  buiut's  Life  is 
simpl}^  another  lorm  of  Rath-cua,  which  was  doubtless  the 
ancient  name  of  the  residence  of  the  family  of  Cathaldus, 
who  were  probably  the  rulers  of  the  district.  The  old  church 
might  have  once  had  the  same  appellation,  although  so  far  as 
we  know  it  is  now  lost.  After  the  departure  of  Cathaldus, 
this  church  would  lose  its  pre-eminence  like  many  another 
church  in  Ireland  which  was  once  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and 
at  present  does  not  rank  even  as  a  parochial  church. 
Clonenagh  is  an  example,  as  we  have  seen  when  treatin*j:  of 
its  history.  However,  we  merely  offer  this  as  a  co'>iooture, 
for  we  can  find  no  reference  to  the  church  or  district  ot 
Rachau  in  our  domestic  Annals. 

After  Cathaldus  had  ruled  the  See  ot  Rachau  lor  some 
years,  with  his  brother  Donatus  and  several  companions,  he 
went  on  a  pilgrinui^je  to  .l""iisalrin — a  journey  that  it  was  by 


ST  CATH  ALDUS  OF  TARENTUM.  468 

no  means  unusual  for  the  fervent  saints  of  Erin  to  accomplish 
even  at  that  early  period.  On  their  return  from  Palestine, 
their  vessel  was  wrecked  in  the  Gulf  of  Taranto,  not  far 
from  the  city  of  the  same  name. 

Taranto,  the  classical  Tarentum,  was  an  ancient  and 
famous  city,  beautifull}^  situated  on  the  northern  shore  of  the 
bay.  It  was  founded  by  a  Spartan  colony  of  young  men, 
who  left  their  native  country  because  they  were  branded  with 
the  stigma  of  illegitimacy.  But  they  selected  a  beautiful  site 
for  tbeir  city,  under  the  shadow  of  the  lapj^gian  hills,  and 
surrounded  by  the  sun- lit  waters  of  that  spacious  bay.  The 
climate  was  delightful,  the  air  bracing  and  salubrious ;  for 
the  summer's  heats  were  tempered  by  the  sea  breezes,  and 
the  mountains  sheltered  them  from  the  biting  winds  of 
winter.  The  hills  were  clothed  with  olive  trees  and  vine- 
yards, which  were  specially  prized  ;  the  wool  of  their  sheep 
was  of  the  finest  quality ;  the  inner  harbour  was  filled  with 
shell-fish  ;  and  their  honey  was  equal  to  that  produced  by  the 
bees  of  Hymettus.  Horace,  in  a  well-known  Ode,  extols  its 
mild  winter  and  lingering  spring  ;  and  declares  that  its  rare 
products  and  smiling  bowers  woo  him  to  make  his  sojourn  in 
that  happy  land.^ 

But  its  inhabitants,  even  in  the  days  of  Pyrrhus,  were 
said  to  be  an  effeminate  and  licentious  people,  more  devoted 
to  the  pleasures  of  peace  than  to  the  arts  of  war.  They  had 
heard  the  Gospel  from  the  lips  of  the  Apostles  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Mark ;  but  during  the  disturbances  succeeding  the  fall  of  the 
Western  Empire,  they  became  once  more  practically  pagans. 
Such  was  the  state  of  things  when  Cathaldus  and  his  com- 
panions were  wrecked  on  the  shore  of  the  Tarentine  Gulf. 

When  the  Irish  bishop  saw  this  beautiful  city  thus  given 
over  to  pleasure  and  to  vice,  like  St.  Paul  at  Athens,  his 
spirit  was  moved  within  him,  and  in  burning  language  he 
implored  the  inhabitants  to  return  to  the  service  of  the  God 
whom  they  had  forgotten.  He  performed  also  many  striking 
miracles  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  healing  the  sick,  and 
even  it  is  said,  raising  the  dead  to  life.     It  happened  at  this 


*  Ille  terrarum  mihi  praeter  omnes 
Angulus  ridet,  ubi  non  Hymetto 
Mella  decedunt,  viridique  certat 
Bacca  Venafro. 

Ver  ubi  longum,  tepid asque  praebet 
Jupiter  brumae,  et  amicus  Auloii 
Fertili  Baccho  minimum  Falernis 
Invidet  uvis. 


464  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

time  that  there  was  no  bishop  in  the  city  ;  so  the  Tarentines 
besought  the  Irish  saint  to  become  their  bishop,  and  promised 
to  obey  his  commands,  and  ibllow  all  his  counsels.  Reluct- 
antly he  consented,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  thus  be  able 
to  win  them  back  to  the  service  of  God.  His  efforts  were 
crowned  with  complete  success.  Once  more  Tarentum 
became  a  christian  city  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name ;  and 
Cathaldus  was  venerated  as  the  second  apostle  and  patron 
saint  of  the  city. 

Cathaldus  spent  some  years  in  his  new  see  ;  then  feelino: 
his  end  approaching,  the  saint  once  more  exhorted  the  people 
and  the  clergy,  in  language  of  the  most  tender  affection,  to  be 
true  to  the  profession  and  practice  of  the  Christian  faith. 
He  died,  shortly  after,  in  his  city  of  Tarentum,  towards  the 
close  of  the  seventh  century,  on  the  eighth  day  of  March, 
which  is  his  festival  day.  The  holy  remains,  by  which  many 
miracles  were  wrought,  were  buried  in  a  marble  tomb,  which 
up  to  this  day  is  preserved  in  the  sacristy  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Tarentum.  For  a  long  period  the  identity  and  position  of 
the  tomb  were  unknown,  until  the  time  of  the  Archbishop 
Drogonus,  by  whose  orders  the  old  cathedral  was  restored. 
The  workmen  in  excavating  the  old  walls  came  upon  the 
marble  tomb  ;  and  the  Archbishop  having  been  sent  for, 
caused  the  tomb  to  be  opened,  when  the  sacred  relics  were 
discovered,  with  a  golden  cross  on  which  the  name  of 
Cathaldus  was  inscribed.  So  Archbishop  Drogonus,  full  of 
joy,  caused  the  holy  relics  to  be  translated,  and  the  tomb 
itself  to  be  rebuilt  close  to  the  high  altar  of  the  new  Cathe- 
dral Church,  where  they  are  preserved  with  great  honour 
down  to  the  present  day.  In  the  year  a.d.  .1150,  Archbishop 
Giraldus  caused  the  holy  relics  to  be  enclosed  in  a  silver 
shrine,  richly  adorned  with  gold  and  jewels.  A  large  silver 
statue  of  the  saint  was  also  erected  in  the  church,  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  skull  was  placed  within  the  figure.  The  feast  of 
the  Invention  of  the  saint's  Relics  is  celebrated  on  the  eighth 
day  of  May,  and  the  Translation  is  kept  on  the  tenth  of  the 
same  month.  Both  these  festivals,  as  well  as  the  Natalis  of 
the  saint  on  the  eighth  of  March,  are  celebrated  with  much 
pomp  by  tlie  Tarentines  even  to  the  present  day.  The  silver- 
gilt  cross  found  within  the  tomb  is  hung  around  the  neck  of 
the  silver  statue  of  the  saint,  and  on  the  cross  may  still  be 
seen,  engraved  in  characters  quite  legible  and  distinct — 
Cathaldus  Rachau,  which  identify  so  conclusively  the  pre- 
late of  Lismore  and  Tarentum  with  the  sacred  relics  that  were 
discovered  by  Archbishop  Drogonus. 


OTHER  SCHOLARS  OF  LISMORE — ST.  CUANNA.  465 

Certain  writings  have  been  attributed  to  Cathaldus  by 
Colgan,  and  others;  but  it  is  difficult  to  regard  them  as 
genuine. 

There  is  a  short  treatise,  given  by  Colgan,  containing  an 
account  alleged  to  be  taken  from  the  E-ecords  of  the  Church 
and  City  of  Tarenium,  of  the  principal  miracles  of  the  saint. 
It  is  a  very  striking  enumeration  of  most  wonderful  cures 
effected  through  the  intercession  of  the  saint,  and  bears  in- 
trinsic evidence  of  authenticity — at  least  such  is  Colgan*? 
opinion. 

There  is  also  extant  a  prophecy  attributed  to  the  saint, 
which  he  uttered  shortly  before  his  death,  and  which  was  by 
his  order,  if  not  by  his  own  hand,  inscribed  in  certain  leaden 
tablets,  and  hidden  within  a  column  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter  without  the  eastern  walls  of  the  city.  It  is  said 
that  in  the  year  a.d.  1492,  the  saint  appeared  to  a  certain 
deacon  of  Tarentum,  by  name  Raphael  Crurera,  and  com- 
manded him  to  tell  the  Archbishop  that  he  would  find  in  the 
said  church  the  figure  of  a  boy  painted  on  the  column  with 
the  hand  pointing  out  the  spot  where  the  leaves  of  the 
leaden  record  containing  the  prophecy  would  be  found.  The 
Archbishop  sought  the  place  indicated,  and  found  the  two 
sheets  of  lead  inscribed  with  the  prophecy.  But  the  whole 
thing  looks  very  like  a  forgery  concocted  for  political 
purposes. 

III. — Other  Scholars  of  Lismore — St.  Cuanna. 

It  does  not  appear  that  St.  Cathaldus  was  ever  Abbot  or 
Bishop  of  Lismore,  although  he  was  certainly  a  student  of 
that  great  seminary.  St.  Carthach  appears  to  have  been 
succeeded  in  the  government  of  Lismore  by  St.  Cuanna,  who 
is  said  to  have  been  his  uterine  brother.  As  Cuanna,  or  at 
least  one  who  bore  that  name,  was  also  the  author  of  an 
ancient  book  of  Annals,  he  is  worthy  of  special  mention  in 
this  place.  Colgan  is  of  opinion  that  St.  Cuanna,  the  Abbot  of 
Lismore,  is  the  same  as  that  Cuanna,  who  has  given  his  name 
to  Kilcooney,  near  Headfort,  on  the  shores  of  Lough  Corrib; 
and  he  thinks  it  highly  probable  that  he  was  also  the  original 
author  of  the  Book  of  Cuanach,  cited  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster. 
It  is  not  quoted  after  a.d.  628  ;  and  we  know  that  St.  Cuanna 
of  Lismore  died  about  a.d.  650,  so  that  this  fact  of  itself 
lends  some  probability  to  Colgan's  view.  The  facts  of 
his  history,  however,  will  clearly  show  that  Cuanna  of  Lismore 
was  the  founder  of  Kilcooney,  near  Lough  Corrib. 

St.    Cuanna    of  Kilcooney   was   born   near  the  eastern 

2g 


466         "SCHOOl^S  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

shore  of  that  lake,  for  he  is  described  as  founding  a  church 
in  his  native  district.^  His  mother,  Findniaith,  was  a  near 
rehition  of  St.  Brendan,  and  appears  to  have  been  also  tho 
mother  of  St.  Fursey,  and  of  St.  Eany,  who  also  founded 
churches  on  the  Cor  rib  shore.  In  that  case  Findmaith  was 
the  second  wife  of  Fintan  of  Ard-fintan,  near  Headfort,  who 
is  said  to  have  been  a  nephew  of  St.  Brendan.  We  know 
that  both  St.  Brendan  and  St.  Carthach  belonged  originally 
to  the  same  district  in  the  west  of  Kerry,  and  that  both  were 
sprung  from  Fergus  Mac  Roy.  We  know  also  that  many  of 
the  tribesmen  both  of  Carthach  and  Brendan  migrated  to 
West  Connaught  about  this  period,  and  that  the  father  of 
Fursey  was  amongst  them.  It  may  be  that  his  wife  after- 
wards got  married  to  another  Kerry  chieftain,  and  this 
would  explain  how  Carthach  and  Cuanna  were  uterine 
brothers,  although  one  was  born  at  Tralee  and  the  other  near 
Lough  Corrib. 

About  A.D.  590  Cuanna  went  to  the  school  of  St  Carthach, 
at  Rahan,  where  he  remained  msmy  5'ears.  Then  he  was 
sent  about  a.d.  620  to  found  a  monastery  "  in  the  delightful 
land  of  the  Ui-Eachach,  in  the  south  of  the  woody  Inisfail." 
Afterwards,  however,  he  returned  home  to  Lough  Corrib  and 
founded  Kilcooney.  The  *'  Fragment  of  his  Life,"  in  the 
Salamanca  MS.  then  tells  how  he  was  carried  off  into 
Connemara,  but  God's  angels  took  charge  of  him,  and 
brought  him  over  the  lake  in  safety,  floating  on  a  flat  stone, 
to  his  own  side  of  the  lake.  Then  it  was  he  resolved  to 
found  his  Church  of  Kilcooney,  or  Kilcoonagh,  of  which  the 
remains  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  old  churchyard  not  far 
froni  Headfort.  There  is  also  the  stump  of  a  round  tower  close 
at  hand,  which  shows  the  ancient  importance  of  the  place. 

Great  numbers  of  saints  and  monks  from  all  parts  of 
Ireland  were  soon  attracted  to  Kilcooney  by  the  fame  of  its 
learned  and  holy  founder.  In  fact  we  are  told  that  on  one 
occasion  no  less  than  1,746  of  these  holy  men  assembled  in 
conference  in  a  beautiful  meadow  near  the  church,  and  there 
entered  into  a  league  of  holy  friendship  with  each  other — 
surely  a  beautiful  spectacle  before  angels  and  men  in  that 
rude  and  barbarous  age. 

It  seems  that  it  was  after  the  death  of  his  brother, 
St.  Carthach,  in  a.d.  636  or  637,  that  Cuanna  was  called  to 
preside  at  Lismore.  The  kin  of  the  founders  always  got  a 
preference    when    rulers    were    elected    for    these    ancient 


*  See  Salamanca  MS.,  page  931. 


OTHER  SCHOLARS  OF  LISMOKE — ST.  CUANNA.  467 

monasteries,  and  his  near  kinship  with  Carthach  was, 
together  with  his  virtues  and  merits,  the  main  reason  of  this 
election.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  was  Abbot  of 
Lismore,  for  two  of  our  ancient  calendars  describe  him  as 
such,  and  in  the  notes  to  the  Felire  of  ^ngus  he  is  simi- 
larly described.     He  died  about  the  year  a.d.  650. 

The  School  of  Lismore  continued  to  flourish  under  him 
and  his  successors,  attaining,  it  seems,  the  zenith  of  its 
celebrity  towards  the  opening  years  of  the  eighth  century 
under  St.  Colman  O'Leaihain. 

St.  Colman  O'Leathain  flourished  as  Abbot  and  Bishop  of 
Lismore  from  a.d.  698,  or  a.d.  699  to  702  ;  and  during  this 
brief  period  he  became  very  celebrated.     He  was  the  son  of 
Finbarr,  of  the  race  of  Hy-Beogna,  the  hereditary  princes  of 
Ibh   Liathain — a  district   extending  from  Cork  to  Youghal, 
andnearl\  corresponding  with  the  modern  barony  of  Imokelly 
He  was   a  pupil   of    Lismore    during    the    incumbency  of 
St.  Hierlog,  or  Jariilach,  as  we  find  it  in  the  Ulster  Annals, 
the   same  as  the  Hierologus  of  Colgan.^     Lismore  had  now 
become  so  celebrated  that   the   Irish  princes,   tired  of  the 
world,  began  to  seek  peace  and  penance  in  its  sacred  shades. 
The  first  of  these  princes,  of  whom  we  read,  was  Theodoric, 
or  Turlogh,  King  of  Thoraond,  of  the  celebrated  Dalcassian 
line.     His  father  Cathal  died  in  a.d.  624,  so  that  this  prince' 
must  have  ruled  over  his  native  territory  for  many  years. 
He  is   celebrated,   too,    as  the  father    of  St.   Flannau,  the 
founder  of  the  See  of  Killaloe.     Theodoric  came  secretly  to 
St.  Colman,  and  flinging  ofi'  his  royal  robes,  and  renouncing 
his  crown,  placed  himself  amongst  the  humblest  disciples  ol 
that  saint.     Though  now  an  old  man,  he  would  not  consent 
to  be  idle,  but  insisted  on  earning  his  bread  with  the  labour 
of  his  hands,  like  the  monks  around  him.     The   road  to  the 
monastery  from  the  low  ground  was  steep  and  uneven,  so 
Theodoric,  whose  strong  arms  so  often  wielded  the  sword  of 
Thomond  in  battle,  got  his  sledge  and  hammer,  and  spent  his 
time  breaking  stones  to  repair  the  road.     With  such  zeal  did 
he  work  that  the  streams  of  perspiration  poured  down  from 
his  body  to  the  ground,  and  it  is  said  a  sick  man  was  healed 
by  washing  in   these   waters  of  holy  and   penitential  toil. 
With  Colman's  permission  he  returned  to  his  kingdom  to 
protect  it  from^its  enemies,  whom  he  seems  to  have  crushed 
as  easily  as  he  did  the  stones,  and  he  then  returned  again  to 
fe  in  Lismore. 

1  Such  is  Colgan's  opinion  ;  but  Skene's  opinion  is  more  probable, 
that  Jarnlach  was  abbot  of  the  Scottish  Lisn^ore  Colman  was  probablv 
abbot  for  40  j'ear8, 


41)8  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

St.  Colman  O'Leathain  is  sometimes  called  Mocholmoc, 
but  as  Colgan  points  out,  it  is  really  the  same  name — Colraan 
and  Colmoc  being  both  diminutives  of  Colum,  with  the  term 
of  endearment  prefixed  in  one  case — mo-Cholmoc,  which  is 
the  same  as  *  my  dear  little  Colman.'  This  great  saint 
died  on  the  22nd  of  January,  a.d.  702,  and  was  interred  at 
Lismore. 

It  has  been  said  that  Aldfrid,  King  of  Northumbria,  was 
a  student  at  Lismore  before  he  was  calle  I  to  the  throne  after 
the  death  of  his  brother,  Ecgfrid,  in  a.d.  685.  This  statement 
is,  however,  merely  a  conjecture.  We  know,  indeed,  from 
the  express  statement  of  William  of  Malmesbury  that  Aldfrid 
spent  his  youth  in  Ireland,  that  he  was  trained  in  all  the 
learning  of  our  Irish  schools,  and  that  when  he  was  called  to 
the  throne  of  ]J^orthumbria,  he  gave  both  sympathy  and 
effective  assistance  to  the  Irish  prelates  and  monks  of  the 
North  in  opposition  to  Wilfrid  and  his  associates.  It  is 
unlikely,  however,  that  he  remained  at  any  one  monastic 
school  during  all  the  years  of  his  enforced  sojourn  in  Ireland. 
Armagh  would  be  one  of  the  nearest  to  a  Northumbrian 
exile ;  and  being  the  seat  of  the  primacy,  as  well  as  a  cele- 
brated school,  it  would  naturally  attract  him  first.  If  he 
then  came  south  he  certainly  would  visit  Clonmacnoise,  and 
remain  some  time  in  its  halls.  The  great  fame  of  Lismore 
in  the  middle  of  the  seventh  centur}^  would  doubtless  attract 
him  also  ;  and  he  certainly  would  not  leave  unvisited  the  new 
monastery  founded  about  this  very  time  by  his  own  country- 
men in  the  plains  of  Mayo.  And  if  we  are  to  accept  the 
authenticity  of  the  old  Irish  poem  attributed  to  Aldfrid,  this 
is  precisely  what  did  happen.  He  went  throughout  the  entire 
country  from  school  to  school,  spending  some  time  in  each  of 
them;  and  he  testifies  that  he  was  treated  everywhere  with 
generous  hospitality,  and  experienced  at  the  hands  of  all  his 
teachers  and  entertainers  a  kindly  Irish  welcome.  This 
poem  has  been  translated  by  Clarence  Mangan,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  original  has  been  admirably  preserved  in  the  trans- 
lation. 

**  I  found  in  Innisfail  the  fair, 
In  Ireland  while  in  exile  there, 
Women  of  worth,  both  grave  and  gay  mm, 
Many  clerics  and  many  laymen. 

I  travelled  its  fruitful  provinces  round, 
And  in  every  one  of  the  five  I  found, 
Alike  in  chiircli  and  in  palace  hall, 
Abundant  a})j)arel  and  food  for  all." 


SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  LISMOKE.  469 

Then  he  tells  how  he  found  '  in  Armagh  the  splendid 
meekness,  wisdom,  and  prudence  blended';  how  he  found 
kings  and  queens  and  poets  in  Munster ;  in  Connaught  he 
found  riches,  hospitality,  vigour  and  fame ;  in  Ulster,  '  from 
hill  to  glen,  he  met  hardy  warriors  and  resolute  men' ;  and 
so  on  throughout  all  the  land. 

During  his  residence  in  Ireland  Aldfrid  acquired  much 
knowledge,  and  a  great  love  of  learning  and  learned  men. 
He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Adaranan,  the  celebrated  Abbot 
of  lona,  and  probably  spent  some  time  in  that  monastery  also 
Another  distinguished  scholar,  Aldhelm,  Abbot  of  Malmes- 
bury,  dedicated  to  Aldfrid  a  poetical  epistle  in  Latin  on 
Metres  and  the  Hules  of  Prosody,  which  shows  that  the 
king  must  have  been  competent  to  appreciate  such  a  work. 
Aldhelm,  in  this  Epistle,  congratulates  the  king  on  his  good 
fortune  in  having  been  educated  in  Ireland ;  and  he  knew 
well  what  the  Irish  scholars  were,  for  his  own  master,  Mail- 
dulf,  was  an  Irishman.  Aldhelm  afterwards  studied  in 
Canterbury  under  Theodore  and  Adrian;  and  though  trained 
by  an  Irishman,  in  one  of  his  letters  he  shows  himself  a  little 
jealous^  of  the  greater  fame  and  popularity  which  the  Irish 
schools  at  this  period  enjoyed  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
Maildulf^  taught  a  school  at  Malmesbury,  and  from  him  it 
takes  its  name  ;  but  after  his  death  it  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  Englishmen. 

lY. — Subsequent  History  of  Lismore. 

We  cannot  narrate  at  length  the  subsequent  history  of 
the  monastery  and  School  of  Lismore.  We  find  a  regular 
succession  of  Bishop-abbots  down  to  the  advent  of  the  Danes. 
But  the  position  of  Lismore  on  a  great  river  not  far  from  the 
sea  rendered  it  especially  exposed  to  their  ravages  ;  and 
hence,  like  our  other  great  monastic  schools,  we  find  that  it 
was  repeatedly  pillaged  and  burned  during  the  ninth  and 
tenth  centuries.  Nor  was  the  plundering  and  burning  alto- 
gether the  work  of  the  Danes. 

As  usual  the  native  princes  followed  their  example  ;  and 

^  See  Opera  Ed.,  Giles,  p.  94.  He  says  that  the  English  swarmed  to  the 
Irish  Schools  like  bees,  whilst  the  great  School  of  Canterbury  was  by  nr 
means  overcrowded. 

2  He  is  called  Mailduf  by  Bede  ;  but  it  is  merely  another  way  of  render- 
ing the  Irish  name — Alaeldubh.  Bede  calls  Malmesbury  Maildufi  urhem,  that 
is,  Mailduf s-bury,  contracted  afterwards  into  Malmesbury.  William  of 
Malmesbury  describes  it  as  founded  by  Meildulf.  "Natione  Scotus,  erudi- 
tusque  philosophus.  professione  monachus."    See  Lanigan,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  100. 


470  oOHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVKNTH  CENTURY. 

SO  we  are  told  that  in  a.d.  978  the  Ossorians  plundered  and 
Ixirned  both  the  town  and  abbey.  Yet  the  school  and  monas- 
tery survived  the  ravages  both  of  the  Danes  and  natives,  and 
were  held  in  great  veneration  by  the  wisest  and  best  men  in 
Erin.  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan,  the  King-bishop,  loved  Lis- 
more,  although  he  was  not  educated  there,  and  in  his  will 
left  a  bequest  of  a  gold  and  silver  chalice,  and  a  suit  of  silk 
vestments  to  the  monastery. 

We  read  in  Arclidall  that  there  was  at  Lismore,  as  at 
x^rmagh  and  many  other  principal  churches,  a  hermitage, 
where  one  or  more  anchorites  dwelt  enclosed  in  their  cells, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  primitive  Egyptian  saints  in  the 
Desert.  St.  Carthach  himself  had  set  the  example  at  Lismore; 
and  it  seems  it  was  regularly  followed,  for  a  small  endowment 
in  land  was  provided  for  the  maintenance  of  these  anchorites  at 
Lismore.  The  death  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  is  noticed 
A.D.  1040: — "Corcran  Cleireach,  ancborite,  the  head  of  the 
West  of  Europe  for  piety  and  wisdom,  died  at  Lis-mor/' 
(F.M.).  Another  authority  tells  us  that  such  was  his  learn- 
ing and  integrity  that  every  dispute  throughout  the  kingdom 
was  confidently  referred  to  his  arbitration.  It  was  for  this 
reason  also  that  during  the  interregnum  that  succeeded  the 
death  of  Maelsechlainn  II.  in  a.d.  1022,  he,  with  Cuan 
O'Lochain,  were  chosen  to  guide  the  provisional  government 
then  established,  as  it  would  seem,  with  the  consent  of  both 
the  North  and  the  South. 

During  the  subsequent  century — a  period  of  much  turmoil 
and  bloodshed,  when  there  was  no  recognised  High  King  of 
Tara,  who  was  able  to  keep  the  provincial  kings  in  check, 
many  of  the  soutliern  princes  retired  to  Lismore  to  end  their 
days  in  peace  and  penance.  Amongst  these  was  the  brave  and 
generous  Murtogh  (Muircheartach)  O'Brien,  the  grandson  of 
Brian  Boru,  whom  the  Four  Masters  themselves  describe  '*  as 
King  of  Ireland,  and  the  prop  of  the  glory  and  magnificence 
of  the  West  of  the  world."  He  died  after  the  victory  of 
penance  at  Lismore,  but  was  buried  at  Killaloe.  In  a.d.  1127 
Turlough  O'Conor,  the  bravest  and  most  capable  of  his  name, 
forced  Cormac  Mac  Carthy,  King  of  Desmond,  to  go  on  pil- 
grimage to  Lismore,  and  put  on  the  habit  of  a  monk.  But 
Cormac  soon  flung  it  ofi'  again,  and  once  more  met  Turlough 
in  the  field,  but  unsuccessfully  ;  for  we  are  told  that  there 
was  a  great  fight  at  *  sea '  (on  Lough  Derg)  between  the 
fleets  of  the  Connaughtnien  and  of  the  men  of  Munster,  aiul 
that  the  former  gained  the  victory  and  harried  the  territory 
of  Munster. 


SUBSEQUENT  HISTOKY  OF  LISMORE.  47  1 

Another  noteworthy  event  in  connection  with  Lismore  is 
recorded  in  a.d.  1129.  It  is  the  death  and  burial  at  Lismore 
in  this  year  of  the  good  St.  Celsus,  after  St.  Malachy,  the 
greatest  man  of  his  age.  He  laboured  with  the  most  constant 
and  self-denying  zeal  to  reform  the  gross  abuses  prevalent 
in  the  Irish  Church,  and  to  stay  the  fratricidal  hands  of  the 
native  princes,  whose  whole  career  was  at  this  time  one  sad 
record  of  violence  and  slaughter.  His  life,  say  the  Annals, 
was*' a  life  of  f;i  sting,  prayer,  and  mass-celebration;  and 
after  unction  and  good  penance  he  resigned  his  spirit  to 
heaven  at  Ard  Patrick,"  in  the  co.  Limerick.  He  was  buried 
at  Lismore,  by  his  own  desire,  and  was  waked,  as  was  fitting, 
with  psalms,  hymns,  and  canticles,  and  buried  with  all  honour 
in  the  tomb  of  the  bishops,  on  Thursday,  the  4th  of  April, 
having  died  on  the  previous  Monday. 

So  Lismore  was  still  held  in  great  honour,  and  owned 
large  possessions  for  the  education  of  the  clergy  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  poor  down  to  the  advent  of  the  Anglo- 
Normans.  Then  in  a.d.  1173  we  have  the  significant  entry 
that  Strongbow,  after  wasting  the  territory  of  the  Desii, 
"  extorted  a  large  sum  from  the  bishop  to  prevent  the  church 
from  being  burnt,"  but  in  the  following  year  his  son  com- 
pleted his  father's  work,  *'  and  plundered  Lismore  ;  "  and 
lour  years  later,  in  a.d.  1178,  we  are  told  that  the  town  was 
again  plundered,  and  set  on  fire  by  the  English  forces. 
Whatever  still  remamed  was  wholly  destroyed  a  few  years 
after,  in  a.t\  1207,  when  the  town  and  all  its  churches  were 
entirely  consumed.  Shortly  afterwards,  this  ancient  See  was 
united  to  the  Danish  bishopric  of  Waterford,  and  the  lamp 
of  learning  in  its  schools  was  extinguished  for  ever. 

Lismore  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  steep  southern 
bank  of  the  Blackwater,  overlooking  the  picturesque  valley 
of  this  noble  river,  which  here  teems  with  natural  beauties. 
In  this  respect  Innes  declares  that  Lismore  cannot  be  sur- 
passed. "  The  Blackwater,  both  above  and  below  the  bridge, 
which  leads  into  the  town,  flows  through  one  of  the  most 
verdant  of  valleys.  The  banks  bounding  this  valley  are  in 
some  places  thickly,  in  other  places  lightly,  shaded  with 
wood.  Nothing  can  surpass  in  richness  and  beauty  the  view 
from  the  bridge,  when  at  evening  the  deep  woods,  and  the 
grey  castle,  and  the  still  river  are  left  in  the  shade,  while 
the  sun  streaming  up  the  valley  gilds  all  the  softer  slopes 
and  swells  that  He  opposite."     {Journey,  1834.) 

Nothing,  in  truth,  is  wanting  that  can  lend  beauty  and 
interest  to  this  scene,  which  nature  has  so  richly  dowered 


472  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CKNTURY. 

with  all  lier  charms.  And  tlieu  the  grand  old  castle,  towering 
over  tlie  river,  recalls  to  the  mind  of  the  beholder  all  those 
associations  that  cling-  like  the  ivy  to  its  grey  historic  walls. 

Of  the  twenty  churches  once  in  Lismore  not  a  vestige 
remains.  The  existing  Protestant  cathedral  was  rebuilt  by  the 
Earl  of  Cork  in  a.d.  1 663  ;  but  his  workmen  destroyed  every 
trace  of  the  ancient  church,  which  is  alluded  to  as  the 
cathedral,  or  great  stone  church  of  Lismore,  so  early  as 
A.D.  1052.  Five  inscribed  stones  are  preserved  in  the  present 
cathedral.  They  are  fragments  of  ancient  tombstones,  with 
the  peculiar  Celtic  crosses,  and  lettered  in  very  ancient  types 
of  the  Celtic  alphabet.^  One  asks  a  blessing  for  the  soul  of 
Colgen,  who,  according  to  the  Annals  of  Inisf alien ^  was  an 
eminent  ecclesiastic,  who  died  in  Lismore  in  a.d.  850.  The 
words  are— BENDACHT  FOE  ANMAIN  COLGEN. 
Another  is  simply  inscribed— SUIBNE  M  CONHUIDIR— 
Suibne,  son  of  Conhuidir,  an  anchorite  and  abbot  of  Lismore, 
who  went  to  his  rest  in  a.d.  854.  Another  still  more 
interesting  inscription  asks  a  prayer  for  Cormac,  a  priest — 
OE  DO  COUMAC  P.  The  letter  P  stands  apparently  for 
the  Latin  wordi  presbyter,  i.e.^  priest.  He  seems  to  have  been 
^'  Cormac,  son  of  Cuilcanan,  Bishop  of  Lismore,  and  Ijord  of 
the  Desii  of  Mumhan,  who  was  killed  by  his  own  family, 
A.D.  918  " — a  different  person  from  the  King-bishop  ol 
Cashel,  who  was  slain  in  A.D.  907.  The  other  two  merely 
ask  a  blessing  for  the  soul  of  MARTAN,  and  a  prayer  for 
DONNCHAE),  who  seems  to  have  been  the  person  bearing 
that  name  who  was  assassinated  within  the  very  walls  of 
the  old  cathedral  in  A.D.  1034. 

The  Crozier  of  Lismore  was  discovered  in  1814  in  a 
tower  of  Lismore  Castle,  belonging  now  to  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire — hence  it  is  sometimes  improperly  called  the 
Devonshire  Crozier.  It  was  made,  as  the  inscription  on  it 
records,  for  Niall  Mac  Mic  Aeducan,  who  was  Bishop  of 
Lismore  from  A.D.  1090  to  1113.  The  artist  w^as  Nectan — 
Also  a  Celtic  name — and  the  Crozier  itself  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  specimens  of  Celtic  art  of  this  character  that  have 
been  yet  discovered.  "  It  measures  three  feet  four  inches  in 
length,  and  consists  of  a  case  of  bronze  of  a  pale  colour, 
which  enshrines  an  old  oak  stick — perhaps  the  original  staff 
of  the  founder  of  Lismore.  Most  of  the  ornaments  are  richly 
gilt,  interspersed  with  others  of  silver  and  niello,  and  bosses 
of  coloured  enamels.    The  crook  of  the  staff  is  bordered  with 


See  Christian  Insoiptwns.     Vol.  ii.,  p.  31. 


SUBSEQUENT  MISIORY  OF  LISMORE.  473 

a  row  of  grotesque  animals  like  lizards  or  drcigons,  one 
of  which  has  eyes  of  lapis  lazuli."^  The  staff  seems 
to  have  been  divided  into  compartments,  which  were 
niied  in  with  filigree  work.  It  is  most  likely  this  beauti- 
ful work  of  art  was  made  at  the  monastery,  and  that 
^ectan,  the  artificer,  was  a  member  of  the  brotherhood  of 
Lismore.  The  inscription  is  as  usual  in  Irish,  and  runs 
thus  :— OR  DO  NIAL  MAC  MEICG  AEDUCAN  LASAN 
DERJSTAD  IN  GRESSA  +  OR  DO  iNECTAIJST  CERD 
DORIGNE  m  GRESSA— Pray  for  JNiall,  son  of  Mac- 
Aeducan,  for  whom  this  work  was  made  ;  pray  for  Nectan, 
who  made  this  work  of  art. 

The  Book  of  Lismoke  was  found  in  1814,  together  with 
the  Crozier  of  Lismore,  in  a  wooden  box,  which  was  enclosed 
within  the  wall  of  a  built-up  doorway  in  the  Castle  of  Lismore. 
Both  evidently  belonged  to  the  bishops  of  Lismore,  for  the 
castle  was  the  ancient  episcopal  palace,  and  the  box  was  built 
into  the  doorway  for  security  on  some  occasion  when  the 
castle  was  being  besieged  by  enemies,  who  might  be  disposed 
to  appropriate  these  venerable  relics.  This  castle  was 
originally  built  by  Prince  John,  in  a,d.  1185  ;  and  at  first 
was  garrisoned  for  the  Crown.  It  was,  however,  soon 
destroyed  by  the  natives ;  but  was  rebuilt  by  the  king,  and 
became  the  residence  of  the  bishops  of  Lismore  down  to  the 
*ime  of  Miler  MacGrath,  who  added  the  see  of  Lismore  to 
his  other  ecclesiastical  preferments.  Afterwards,  the  castle 
sustained  several  sieges  during  the  troubles  that  followed 
A.D.  1641,  when  it  was  held  at  different  times  for  the  Crown 
or  for  the  Parliament :  and  it  was,  doubtless,  during  one  of 
these  sieges  that  both  the  Crozier  and  Book  of  Lismore  were 
concealed.  When  discovered  it  had  suffered  much  from  damp, 
and  the  edges,  O'Curry  tells  us,  seem  to  have  been  partially 
gnawed  by  rats  or  mice.  It  was,  however,  still  tolerably 
legible,  but  was,  unfortunately,  lent  by  the  I'uke  of  Devon- 
shire's agent  to  a  Cork  sheanachie,  named  0'El3'nu,  that  it 
might  be  transcribed;  and  O'Curry  alleges  that  several 
folios,  and  in  some  places  entire  sections  of  the  MS.,  were 
deliberately  cut  out  by  those  who  had  the  temporary  custody 
of  the  book.  In  1839  O'Curry  made  a  copy  on  paper  of  all 
that  remained  for  the  Royal  Irish  Academy ;  but  that 
institution  vainly  sought  to  obtain  the  missing  portions. 

It  is  said  that  these  excised  parts  were  purchased,  no 
doubt,  in  good  faith,  by  a  Mr.  Hewitt,  who  lived  near  Cork, 

*  Christian  Inscriptions.     Vol.  ii.,  p.  US, 


474  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

and  they  may,  perhaps,  be  still  secured  and  re-bound  with 
the  original  MS. 

This  original  was  a  vellum  MS.  said  to  be  900  years  old. 
It  consists  principally  of  copies  of  the  lives  of  certain  Irish 
saints — of  Patrick,  Brigid,  Coluracille,  Senan,  Finnian  of 
Clonard,  and  Finnchu  of  Brigobhan,  near  Cork — "  all,'*  says 
O'Curry,  "  written  in  Gaelic  of  great  purity  and  antiquity."^ 
There  are  also  several  historical  and  romantic  tracts,  and 
bardic  accounts  of  several  ancient  battles.  One  treatise — a 
dialoo^ue  between  St.  Patrick  and  the  Fenian  warriors, 
Caoilte  MacRonan  and  Oisin — is,  says  the  same  learned 
authority,  especially  valuable  for  the  topographical  informa- 
tion it  contains.^ 


'  See  Lectures  on  MS.  Materials. 

2  "The  Lives  of  Saints  from  the  Book  of  Lisraore  "  have  been  lately 
(1890)  edited  and  tranduted  into  English  by  Dr  Whitley  Stokes,  and 
issued  from  the  Clarendon  Press  at  Oxford.  The  **  Lives  "  are  preceded  by 
an  elaborate  critical  Preface  on  the  language  and  matter  of  the  text- 
There  is  also  a  very  complete  G-lossary  of  all  the  Irish  words  in  the  volume- 
Tlie  Dialogue  has  also  been  recently  published  in  the  Silva  Gadelica  by 
Mr.  S.  H.  O'Grady. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

THE  SCHOOLS  OF   DESMOND. 

I. — The  School  of  Cork — St.  Finbarr. 

"  I  found  in  Munster,  unfettered  of  any, 
Kings  and  queens,  and  poets  a-many  ; 
Poets  well  skilled  in  music  and  measure, 
Prosperous  doings,  mirtli  and  pleasure." 

— King  Aid f rid'' a  Poem. 

Munster  was  always  celebrated  for  classical  studies. 
Even  within  tlie  memory  of  living  men  it  attracted  '  poor 
scholars'  from  every  part  of  Ireland  ;  and  they  were  received, 
as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Bede  and  King  Aidfrid,  with 
kindly  welcome  and  generous  hospitality.  In  spite  of  the 
confiscations  and  penal  laws  of  three  hundred  years,  the  old 
Celtic  love  of  learning  was  still  cherished  in  Munster,  and 
the  doors  were  never  closed  against  the  homeless  scholar, 
or  bard,  or  sheanachie.  As  in  the  days,  of  Bede,  "  they 
willingly  received  them  all,  and  took  care  to  supply  them 
with  food,  and  also  to  furnish  them  with  books  to  read,  and 
their  teaching  gratis/'^  Of  the  Desmond  schools  the  most 
celebrated,  though  not,  perhaps,  the  earliest,  was  the  School 
of  Cork  founded  by  St.  Finbarr. 

The  name  of  the  city  itself  is  derived  from  Corcagh, 
which  signifies  a  marshy  place  ;  and  at  the  time  St.  Finbarr 
founded  his  church  there,  and  for  centuries  afterwards,  it 
certainly  well  deserved  the  name.  Especially  when  the 
mountain  floods  came  down  the  valley  of  the  river  Lee  the 
whole  right  bank  of  the  stream  was  converted  into  a  vast 
lake  called  Loch  Eirce  or  Loch  Irce.^  This  valley  extends 
from  west  to  east,  and  is  enclosed  on  either  side  by  bold  and 
fertile  hills,  now  crowned  with  2:roves  and  villas  which 
render  Cork  one  of  the  jnost  picturesque  cities  of  the  empire. 

*  Liber  iii.  c.   27.      "Erant  (in  Hibernia)  eo  tempore  multi  nobilium 

snnul    et   mediocrium   de  gente    Angelorum quos    omnes  Scoti 

libentissime  suscipientes  victum  eis  quotidianum  sine  pretio,  libros  quoque 
ad  legendum,  et  magisterium  gratuitum  praebere  curabant." 

2  Mr.  Caulfield  seems  to  think  that  Loch  Irce  was  the  lake  since  called 
Gougane  Barra  ;  but  such  does  not  seem  to  have  been  Colgan's  opinion. 
See  Life  of  St.  Barre,  page  iv. 


476  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND. 

The  river  Lee  itself  rises  in  the  wild  and  barren  mountain 
range  which  separates  Cork  from  Kerry,  and  after  a  course 
of  more  than  fifty  miles,  flows  into  the  sea  below  the  city. 
The  river  before  reaching  the  city,  divides  itself  into  two 
main  branches,  which  afterwards  re-unite,  thus  forming  an 
island  of  considerable  extent,  on  wnicn  the  city  proper  was 
originally  built,  and  strongly  fortified  by  walls  and  towers. 

The  Lee  may  be  said  to  take  its  rise  in  the  mountain  lake 
of  Gougane  Barra,  which  is  merely  a  natural  reservoir  that 
collects  the  streams  flowing  down  the  sides  of  these  wild 
mountains.  The  name  simply  means '  Barra'a  Lone  Retreat,'* 
because,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  the  saint  dwelt  for  some 
time  on  an  island  in  the  lake. 

The  facts  of  St.  Finbarr's  history  are  narrated  in  two 
Latin  Lives  which  have  been  published  by  Mr.  Caulfield  of 
Cork  College.-  Ilis  baptismal  name  was  Loch  an ;  but  as 
the  boy  grew  up  with  beautiful  fair  hair  he  was  called 
Find-barr ;  and  sometimes  Barra,  Barre,  Bairre,  or  Barry. 
He  was  sprung  from  the  Hj^'-Briuin  E,atha,  who  dwelt  about 
Lough  Corrib  in  the  County  Galway.  His  father,  Amergin, 
being  the  fruit  of  unlawful  love,  left  his  native  territory  and 
came  to  the  territory  of  Hy-Liathain  in  the  County  Cork, 
where  his  skill  as  an  artificer  secured  him  the  patronage  of 
the  local  dynast,  who  appears  to  have  dwelt  at  Achad 
Uuirbchon  in  Muskerry.  This  dynast  is  described  also  as 
yigh  of  E/athend. 

A  beautiful  young  maiden  \^as  staying  at  the  house  of 
this  kinglet,  who  would  not  allow  her  marry  ;  and  all  un- 
becoming intimacy  was  also  strictly  forbidden  between  her 
and  any  member  of  the  king's  household.  But  the  smith, 
not  knowing  or  ignoring  this  prohibition,  won  the  affections 
of  the  lady,  and  married  her  in  secret.  The  result  was  the 
conception  of  Barry.  When  this  became  visible,  the  king 
was  so  w^rathful  at  this  contempt  of  his  authority,  that  he 
ordered  the  parents  to  be  burned  to  death.  But  the  great 
lime-kiln,  lighted  to  carry  out  this  sentence,  was  extinguished 
by  a  violent  storm  of  rain,  accompanied  with  fiery  flashes  of 
lightning. 

This  was,  of  course,  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  child, 
which  the  lady  bore  in  her  womb,  was  destined  by  God  for 
great  things,  as  in  truth,  subsequent  events  proved  to  be  the 
fact.  Indeed,  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal  makes  a  still 
more  incredible  statement,  that  "  Barre  spoke  in  his  mother's 


^  Father  Lyons  says  the  name  is  derived  from  its  being  a  *  shaky  *  p^aco 
in  St.  Finbarr's  time. 

-  L(mdon,  IHOl.     1  here  is  an  Jri^h  Life  in  the  Book  of  Lisiuoro. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CORK  —  !ST.  FINBARR.  477 

womb,  and  also  immediately  after  his  birth,  in  order  to 
justify  his  father  and  mother,  as  his  Life  states  in  the 
first  chapter."^  This  speaking  in  the  womb  may,  perhaps,  be 
understood  in  the  metaphorical  sense  already  explained. 

St.  Barry  had  for  his  teacher  a  holy  man  called  in  the 
Irish  Life  Mac  Cuirp,  or  Curporius  in  the  Latin  Lives. 
Mac  Cuirp  is  stated  to  have  spent  some  time  in  Rome,  and 
to  have  been  whilst  there  a  disciple  of  St.  Gregory  the  Gfreat. 
St.  Gregory  was  Pope  from  a.d.  590  to  604,  but  for  some 
years  previous  to  a.d.  590  he  had  held  various  offices  in  the 
church  ;  and  it  was  probably  between  a.d.  575  and  590  that 
the  Irish  monk  had  an  opportunity  of  becoming  his  disciple 
in  the  great  monastery  of  St.  Andrew,  which  was  once  the 
private  mansion  of  St.  Gregory. 

From  a  master  so  trained  for  some  time  in  Rome  itself, 
young  Barry  had  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  fuller 
knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  as  well  as  sounder  and 
wider  theological  views  than  the  ordinary  Irish  schools  could 
at  the  time  afford.  How  long  he  remained  under  the  care  of 
this  holy  man  is  unknown ;  but  from  the  active  life  which 
St.  Barry  led,  we  must  infer  that  he  began  to  preach  and 
found  churches  whilst  he  was  still  a  young  man.  We  are 
told  that  even  before  he  came  to  Cork  he  had  founded  twelve 
churches  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Amongst  these  we 
find  special  reference  to  the  Church  of  Achadh  Duirbchon 
near  Cuas  Barra,  which  was  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  river  Blackwater,  and  probably  not  far  from  Fermoy. 
For  it  is  said  that  after  he  founded  this  church,  he  crossed 
the  river  and  came  to  Cill  Cluana,  and  built  a  church  there 
also.  Cill  Cluaiia  is  supposed  to  be  the  place  since  known  as 
Cloyne  ;  this,  however,  we  venture  to  think  is  improbable,  for 
St.  Colman,  the  founder  of  Cloyne,  was  a  contemporary  of 
St.  Brendan,  and  must  have  flourished  and  founded  the 
Church  of  Cloyne  many  years  before  Barry  could  have 
arrived  at  man's  estate.  There  is  a  Kilclooney  in  the  barony 
of  Condons  and  Clangibbon,  County  Cork,  which  is  much 
more  likely  to  have  been  the  Church  of  Cill  Cluana  erected 
at  this  period  by  St.  Barry. 

We  are  told  that  two  disciples  of  St.  Ruadhan  of  Lorrha, 
Cormac  and  Baoithen  by  name,  travelled  thither.  They 
were  directed  by  their  own  master,  St.  Ruadhan,  to  remain 
where  the  tongues  of  their  bells  would  sound.  To  their 
surprise  the  silent  bells   rang  out,  when   they  had  come  to 

1  See  25th  Sept, 


478  THE  SCTIOOF.S  OF  DESMOND. 

l^arry's  Church  at  Cill-Cluana, and  tliey  were  much  grieved 
when  they  found  it  occuijied,  without,  as  they  thought,  any 
chance  of  their  being  allowed  to  remain  in  the  phice.  But 
Barry,  knowing  the  divine  will,  at  once  gave  them  his  own 
church,  and  they  remained  there,  whilst  he  himself  went 
elsewlicre'to  found  now  churches  for  the  honour  of  God  and' 
the  advantage  of  the  people. 

It  is  probable  that  Gougane  Barra,  so  celebrated  for  its 
wild  romantic  beauty,  was  the  earliest  foundation  of  St. 
Barry,  and  tliat  it  was  there  during  the  years  of  his  retirement 
that  he  prepared  himself  for  that  great  spiritual  work,  which 
he  afterwards  accomplished. 

This  lovely  lake  is  situated  amongst  the  mountains  on 
the  western  border  of  Cork,  and  in  that  very  territory  of 
Muskerry  where  St.  Barry  is  said  to  have  been  born,  so  that 
he  was  probably  familiar  with  it  from  his  childhood.  The 
savage  grandeur  of  this  mountain  valley  has  been  celebrated 
both  in  poetry  and  in  prose  by  many  writers ;  and,  no  doubt, 
Callanan's  stanzas  are  familiar  to  all  our  readers.  The  lake 
is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  an  amphitheatre  of  lofty  and 
rugged  mountains,  rising  up  in  naked  grandeur  from  its 
lonely  shores.  Only  at  one  place  towards  the  south-east  is 
there  an  opening,  where  the  infant  Lee  bursts  through  the 
rocky  barrier  of  loose  stones  and  dashes  down  in  foaming 
leaps  to  the  lower  lake  of  Inchigheela.  The  lake  itself 
covers  about  90  acres.  Its  waters  flowing  down  from  the 
heathery  slopes  of  the  hills  are  rather  dark  in  colour, 
and  abound  in  fish ;  although,  it  is  said,  that  trout 
were  more  numerous  heretofore  in  these  waters.  To- 
wards the  south-eabt  of  the  lake,  which  is  oval  in  form, 
is  the  island  that  for/ned  the  retreat  of  St.  Finbarr.  It  is 
deeply  ar\d  beautifully  green,  where  the  broken  walls  do 
not  cover  the  turf,  and  contrasts  strikingly  with  the  dark 
waters  of  the  lake,  and  the  bluish  gray  of  the  rugged  pre- 
cipices that  frown  down  on  the  gloomy  landscape.  Its  shores 
too  are  beautifully  fringed  with  hoary  ash  trees,  and  a  few 
willows  that  stoop  to  kiss  the  wavelets:  — 

"  There  grows  the  wild  ash,  and  a  time  stricken  willow 
Looks  chidingly  down  on  the  njirth  of  the  billow; 
As  like  some  gay  child  that  sad  monitor  scorning, 
It  lightly  laughs  back  to  the  laugh  of  the  morning." 

The  works  of  man  are  in  ruins,  but  the  face  of  nature  is 
changeless  and  grand  as  it  ever  was.  There  is  still  the 
"zone  of  dark  hills"  that  bn'ohton  in  the  liol»tnin»^'s  tlash, 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CO  J  I ST.  FIXBARR.  479 

when  the  rocks  give  back  the  thunder's  voice  in  a  thousand 
echoes.  There  are  still  the  "  thousand  wild  fountains  " — in 
summer  tiny  rivulets,  but  in  rainy  weather  angry  cataracts 
leaping  from  rock  to  rock.  It  is  true  the  glory  of  the  woods 
that  once  belted  these  mountains  is  gone,  and  nothing  now 
remains  but  the  island  grove,  which  is  all  the  md^e  attrac- 
tive because  no  foliage  elsewhere  relieves  the  eye,  weary 
with  the  hungry  grey  of  the  rocks  and  the  darli  brown  of 
the  heather. 

But  the  ancient  church  with  its  solitary  cells  and  court- 
yard are  all  in  ruins — ruins,  too,  even  in  this  wild  retreat, 
that  have  apparently  been  wrought  by  the  hand  of  man. 
The  little  island  on  which  these  ruins  stand  is  near  the 
southern  shore  of  the  lake.  It  is  approached  by  a  low  narrow 
causeway,  which  connects  it  with  the  shore.  From  the 
causeway  the  pilgrim  walks  through  an  avenue  of  ash  trees 
towards  a  terrace,  which  is  elevated  four  or  five  steps  before 
him.  On  this  terrace  there  is  an  ancient  quadrangular 
caiseal,  which  had  two  monastic  cells  built  into  each  side  of 
the  quadrangle.  These  cells  arched  overhead  were  about  four 
feet  wide,  ten  feet  deep,  and  eight  feet  high.  The  masonry 
is  of  a  primitive  character,  and  may  be  of  the  age  of  Barry 
himself,  for  we  find  the  circular  arch  as  early  as  the  first 
quarter  of  the  seventh  century.  In  the  centre  of  this  court- 
yard there  is  a  mound  having  stone  steps  around,  and 
surmounted  by  an  ancient  wooden  cross.  This  cross  marks 
the  principal  penitential  station,  and  closely  resembles  some 
of  the  mission  crosses  seen  in  the  churchyards  of  our  country 
churches.  The  church  and  monastery  proper  were  outside 
this  enclosure,  and  are  now  quite  ruinous.  They  were  prob- 
ably coeval  with  the  cells  in  the  enclosure  ;  but  it  is  quite 
unusual  to  find  them  outside  the  enclosing  wall.  The  quad- 
rangular cashel,  too,  is  quite  a  peculiar  feature,  and  shows 
that  it  is  of  a  later  and  undoubtedly  Christian  origin. 

About  the  year  a.d.  1700,  a  priest  named  Father  Denis 
O'Mahonj'-  took  up  his  residence  in  this  lonely  retreat,  and,  it 
is  said,  caused  its  "  seven  chapels  "  to  be  restored.  These  so 
called  chapels  were  the  cells  alreadv  referred  to,  which 
surround  the  cloister.  He  was  buried  in  the  little  grave- 
yard on  the  mainland  close  to  the  causeway,  where  the  rude 
forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep.  And  Smith  tells  us  that  the 
following  inscription  was  placed  over  his  tomb — "  Hoc  sibi 
et  successoribus  in  eadem  vocatione  monumentum  imposuit 
Dominus  Doctor  Dionysius  O'Mahony,  presbyter  licet  in- 
dignus,  A.D,  1700."     There  is,  we  believe,  no  truce  of  a  stone 


480  THE  sciiooi.s  nr  dksmond. 

bearing  this  inscription  to  be  seen  at  present  on  this  spot. 
The  tendency  of  the  Church  in  our  days  seems  to  be  altogether 
in  favour  of  the  cenobitic  life ;  this  was  one  of  the  few  casos 
in  which  the  ancient  love  for  the  eremitic  life  has  asrain 
appeared  in  our  Irish  Church.  At  present  we  have  neither 
hermits,  nor  recluses,  as  of  old.  Is  it  that  the  spirit  of 
ancient  asceticism  lias  departed  ?  Or  is  it  that  charity  has 
grown  cold  ?  To  be  quite  alone  with  God  is  a  dangerous  and 
difficult  state  of  life ;  but  it  is  after  all  the  state  of  the  very 
highest  perfection  known  to  theology. 

It  was  probably  alter  spending  some  time  in  his  hermitage 
at  Gougane  Barra  that  St.  Finbarr  came,  as  is  stated  in  his 
Life,  to  the  lake,  which  in  Irish  is  called  Loch  Eirce.  Close 
to  the  shore  of  this  lake  he  built  a  monastery,  to  which  as  to 
the  [lome  of  wisdom,  and  the  nursery  of  all  Christian  virtues, 
crowds  of  zealous  disciples  flocked  together  from  all  quarters 
in  such  numbers  and  inspired  with  such  zeal  for  holiness, 
that  the  solitude  around  became  filled  with  cells  of  monks, 
and  thus  grew  into  a  great  city.  From  the  school  which 
Finbarr  established  there,  a  vast  number  of  men,  conspicuous 
for  sanctity  and  leariiing,  went  forth,  amongst  whom  especi- 
ally worthy  of  note  were  St.  Eulangius  or  Eulogius — who  it 
seems  had  some  share  in  training  Finbarr  himself— St.  Colman 
of  Doire  Dhunchon,  St,  Baithin,  St.  Nessan,  St.  Garbhan, 
St.  Talmach,  St.  Finchad  of  Ross  Ailithir,  St.  Lucerus, 
St.  Cumanus,  St.  Lochin  of  Achadh  Airaird,  St.  Carinus, 
St.  Fintan  of  Ros-Coerach,  and  several  other  saints,  whose 
names  and  churches  are  mentioned  in  the  /risk  Life  of 
Fhibai'r. 

The  site  of  Finbarr's  primitive  church  and  monastery  was 
that  now  occupied  by  the  Protestant  Cathedral  of  St.  Finbarr 
on  the  south-west  of  the  city,  but  all  traces  of  the  primitive 
buildings  have  entirely  disappeared.  An  ancient  round  tower 
stood  in  the  south-w^est  corner  of  the  churchyard,  which  has 
also  completely  disappeared.  But  as  the  round  t owners  were 
generally  built  some  ten  or  twelve  paces  from  the  great 
western  entrance  of  the  church,  which  they  protected,  the 
site  of  the  ancient  cathedral  can  be  ascertained  with  suth«ient 
accuracy. 

In  the  Pacata  Hibernia  there  is  a  very  interesting  map 
of  Cork,  which  shows  the  city  and  its  environs,  as  they  were 
about  the  year  a.d.  1600.  It  has  been  reproduced  by 
Mr.  John  Geor<;e  McCarthy,  in  a  pamphlet  of  i^-reat  value, 
which  he  published  in  1869,  and  which  gives  a  livolv  sketch 
V)f  the  history  of  Cork,  both  ancient  and  modern.     The  oitv 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CORK ST.  FINBARU.  481 

proper  is  shown  on  the  island  with  its  walls  and  towers,  and 
its  two  principal  streets — the  Main  Street  and  Castle  Street — 
intersecting  each  other  at  right  angles.  Outside  the  city 
walls,  it  is  all  a  marsh,  and  in  the  south-west  corner,  close  to 
the  southern  bank  of  the  stream,  is  shown  "  ye  Cathedrale 
Church  of  Old  Corcke,"  which  marks  the  site  of  St*  Finbarr's 
primitive  abbey. 

It  is  stated  in  the  ancient  Life  of  Finbarr  that,  like  many 
other  of  the  Irish  saints  of  his  time,  he  went  on  a  pilgrimage 
to  Rome — to  the  threshold  of  the  Apostles.  On  his  way 
back  from  Home  he  paid  a  visit  to  St.  David,  the  celebrated 
Bishop  of  Menevia,  and  thence  we  are  told  he  returned  to 
Cork.  This  would  seem  to  imply  that  the  monastery  of  Cork 
was  founded  before  St.  Barry's  departure  from  Rome.  Gerald 
Barry  in  his  Lz'fe  of  St.  David  refers  to  this  visit  paid  to 
that  saint  by  his  namesake  of  Cork,  whom,  however,  he  calls 
'  Barrocus,'  and  as  usual  he  indulges  largely  in  the  super- 
natural, in  his  account  of  the  visit. 

It  was,  he  sa3^s,  the  custom  in  those  times  for  the  Irish  to 
go  on  pilgrimage  to  Rome  in  order  to  venerate  the  shrines  of 
the  Apostles.      Amongst  others  a  certain  Barry  (Barrocus) 
from  the  territory  of  Cork  went  to  Rome  ;  and  returning 
from  his  pilgrimage  he  called  to  see  St.  David,  which  was 
also  customary  with  those  good  men  from  Ireland,  when 
going  to  or  returning  from  Rome.      Barry  having  paid  his 
respects  to  the  Welsh  saint,   was  anxious  to  return  home  to 
his  own  country  and  flock  ;  but  the  winds  were  contrary,  and 
he  could  not  cross  the  Channel.     Now  the  Bishop,  St.  David, 
had  a  horse  for  his  own  use,  and  Barry,  full  of  faith,  asked 
and  obtained  the  use  of  this  horse  to  carry  him  home  to  Cork ; 
and  he  rode  the  animal  straight  over  the  sea  to  the  west. 
On  his  way  St.  Barry  met  Brendan  mounted  on  a  whale,  and 
going  to  see  St.  David  also.     They  saluted  each  other,  and 
with  mutual  good  wishes  went  each  his  own  way,  and  arrived 
safe — one  in  Cork  and  the  other  at  St.  David's.      Barry  then 
told  his  monks  all  that  had   happened  ;  so  they  praised  God, 
and  made  a  small  metal  statue  of  horse  and  man,  adorned 
with  gold  and  silver,   '*  which  is  preserved  to  this  day,"  says 
Giraldus,   "  in  the  Church  of  St.  Finbarr  at  Cork,  and  is 
held  in  great  reverence  on  account  of  the  signs  and  miracles 
which  have  been  wrought  through  its  instrumentality.*'^ 

The  Bollandists  reject  this  story  as  an  interpolation  in  the 
Life  of  St.  David ;  but  Gerald  Barry  dearly  loved  a  story  of 

See  Vita,  S.  Vavidis,  Lectio  vi.,  p.  Z'H.     Rolls  Series,  Vol.  iii. 

2  11 


482  tup:  schools  of  pksmond. 

this  kind,  no  maUer  how  extravagant.  We  may  add  that 
St.  Brendan  of  Clonfert,  to  whom  the  reference  is  made,  was 
dead  before  Finbarr  could  have  been  more  than  twelve  years 
of  ag'c. 

8t.  Finbarr  ruled  the  monastery  and  church  of  Cork  foi 
a  period  of  seventeen  years  before  he  died.  Hence  the 
monastic  school  had  time  to  grow  up  under  his  own  holy  and 
prudent  management ;  and  thus,  as  his  Life  says,  Cork  from 
a  solitude  became  a  city.  We  are  not  to  understand  a  city 
in  the  modern  sense,  with  stone  houses,  bridges,  and  regukir 
streets.  There  was  no  city  of  this  kind  in  those  days  in 
Ireland.  The  *  city '  consisted  of  the  cathedral  church, 
probably  of  stone,  and  afterwards  protected  by  its  round 
tower,  the  monastery  with  its  group  of  buildings,  the 
scattered  cells  or  bothies  of  such  students  as  crowded  to  hear 
the  lectures  in  the  schools,  or  in  the  green  meadows  by  the 
river*s  side,  and  doubtless  also  the  dwellings  of  the  trades- 
men and  other  work-people  connected  with  the  monastery. 
The  Danes  afterwards  seem  to  have  established  a  permanent 
colony  at  Cork,  as  they  did  in  Dublin,  and  raised  buildings 
of  a  more  enduring  and  imposing  character,  but  the  monastic 
city  was  there  before  them,  and  was  the  real  nucleus  of  the 
present  beautiful  city  by  the  pleasant  waters  of  the  Biver 
Lee. 

St.  Finbarr  died_,not  in  his  own  monastery  of  Lough  Eirce, 
but  at  Cloyne,  some  fifteen  miles  distant  on  the  other  side  of 
the  bay.     It  seems  he  went  there  on  a  pilgrimage,  doubtless 
preparing  for  the  end,  which  he  felt  was  close  at  hand,  for 
we  are  told  that  he  died  at  the  Cross  of  Cloyne,  which  was  in 
the  church  of  that  monastery.      But   his   loving  disciples 
would  not  let  his  remains  repose  there — holy  ground  though 
it  was  always  believed  to  be.     They  were  enclosed  in  a  silver 
shrine,  and  carried  to  his  own  monastery,  on  the  banks  of 
the  beautiful  river,  where  he  dwelt  so  long.     According  to 
another  account  the  holy  remains  were  at  once  carried  to 
Cork,  and  buried  in  his  own  cathedral  church,  beneath  a 
monumental  cross,  which  marked  the  spot.     Afterwards  the 
tomb  was  opened,  and  the  sacred  relics  enclosed  in  a  silver 
shrine,  which  was  preserved  with  great  veneration  near  the 
high  altar  ;   and  this  is  the  more  probable  account.     But  in 
later  days  nothing  in   Ireland  was  safe   from    sacrilegioua 
hands,  and  we  are  informed  in  the  Annals  of  Innisf alien 
that  A.D.  1089,  a  fleet,  with  l)ermot  O'Brien,  devastated  Cork, 
and  carried  away  the  relics  of  Barre  from  the  church  of  Cill» 
na-Clerich. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  CORK — ST.  FINBATIR.  48ri 

The  character  of  this  great  saint  is  thus  given  in  one  of 
the  Irish  Lives,  published  by  Mr.  Caulfield  in  1864  :  '*  His 
humility,  his  piety,  his  charity,  his  abstinence,  his  prayers 
by  day  and  night,  won  for  him  many  great  privileges ;  for 
he  was  god-like,  and  pure  of  heart  and  mind  like  Abraham  ; 
mild  and  well-doing  like  Moses ;  a  psalmist  like  David ; 
wise  like  Solomon  ;  firm  in  the  faith  like  Peter  ;  devoted  to 
the  truth  like  Paul  the  Apostle  ;  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit  like 
John  the  Baptist.  He  was  a  lion  in  (spiritual)  strength,  and 
an  orchard  full  of  apples  of  sweetness.  When  the  time  of 
his  death  arrived,  after  erecting  churches  and  monasteries  to 
God,  and  appointing  over  them  bishops,  priests,  and  other 
grades,  and  baptizing  and  blessing  districts  and  people, 
Barre  went  to  Cill-na-Cluana  (Cloyne),  and  with  him  went 
Fiana,  at  the  desire  of  Cormac  and  Baoithen,  where  they  con- 
secrated two  churches.  Then  he  said,  *  It  is  time  for  me  to 
quit  this  prison  of  my  body,  and  go  to  the  Heavenly  King, 
who  is  now  calling  me  to  Himself.'  And  then  Barre  was  con- 
fessed, and  received  the  Holy  Sacrament  from  the  hand  of 
Fiana,  and  his  soul  went  to  heaven  at  the  Cross  which  is  in 
the  middle  of  the  church  of  Cloyne  ;  and  there  came  bishops, 
priests,  monks,  and  other  disciples,  when  his  death  was 
announced,  to  honour  him.  And  they  took  his  body  to  Cork, 
the  place  of  his  resurrection,  honouring  him  with  psalms  and 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs ;  and  the  Angels  bore  his  soul 
with  great  joy  to  heaven  to  the  company  of  the  patriarchs, 
prophets,  apostles,  and  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." 

This  seems  to  be  an  accurate  and  truthful  narrative  of 
what  really  happened,  and  shows  that  the  enshrining  took  place 
afterwards  in  his  own  church  of  Cork.  It  appears  to  show, 
too,  that  the  church  already  referred  to  as  Cill-Cluana  was 
really  the  famous  church  of  Cloyne ;  but  St.  Colman,  its 
founder,  had  been  dead  for  some  time,  and  St.  Barry,  who, 
according  to  other  accounts,  was  educated  there  by  Mac  Cuirp, 
or  Curporius,  as  he  is  called  in  Latin,  always  retained  a  great 
predilection  for  that  holy  ground.  St.  Barry's  death  is 
generallj^  recorded  as  having  taken  place  about  the  year 
A.D.  630  ;  but  the  exact  date  cannot  be  ascertained. 

Both  during  the  life  of  St.  Finbarr,  and  after  his  death, 
great  crowds  of  holy  and  learned  men  continued  to  come  to 
his  monastery  of  Cork ;  and  many  of  them,  it  seems,  elected 
to  make  it  the  place  of  their  resurrection.  TRngns  invokes 
"seventeen  holy  bishops,  and  seven  hundred  favoured  servants 
of  God,  who  rest  in  Cork  with  Barre  and  Nessan,   whose 


484  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND, 

names  are  written  in  heaven."  Elsewhere  he  invokes  three 
hundred  and  tifty  holy  hishops,  three  hun4red  and  fifty 
priests,  three  hundred  and  fifty  deacons,  and  as  many  lectors, 
and  ostiarii,  with  other  saints,  who,  with  God's  blessing,  rest 
in  Lough  Eirce,^  in  the  territory  of  Muskerry.  Numerous, 
says  the  annexed  quatrain,  as  the  leaves  on  the  trees  are  the 
saints  who  dwell  around  it.  **  Them  all  I  invoke  to  my  aid 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

There  is  no  reference  made  to  any  writings  left  by 
St.  Finbarr,  except  a  copy  of  the  Gospels,  written  by  his 
own  hand,  which  was  afterwards  encased,  like  other  precious 
relics  of  our  great  saints,  in  a  shrine  richly  adorned  with 
gems  and  gold.  One  of  the  most  tragic  events  recorded  in 
our  annals  took  place  in  connection  with  this  shrine.  It  is 
told  with  many  graphic  details  in  the  Wars  of  the  Gaedhill 
with  the  Gain,  p.  89. 

Mahoun,the  elder  brother  of  Brian  Boru,  by  combined  skill 
and  valour  had  raised  himself  to  supremacy  over  all  Munster 
about  the  year  a.d.  970.  He  defeated  the  Danes  in  seven 
successive  battles,  and  succeeded  in  driving  Imar,  their  leader, 
for  a  time  i'rom  Limerick.  He  also  took  hostages  from  all 
the  chiefs  of  Desmond,  and  became  undisputed  sovereign  of 
Munster.  Then  the  heads  of  the  rival  Eoghanacht  clans 
grew  jealous;  and  Donovan,  son  of  Cathal,  chief  of  the  Hy- 
Jidhgente  in  the  South  and  West  of  Limerick,  together  with 
Molloy,  the  chief  of  Desmond,  and  Imar  the  Dane,  entered 
into  a  conspiracy  to  destroy  the  gallant  leader  of  the  Dal- 
cassians  of  Thomond.  Pretending  friendship,  Donovan  in- 
vited Mahoun  to  his  house  at  Bruree,  and  Mahoun  foolishly 
accepted  the  invitation ;  but  he  safeguarded  himself,  as  he 
thought,  by  putting  himself  under  the  protection  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  Gospel  of  Barry,  which  was  brought  from 
Cork  for  the  purpose  by  Columb,  son  of  Ciaragan,  comarb  of 
Barry.  However,  when  Donovan  got  the  king  in  his  power, 
he  made  him  a  prisoner  ;  and  then  sent  him  on  to  Molloy, 
who  had  undertaken  to  have  him  assassinated.  Molloy  was 
waiting  with  the  Bishop  of  Cork,  who  had  no  suspicion  of  his 
purpose,  at  Sliabh  Caein,  near  Ferraoy.  It  is  supposed  that 
they  were  standing  on  the  eastern  ridge  overlooking  the  gap 
through  which  the  road  now  passes  from  Kihnalloik  to  Cork, 
a  little  south  of  the  church  of  IvilHin.  AVhon  iMahoun's  escort 
reached  the  spot  agreed  upon,  the  assassin  drew  his  sword  lo 


1  This  clearly  shows  that  Loch  Eirco  wus  at  Cork,  not  in  thu  inountAiu* 
at  Guu^aae  Barru,  for  thirf  rest  with  Finbarr. 


THE  SCHOOI    OF  COf.Ti: — Sl\  FINBAllR.  485 

slay  the  king  at  the  place  called  Redchair,  on  the  side  of  the 
pass  opposite  to  where  Molloy  was  waiting-.  Mahoun  had  on 
his  person,  for  his  own  protection,  the  Gospel  of  Barry  ;  but 
when  he  saw  the  fatal  blow  descending,  he  flung  the  holy 
shrine  from  him  to  a  priest  standing  at  some  distance,  that  it 
might  not  be  stained  with  his  blood.  At  the  same  moment 
Molloy  saw  the  gleam  of  the  sword  from  the  place  where  he 
was  with  the  Bishop  of  Cork  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill, 
and  called  for  his  horse,  which  stood  ready  saddled  to  carry 
him  off.  "What  am  I  to  do?  "  said  the  Bishop,  not  under- 
standing Molloy's  movements.  "Cure  yonder  man,"  said 
Molloy,  ironically,  "if  he  is  able  to  come  to  J'ou.'^  The  hor- 
rified priest,  who  accompanied  Mahoun^  cau;>ht  up  the  Gospel 
shrine,  which  Mahoun  had  flung  towards  him,  and  found  it 
stained  with  the  blood  of  the  murdered  man,  Th(  n  in  sorrow 
they  buried  the  noble-souled  Mahoun  on  the  southern  slope 
of  the  hill  where  he  had  fallen,  and  sent  word  to  Brian  Boru 
of  the  assassination  of  his  brother.  Then  Brian  Boru  resolved 
on  stern  vengeance,  and  soon  accomplished  his  purpose.  The 
murderous  conspirators  were  banned  by  the  Church,  and 
deserted  by  their  allies.  Imar  and  his  son  were  slain  by 
Brian;  Donovan  fell  in  battle;  and  Molloy,  the  actual  assassin, 
was  tracked  for  two  years,  and  at  length  taken  prisoner  and 
slain  close  to  that  very  pass  where  he  had  planned  and  wit- 
nessed the  murder  of  the  chivalrous  Mahoun.  He  was  buried 
like  a  dog  on  the  northern  side  of  that  same  hill  where 
Mahoun  was  buried;  but  "  the  sun,"  says  the  Annalist,  "  never 
shines  on  his  grave,"  and  the  infamy  of  his  dark  deed  will 
hover  round  his  resting-place  for  ever.  There  is  nothing 
known  at  present  of  this  Gospel  of  St.  Barry,  nor  for  some 
hundred  years  has  anything  been  heard  of  it. 

JSTessan,  a  disciple  of  St.  Barry,  succeeded  him  m  the  See 
of  Cork,  and  in  the  government  of  the  monastery  and  monastic 
school.  He,  too,  was  remarkable  for  his  learning  and  holi* 
ness,  but  of  his  personal  history  nothing  is  known.  His  fes- 
tival day  is  the  seventeenth  of  March — the  feast  day  of  our 
national  apostle,  and  his  death  is  supposed  to  have  taken 
place  about  a.d.  651. 

It  is  manifest  that  Cork  continued  to  be  a  flourishing: 

o 

monastic  school,  at  least  down  to  the  time  of  St.  ^ngus 
(a.d.  800),  who  speaks  of  it  as  if  it  were  still  a  flourishing 
institution,  filled  with  monks  and  scholars.  In  spite  of  the 
repeated  devastations  of  the  Danes,  who  plundered  it  four 
times  between  a.d.  822  and  840,  we  find  the  death  oi 
Domhnall,  a  scribe  of   Cork  recorded  in  a.d.   874,  and  of 


486  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  UKSMO.ND. 

Boirbreathach,  sou  of  Connadh,  *'  scribe,  wise  man,  bishop, 
and  abbot  of  Cork,"  in  a.d.  891.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  even  during  the  stormy  period  of  the  ninth  century  the 
succession  of  prelates  was  maintained  in  Cork,  and  the 
monastic  school  still  continued  to  flourish.  The  proper  busi- 
ness of  the  scribe  was,  as  we  have  seen,  to  transcribe  books  in 
tlie  scriptorium  of  the  monastery  for  the  use  of  the  monks 
and  students.  The  term  egnaidh,  or  wise  man,  shows  that 
this  prelate  was  especially  skilled  as  a  moral  teacher  and 
adviser. 

During  the  subsequent  centuries,  down  to  the  Auglo- 
Norjnan  invasion,  a  regular  succession  of  bishop- abbots  was 
preserved,  and  recorded  in  the  church  of  Cork.  But  beyond 
the  list  of  their  names  we  know  nothing  of  interest  concerning 
them.  We  do  not  find  that  any  amongst  these  later  comarbs 
of  Barry  were  specially  distinguished  either  as  scholars  or 
as  writers ;  and  hence  it  is  unnecessary  to  make  any  special 
reference  to  them  here^ 

In  the  twelfth  century  the  ancient  monastery,  which  had 
fallen  into  decay,  was  re  founded  about  the  year  a.d.  1134  by 
Cormac  Mac  Carthy,  the  celebrated  King  of  Munster,  from 
whom  Cormac's  Chapel  at  Cashel  takes  its  name.  Imhar 
0*Hagan,  who  died  at  Armagh  in  that  very  year,  a  most 
holy  and  learned  man,  had  some  years  previously  introduced 
a  much  needed  reform  in  the  monastery  of  Armagh  by 
placing  the  monks  and  clergy  under  the  rule  of  St.  Augustine. 
This  reform  was  very  generally  adopted  throughout  Ireland 
by  such  of  the  ancient  monasteries  as  had  survived  the 
ravages  of  the  Danes.  It  was  thus  introduced  at  Cork  by 
King  Cormac,  who  also  in  refoundiugthe  monastery  required 
that  it  should  always  aiford  hospitality  and  refuge  to 
strangers  from  Connaught,  because  its  original  founder, 
St.  Barry,  came  himself  from  that  province.  In  a.d.  1172, 
according  to  the  Four  Masters,  died  Giolla  Aedha  O'Muidhin, 
of  the  family  (or  community)  of  Errew  of  Lough  Conn,  in 
Connaught.  He  was,  according  to  Ware,  Bishop  and  Abbot 
of  Cork,  from  a.d.  1152,  when  he  was  present  at  the  Synod 
of  Kells,  to  A.D.  1172.  It  was  from  this  prelate's  name 
GioUa  or  Gille,  that  Gill  Abbey  came  to  be  so  called.  It 
was  previously  known  as  the  Abbey  of  the  Cave,  or  the 
Abbey  ol  St.  Finbarr's  Cave,  which  was  the  saint's  plnce  of 
retirement  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  near  to  which 
St.  Finbarr's  Abbey  was  built.  This  prelate  was  regarded  as 
a  man  of  great  piety,  and  more  than  anv  of  his  predecessors 
sought  to  renew  the  ancient  spirit  as  W(^1l  a^  the  ancient  walL^ 


SCHOr)L  OF  CORK—  ST.  COLMAN  MAC  UA  CLUASAIGH.       487 

of  his  monastery.  The  fact  that  he  came  all  the  way 
from  Lough  Conn,  near  Ballina,  in  the  County  Mayo,  and 
though  a  stranger,  was  chosen  to  rule  over  this  great  diocese 
and  monastery,  shows  that  he  was  a  man  of  great  fame  for 
holiness  and  learning.  It  is  most  likely  that  this  Giolla 
Aedha  O'Muidhin  was  that  prelate  of  whom  St.  Bernard 
speaks  in  his  Life  of  St.  Malachy.  Cork  was,  he  says,  then 
without  a  bishop,  and  there  was  much  discord  amongst  the 
supporters  of  the  rival  candidates.  St.  Malachy  begged  them 
all  to  leave  the  choice  to  him ;  and  they  agreed  to  do  so. 
Then  St.  Malachy  chose  for  bishop  not  anyone  of  the  nobly 
born  of  the  land,  but  a  poor  man  and  a  stranger,  who  happened 
to  be  on  his  sick  bed  in  the  city,  and  was  a  man  remarkable 
for  sanctity  and  learning.  Malachy  bade  him  arise  in  the 
Lord's  name,  and  said  that  obedience  would  make  him  strong 
again.  He  did  so,  and  ruled  the  see  with  much  vigour  until 
h.s  death  in  a.d,  1172.  ,.<The  Four  Masters  descriutd  him  as 
'*  Gilla  Aedh  O'Muidhin  (of  the  family  of  Eirew  of  Lough 
Conn)  Bishop  of  Cork.  He  was  a  man  full  of  the  grace  of 
God,  the  tower  of  the  virginity  and  wisdom  of  his  time." 

11. — School  of  Coek — St.  Colman  Mac  Ua  Cluasaigh. 

It  was  during  the  abbotship  of  St.  Nessan  in  Cork,  or 
shortly  afterwards,  that  St.  Colman  Mac  Ui  Clusaigh,  as  he 
is  called  in  the  Liber  Hymnorwn^  flourished  in  the  school  of 
that  monastery.  He  is  the  only  scholar  of  that  ancient 
school,  whose  writings  have  in  any  shape  come  down  to  us. 
What  we  have  written  by  St.  Colman  is  not  indeed  much, 
but  it  is  highly  interesting,  and  was  published  for  the  first 
time  by  Dr.  Todd  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Liber 
Hymnorum,  page  121. 

Of  his  personal  history  we  know  nothing.  His  name 
mplies  that  he  was  the  grandson,  or  great  grandson,  of 
Cluasach  ;  but  of  his  history  nothing  else  can  be  ascertained. 
It  is  clear,  however,  both  from  the  Scholiast's  preface, 
and  from  intrinsic  evidence  that  this  St.  Colman  was 
a  Ferlegind,  or  Professor,  in  the  School  of  Cork  in  the  year 
A.D.  664.  At  that  period,  as  is  well  known,  a  terrible  pesti- 
lence devastated  Ireland  ;  it  likewise  extended  to  England, 
and  probably  to  many  parts  of  the  Continent  also.  It  carried 
off  nearly  half  the  population  of  Ireland — kings,  saints,  and 
people — without  distinction.  A  panic  spread  through  all  the 
land,  and  all  classes,  who  could  do  so,  sought  to  fly  from  the 
plague ;  but  their  flight  was  vain,  for  go  where  they  would 


488  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND. 

the  plague  overtook  them,  and  claimed  its  victims.  An  idea, 
however,  had  gone  abroad  that  the  pestilence  could  not 
extend  nine  waves  beyond  the  shore  of  Erin,  and  hence  we 
find  that  there  was  a  rush  to  such  of  the  islands  on  the  coast 
as  were  supposed  to  be  outside  the  infected  area. 

Colman  and  his  scholars  took  the  very  prudent  resolution 
of  leaving  their  monastery  by  the  marshes  of  Cork,  and 
making  their  way  to  one  of  the  islands  on  the  coast,  the 
name  of  which  unfortunately  is  not  given.  But  like  a  good 
and  holy  man,  he  put  more  faith  in  God's  protection  and 
blessing  than  in  mere  sanitary  precautions.  So  he  invited 
the  school  to  help  him  in  composing  this  hymn  as  a  lorica  or 
coat  of  mail  against  the  pestilence,  and  all  other  dangers 
temporal  and  spiritual.  It  seems,  too,  that  it  was  recited 
during  the  voyage,  and  no  doubt  filled  the  fugitives  with 
hope  and  confidence  in  God's  fatherly  love. 

The  Scholiast  in  his  preface  tells  us  that  Colman  com- 
posed the  hymn  to  protect  himself  against  the  yellow  plague 
{buidhechair)  that  was  prevalent  in  the  reign  of  the  sons  of 
Aedh  Slaine  (a.d.  656-664^),  and  of  which  they  themselves 
died  in  a.d.  664.  The  cause  of  the  plague  was,  he  alleges, 
the  over-population  of  the  country  at  the  time,  for  so  great 
was  the  number  of  the  people,  that  the  land  could  afford  but 
thrice  nine  ridges  to  each  man  in  Erin — nine  of  bog,  nine  of 
arable,  and  nine  of  wood — "  and,  therefore,  the  noblemen  of 
Erin  fasted  along  with  the  sons  of  Aedh  Slaine,  and  with 
Fechin  of  Fore,  and  with  Aileran  (the  Wise),  and  with 
Manchan  of  Liath,  and  wdth  very  many  besides,  for  the 
reduction  of  the  population,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  food  in 
consequence  of  the  great  population."  In  fact,  there  seemed 
to  be  no  alternative  but  famine  or  pestilence  ;  and  these  holy 
men  appear  to  have  preferred  the  latter  alternative  ;  which 
was  granted  to  their  pra3'ers,  and  by  which  they  themselves 
also  were  sent  to  heaven. 

Some  say,  adds  the  Scholiast,  that  St.  Colman  composed 
the  whole  of  it ;  but  others  say  he  composed  only  the  first 
two  stanzas,  and  that  his  scholars  composed  the  rest — that  is, 
each  man  of  them  made  a  half  stanza.  As  the  original  poem 
consisted  of  forty-six  lines,  this  would  give  the  number  of 
scholars  belonf>ing  to  the  school  at  something  more  than 
eighty  ;  or,  if  the  stanza  be  taken  to  mean  a  distich  of  two 

'  In  the  Annals  of  Ulster  the  death  of  Diarmnid  and  Bhithmao,  eons  of 
Aedh  Slaine,  is  nuuked  both  ut  a.d.  GC4  and  GG7  ;  the  former  is  tho  true 
date. 


THE  SCHOOli  OF  CORK. ST.  COLMAN  MAC  UA  CLUASAIGH  .489 

rhyming  lines,  which  seems  more  probable,  they  would 
number  about  forty-four. 

"It  was  composed/'  adds  the  Scholiast,  **in  Cork  in  the 
time  of  Blathniac  and  Diarmaid,  on  the  occasion  of  this  great 
plague,  which  left  only  one  (mt  of  every  three  persons  alive 
in  Erin.  And  the  place  where  they  happened  to  compose  it 
;vas  in  the  course  of  their  voyage  to  a  certain  island  in  the 
sea  of  Erin,  flying  from  this  pestilence  ;  because  the  plague 
did  not  extend  further  than  nine  waves  from  the  land,  as  the 
learned  relate.'* 

In  its  present  form  the  hymn  consists  of  fifty-two  lines, 
with  an  added  prayer ;  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  it 
originally  consisted  of  forty-six  stanzas,  and  the  remaining 
six,  asking  the  blessing  and  protection  of  the  patron  saints 
of  Erin — Patrick,  Brigid,  Columcille,  and  Adamnan,  were 
subsequently  added.  'Ihe  language  is  the  very  oldest  form 
of  the  Gaedhlic,  which  has  come  down  to  us,  and,  as  Dr. 
Todd  remarks,  "  it  fully  confirms  the  early  date  assigned  to 
it  by  the  Scholiast."  The  metre  is  in  rhyming  distichs 
with  fourteen  syllables  in  each  line — when  we  say  rhyming, 
we  mean  that  there  is  a  rhyme,  or  at  least  an  as^on;^nce, 
between  the  final  syllables  of  each  two  lines.  Here  and  there 
Latin  phrases,  taken  from  the  Scripture,  are  introduced  in 
the  Gaedhlic  lines,  and  made  to  rhyme,  as  the  Gaedhlic  lines 
themselves  do.  The  author  was  evidently  familiar  as  well 
with  the  Latin  as  with  his  native  Gaedhlic,  both  of  which  he 
manipulates  with  considerable  dexterity.  The  subject  matter 
mainly  consists  of  an  invocation  addressed  in  appropriate 
language  to  God,  and  to  the  Son  of  Mary,  as  well  as  to  the 
Saints  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  to  protect  the  writer 
and  his  school  from  the  pestilence,  and  from  all  assaults  of 
their  foes,  both  spiritual  and  temporal.  The  following  stanza 
may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  :  — 

Maire,  Joseph  don  ringnat  et  spiritus  Stepbani, 
As  each  ing  don  forslaice  taithmet  an  ma  Ignati. 

*'  Mary,  Joseph,  guard  us  viith  the  spirit  of  Stephen; 

May  it  deliver  us  from  every  difficulty  to  invoke  the  name  of 
Ingatius." 

This  poem  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  monument  of  the 
time  in  which  it  was  written  ;  and  moreover,  shows  what  a 
deep  spirit  of  piety  and  filial  confidence  in  God  and  His 
saints  inspired  the  mind  of  the  writer.  We  have  finer  poeti  y 
in  our  own  days  ;  but  we  have  nothing  that  breathes  a  deeper 
and  more  fervent  spirit  of  earnest  devotion. 


490  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOiND. 

III. — The  School  of  Eoss. 

The  moniistic  Sobool  of  E<oss,  more  commonly  culled  Ross 
Ailithir,  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  the  South  of  Ire- 
land. Its  founder  was  St.  Fachtna,  the  patron  of  the  diocese 
of  E,oss,  who  is  commonly  identified  with  St.  Fachtna,  tlie 
founder  and  patron  of  the  diocese  of  Kilmore.  This  is,  indeed, 
highly  probable,  seeing  that  both  dioceses  celebrate  the  feasts 
of  their  respective  patrons  on  the  same  day,  the  14th  of 
August,  and  besides,  both  saints  belonged  to  the  same 
princely  race  of  the  Corca  Laighde. 

The  territory  of  Corca  Laighde,  which  takes  its  name 
from  the  ruling  tribe,  was  conterminous  with  the  diocese  of 
Ross,  of  which,  as  we  said,  St.  Fachtna,  was  founder  and 
first  bishop.  It  extended  in  ancient  times  along  the  south- 
western coast  of  Cork  from  Courtmacsherry  Bay  to  D.ursey 
Head,  and  included  besides  East  and  West  Carberry,  the 
modern  baronies  of  Beare  and  Bantry  towards  the  western 
margin,  as  well  as  the  baronies  of  Ibane  and  Barry  roe  on  its 
eastern  borders.  Afterwards,  however,  this  territory  was 
greatly  contracted  by  hostile  incursions,  especially  by  the 
inroads  of  the  O'SuUivans  on  the  west,  of  the  O'Mahonys  on 
the  east,  and  thus  the  territory  of  Corca  Laighde  was  reduced 
so  as  to  include  only  West  and  a  small  portion  of  East  Car- 
berry.  The  race  called  the  Corca  Laighde  derived  their  name 
from  Lugaidh  Laighe  of  the  line  of  Ith,  uncle  of  Milesius, 
who  flourished  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era. 
The  mother  of  the  celebrated  St.  Ciaran  of  Saigher  belonged 
to  this  family.  Her  name  was  Liaghain,  latinized  Liadania, 
and  she  was  married  to  an  Ossorian  prince  called  Luigh- 
neadh,  of  which  marriage  St.  Ciaran  was  born  at  the  residence 
of  his  mother's  fiimily,  called  Fintraigh,  in  Cape  Clear  Island, 
but  the  date  is  very  uncertain.  St.  Fachtna  was  born  also  in 
the  same  territory  at  a  place  called  Tulachteann,^  in  sight  of 
the  southern  sea,  but  as  he  died  young — about  forty-six  years 
of  age — late  in  the  sixth  century,  he  cannot  have  been  born 
for  many  years  after  St.  Ciaran.  He  is  sometimes  called 
Mac  Mongach,  either  from  the  name  of  his  father,  or  because 
he  was  born  with  much  hair  on  his  head — mongach^  i.e., 
hairy. 

Like  Brendan  and  Cumraian  of  Clonfert,  he  was  nurtured 
under  the  care  of  St.  Ita,  the  Brigid  of  Munster,  and 
received  from  that  wise  and  gentle  virgin  those  lessons  of 
piety  that  afterwards  produced  such  abundant  fruit.     The 

1  Acta  SS.,  page  471. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  ROSS.  491 

whole  of  his  family,  however,  must  have  been  trained  in 
virtue  at  home,  for  we  are  told  that  no  less  than  seven  of  his 
brothers  were  enrolled  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Irish  saints. 
After  leaving  Ita's  care  he  went  to  the  famous  seminary  at 
Lough  Eirce,  near  Cork,  where  so  many  of  the  holy  men  of 
the  sixth  century  received  their  early  training.^  The  name 
of  Fachtna  {i.e.  facundus^  the  eloquent),  is  expressly  men- 
tioned \\it\iQi  Life  of  St.  Garvan  (26th  March)  amongst  those 
who  crowded  that  domicile  of  all  virtue  and  of  all  wisdom. 

Leaving  St.  Barry's  academ}^,  Fachtna  founded  for  him- 
self the  monastery  of  Molana,  in  the  little  island  of  Dririnis, 
near  Youghal,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blackwater.  Shortly 
afterwards,  however,  he  returned  to  his  native  territory,  and 
founded  on  a  promontory  between  two  pleasant  bays  of  the 
southern  sea  the  celebrated  establishment  now  called  E-oss 
Carberry,  but  anciently  known  as  Ross-ailithir,  from  the 
number  of  pilgrim  students  who  crowded  its  halls,  not  only 
from  all  parts  of  Ireland  but  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  It 
was  admirably  situated  as  a  retreat  for  the  holy  and  the  wise, 
on  a  gentle  eminence  rising  from  the  sea,  in  the  midst  of 
green  fields,  looking  down  on  the  glancing  waters  of  the 
rushing  tides,  and  smiling  under  the  light  of  ever-genial 
skies.  Here  Fachtna  "the  good  and  wise,''  though  still 
young  in  years,  founded  what  is  called  in  the  Life  of  St. 
Mochoemoc,  "  magnum  studitcin  scholaritim^'  a  great  college 
not  only  for  the  study  of  Sacred  Scripture,  but  also  for  the 
cultivation  of  all  the  liberal  arts. 

Amongst  other  distinguished  teachers  who  helped  to  make 
the  School  of  Hoss  famous  was  St.  Brendan,  the  Navigator, 
who  later  on  founded  the  sees  both  of  Ardfert  and  Clonfert. 
Usher  tells  us,  quoting  from  an  old  document,  that  about  the 
year  a.d.  540,  Brendan  was  engaged  for  some  time  in  teach- 
ing the  liberal  arts  at  Ross-ailithir  during  the  lii'etime  too  of 
its  holy  founder.  Fachtna  and  Brendan  were  intimate 
friends,  for  both  were  nurtured  by  the  holy  virgin  Ita  of 
Killeedy,  and  no  doubt  loved  each  other  with  the  deep  and 
abiding  affection  of  f osier  brothers.  It  is  only  natural,  there- 
fore, that  Brendan  should  go  to  visit  St.  Fachtna  at  Ross, 
and  aid  him  with  the  influence  of  his  name  and  character  in 
starting  and  organising  the  new  school. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  an  unforeseen  misfortune  hap- 


^  It  is  not  easy  to  see  how  Fachtna  could  have  visited  the  School  of  Cork. 
tor  he  died  young,  and  the  school  could  scarcely  be  founded  before  the  last 
quarter  of  the  sixth  century. 


492  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND. 

psned  to  Faclitna,  which  to  one  enp^agod,  as  he  was,  would 
become  a  double  misfortune.  By  some  accident  he  became 
entirely  blind,  so  that  he  could  neither  read  nor  see  anything. 
In  this  affliction  the  saint  had  recourse  to  God,  and  was 
directed  by  an  angel  to  apply  to  Nessa,  the  sister  of  St.  Ita, 
and  then  about  to  become  the  mother  of  that  child  of  pro- 
mise, St.  Mochoemoc,  through  whom  he  would  obtain  his 
eyesight.  Fachtna  did  so,  and  miraculously  recovered  his 
ej'esight. 

It  seems  St.  Fachtna  must  have  acquired  great  fame  as 
a  preacher,  and  no  doubt  too  as  a  teacher  of  eloquence,  for 
the  surname  of  "  Facundus,"  which  is  sometimes  used  instead 
jf  his  own  name,  was  given  to  him.  lie  was,  it  appears, 
clothed  with  the  episcopal  dignity,  and  thus  became  founder 
of  the  diocese  of  Boss,  which,  not  however  without  mutations, 
has  continued  down  to  our  own  times,  and  still  ranks  amongst 
the  independent  Sees  of  Ireland.  The  saint  died  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-six,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  Cathedral  Church 
of  Eoss.  The  holy  work,  however,  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
was  continued  by  his  successors,  and  for  many  centuries  E-oss 
continued  to  be  a  great  school  whose  halls  were  crowded  by 
students  from  every  land.  St.  Cuimin  of  Connor,  describes 
Fachtna  as  the  "  generous  and  steadfast,  who  loved  to  address 
assembled  crowds,  and  never  spoke  aught  that  was  base 
and  displeasing  to  God,"  in  allusion  to  his  sanctity  and  elo- 
quence. 

His  immediate  successor  was  Conall,  whose  succession  to 
Fachtna  in  the  monastery  and  See  of  Ross  was  foretold  by 
St.  Ciaran  of  Saigher.^  Mention  is  also  made  of  St.  Finchad 
of  Ross-ailithir,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  fellow  pup  P  of  the 
founder  at  the  great  School  of  Finnbarr  at  Cork.  The^e  two 
saints  were  probably  tribesmen  of  St.  Fachtna,  for  we  are 
told  that  he  was  succeeded  in  his  see  by  twenty-seven  bishops 
of  his  own  tribe,  whose  jurisdiction  was  conterminous  with 
the  chief  of  the  clan  over  the  territory  of  Corca  Laighde. 

**  Seven  and  twenty  bishops  nobly 
Occupied  Ross  of  the  fertile  fields, 
From  Fachtna  the  eloquent,  the  renowned, 
To  the  well-ordered  Episcopate  of  Dongalach." 

The  names  are  unfortunately  not  given  in  our  annals  in 
this  as  well  as  in  many  other  instances,  where  a  succession 
of  bishops  with  well-defined   jurisdiction  was  undoubtedly 

1  Acta  SS.,  page  471.        '  See  Acta  SS.,  page  607,  Life  of  St.  TahnneA, 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  ROSS.  493 

preserved.      O'Fiaherty  puts  the  same  statement  in  hexa- 
meters— 

**  Dongalus  a  Fachtna  ter  nonus  episcopus  extat 
Lugadia  de  gente,  dedit  cui  Rossia  mitram." 

Whicli  another  poet  translates  in  this  fashion  : — 

'*  Hail  happy  Eoss,  who  could  produce  thrice  nine 
All  mitred   sages  of  Lugadia's  line, 
From  Fachtna  crowned  with  everlasting  praise 
Down  to  the  date  of  Dongal's  pious  days." 

During  the  ninth  century  we  find  frequent  mention  of 
the  "  ahbots  "  of  Ross-ailithir  in  the  Four  Masters,  and  we 
are  told  that  it  was  ravaged  by  the  Danes  in  a.d.  840,  along 
with  the  greater  part  of  Munster.  In  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
centuries  we  find  relerence  is  made,  not  to  the  "bishops  "  or 
"  abbots,'*  but  to  the  "  airchinnech ''  of  Eoss-ailithir ;  and  it 
is  quite  possible  that  during  this  disturbed  period  laymen 
took  possession  of  the  abbacy  with  this  title,  having  ecclesi- 
astics under  them  to  perform  the  spiritual  functions.  Once 
only  we  find  reference  to  a  "  bishop,"  in  a.d.  1085,  when  the 
death  of  Neachtain  Mac  Neachtain,  the  distinguished  Bishop 
of  Eoss-ailithir  is  recorded. 

But  whether  it  was  bishop,  abbot,  or  airchinnech,  who 
held  the  spiritual  sway  of  the  monastery,  and  its  adjacent 
territory,  the  school  continued  to  flourish  even  during  those 
centuries  most  unpropitious  to  the  cultivation  of  learning. 
In  A.D.  866,  or  according  to  the  Chronico7i  Scotorum,  in 
A.D.  868,  we  are  told  of  the  death  of  Feargus,  scribe  and 
anchorite  of  Eoss-ailithir,  showing  that  the  work  of  copying 
manuscripts  was  still  continued  in  its  schools.  But  we 
have  still  more  striking  evidence  during  the  tenth  century 
of  the  literary  work  done  at  Eoss-ailithir,  for  a  manual  of 
Ancient  Geography,  written  by  one  of  these  lectors  in  the  Irish 
language,  is  happily  still  preserved  in  the  Book  of  Leinster. 

The  author  of  this  most  interesting  treatise,  as  we  know 
from  the  same  authority,  was  Mac  Cosse,  who  was  Ferlegmd, 
that  is  a  reader  or  lecturer  of  Eoss-ailithir.  A  passage  in 
the  Annals  of  Innisf alien  enables  us  to  identify  him,  and  his 
history  furnishes  a  strildng  example  of  the  vicissitudes  of 
those  disturbed  times  : — 

"The  son  of  Imar  left  Waterford  and  [there  followed]  the 
defetiuction  of  Ross  of  the  Pilgrims  by  thj  foreigners,  and  the 
taking  prisoner  of  the  Ferlegind,  i.e.  Mac  Cossa-de-brain,  and  his 
ransoming  by  Brian  at  Scattery  island. "^ 

1  See  the  Paper  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Oldon  (in  the  Proceeding's  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  Jan.,  1884),  who  gives  the  text  aud  a  translation,  of 
ithis  geogryphical  poem  of  Mac  Cosse. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND. 

This  entry  enables  us  to  fix  the  probable  date  of  tliis 
geographical  poem  of  Mac  Cosse,  which  seems  to  have  been 
the  manual  of  Classical  Geography  made  use  of  in  Koss- 
ailithir,  and  hence  so  full  of  interest  for  the  student  of  the 
history  of  our  ancient  schools.  The  Imar,  referred  to  in  the 
above  entry,  was  king  of  the  Danes  of  Limerick,  but  in 
A.T).  968  the  Danes  of  Limerick  were  completely  defeated  by 
Mahoun  and  his  younger  brother  Brian  Boru.  Imar  made 
his  escape  to  Wales,  but  after  a  year  or  two  returned  again, 
first,  it  would  seem,  to  Waterford  ;  issuing  thence  he  harried 
all  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  South,  and  finally  returned 
to  Limerick  with  a  large  fleet  and  army.  But  he  deemed 
Scattery  Island  a  more  secure  stronghold,  and  having  fortified 
it  he  made  that  island  his  head-quarters,  and  no  doubt  kept 
his  prisoners  there  also.  Scattery  itself  was  captured  from 
the  Danes  by  Brian,  a  little  later  on  in  a.d.  976,  and  there 
Imar  was  slain ;  so  that  it  was  the  interval  between  a.d.  970- 
976  that  Mac  Cosse  was  kept  a  prisoner  at  Scattery  Island, 
and  ransomed  by  the  generosity  of  Brian,  who  always  loved 
learning  and  learned  men. 

This  poem  consists  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  lines, 
giving  a  general  account  of  the  geograph}'-  of  the  ancient 
world,  and  was,  no  doubt,  first  got  by  rote  by  the  students, 
and  then  more  fully  explained  by  the  lecturer  to  his  pupils. 
This  tenth  century  is  generally  regarded  as  the  darkest  of 
the  dark  ages ;  yet,  we  have  no  doubt,  whoever  reads  over 
this  poem  will  be  surprised  at  the  extent  and  variety  of  the 
geographical  knowledge  communicated  to  the  pupils  of  Boss- 
ailithir  in  that  darkened  age,  when  the  Danish  ships,  too, 
were  roaming  round  the  coasts  of  Ireland.  It  is  not  merely 
that  the  position  of  the  various  countries  is  stated  with  much 
accuracy,  but  we  have,  as  we  should  now  sa}^  an  account 
of  their  fauna  and  flora — their  natural  productions,  as  well 
as  their  physical  features.  The  writer,  too,  seems  to  be 
acquainted  not  merely  with  the  principal  Latin  authors, 
but  also  with  the  writings  of  at  least  some  of  the  Grecian 
authorities. 

In  the  opening  stanza  he  describes  the  five  zones:  "  two 
frigid  of  bright  aspect," — alluding,  no  doubt,  to  their  snowy 
wastes  and  wintry  skies,  lit  up  by  the  aurora  borealis — and 
then  two  temperate  around  the  iiery  zone,  which  stretches 
about  the  middle  of  the  world.  There  are  three  continents, 
Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia ;  the  latter  founded  by  the  Asian 
Queen,  and  much  the  lars^er,  because  she  unduly  trespassed 
on  the  territories  of  her  neighbours.     Adam's  paradise  is  in 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  ROSR  495 

the  far  East,  beyond  the  Indus,  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  fire. 
India  "  great  and  proud,"  is  bounded  on  the  wo'^t  by  the 
Indus,  on  the  north  by  the  hills  of  Hindoo  Coosh.  That 
country  is  famous  "  for  its  magnets,  and  its  diamonds,  its 
pearls,  its  gold  dust,  and  its  carbuncles."  There  are  to  be 
found  the  fierce  one-horned  beast,  and  the  mighty  elephant — 
it  is  a  land  where  *'  soft  and  balmy  breezes  blow,"  and  two 
harvests  ripen  within  the  year.  In  like  manner  he  describes 
the  other  countries  of  Asia ;  the  mare  rubrmn  "  swift  and 
strong,"  and  Egypt,  by  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  the  most  fertile 
of  all  lands.  He  even  tells  us  of  the  burning  fires  of  the 
Alaunian  land,  alluding  to  the  petroleum  springs  around  the 
Caspian.  He  names  all  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor — 
"  little  Asia,"  he  calls  it — and  says  most  accurately,  that  it 
was  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Propontus  and  the  ^gean 
sea.  In  like  manner  he  describes  Africa,  and  derives  its 
name  from  Apher,  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Keturah,  showing 
that  he  was  familiar  with  the  Greek  of  the  Antiquities  of 
Josephus.^  He  then  goes  through  the  various  countries  of 
Europe,  giving  their  names,  and  chief  cities.  The  principal 
rivers,  too,  are  named,  and  their  courses  fixed,  as  when  he 
savs  that — 

"  Three  streams  issue  from  the  Alps  westward,  and  across  Europe 
they  appear 

The  Rhine  in  the  north-west,  the  Loire,  and  the  Rirer  Rhone." 

Finally,  he  comes  to  Ireland,  which,  in  loving  language, 
he  proclaims  to  be 

**  A  pleasant  and  joyous  land,  wealth-abounding;  the  land  of  the 
sons  of  Milesius  ;  a  land  of  branching  stems ;  the  most  fertile  land 
that  is  under  the  sun." 

So  ends  this  most  interesting  manual  of  geography 
written  by  an  Irish  scholar,  in  the  Irish  tongue,  and  taught 
to  the  students  of  Ross-ailithir,  whilst  the  Danish  pirates 
were  roaming  round  our  seas,  and  ruling  with  strong  hand 
in  Dublin,  Waterford,  and  Limerick. 

Of  the  subsequent  fortune  of  Ross-ailithir  we  know  little. 
In  A.D.  1127  the  fleet  of  Toirdhealbach  O'Conor  sailed  to  Ross- 
ailithir,  and  despoiled  Desmond,  as  the  Chronicon  Scoto7'uin 
informs  us — for  it  was  not  the  Dane  alone  that  our  schools 
and  churches  had  to  fear- — often,  far  too  often,  the  spoiler 
was  some  rival  chieftain,  whose  churches  and  monasteries 
were  sure  to  be  spoiled  very  soon  in  their  turn.     Then  came 

^  Book  I.,  c.  XV. 


496  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DKSMOND. 

the  greatest  of  u\\  the  devastators — the  Anglo-Normans,  who 
laid  waste  Oorca  Laighde  under  FitzStephen,  a  few  years 
after  Bishop  O'Cearbhail  went  to  his  rest  in  a.T).  1168.  Since 
that  period  the  school  has  disappeared,  but  the  See  of  Ross 
still  holds  its  ground,  after  having  gone  through  some  strange 
vicissitudes  of  union  with  and  separation  from  the  neighbour- 
ing dioceses  of  Cloyne  and  Cork. 

IV. — The  School  of  Innisfallen — St.  Finan. 

The  island  of  Innisfallen  in  the  Lower  Lake  of  KiUarney 
has  been  long  celebrated   both  in  song   and  story  for  its 
wonderful  scenic  beauty.      It  is  commonly  regarded  as  the 
Queen  of  Irish  Islands,  and  one  enthusiastic  admirer  has 
declared  that  it  is  the  most  beautiful  spot  in  Europe.     The 
monks  of  old  were  great  lovers  of  nature,  and  hence,  as  might 
be  expected,  we  find  that  at  a  very  early  period  a  monastery 
was  founded  on  the  island  of  Innisfallen.     It  ofiered  many 
advantages  to  saintly  men,  who  wished  to  give  themselves  up 
entirely  to  a  life  of  holiness  and  learning.     It  was  not  merely 
its  own  sweet  beauty  and  the  glory  of  the  lake  and  mountains 
round  about,  that  made  it  a  desirable  place  of  seclusion ;  it 
had  more  prosuic  advantages  to  commend  it.     It  was  near 
enough  for  convenience  to  the  promontory  of  Ross,  yet  far 
enough  for  security  ;  for  it  was  surrounded  by  deep  water 
and  was  within  sight  of  that   noble   keep   whose   friendly 
owners  were  always  the  protectors  and   benefactors  of  the 
monks  of  Innisfallen.      It  is  true,  indeed,  the   monks  had 
been  there  long  before  the  present  picturesque  ruin  was  built, 
but  then  there  was  always  some  dun  or  fort  on  Ross  Island, 
as  it  is  now  called,  for  it  is  a  spot  not  only  of  singular  beauty 
but  also  admirably  situated  for  defensive  purposes. 

All  our  authorities  agree  that  the  monastery  of  Innisfallen 
was  founded  by  St.  Fir  an ;  but  to  which  St.  Finan  it 
owes  its  origin  is  another  question.  There  were  many  saints 
who  bore  that  name,  of  whom  two  were  particularly 
distinguished,  St.  Finan  the  Leper,  and  St.  Finan  Cam,  or 
the  Crooked.  It  is  commonly  said  that  St.  Finan  the  Leper 
was  the  founder  of  Innisfallen.  After  a  careful  examination 
of  his  Acts  as  given  by  the  Bollandists  on  his  feast  day, 
which  is  believed  to  be  the  16ih  of  March,  we  can  find  no 
evidence  to  support  this  statement,  which  in  itself  also  is 
sufficiently  improbable.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  St.  Finan 
the  Leper  came  of  the  old  Desmond  race,  for  his  father,  Conal 
was  fourth  in  descent  from  Ollioll  Glum,  the  common  ancestor 


k 


THE  SCHOOL  Of  INNISVALLRN ST.FINAN.  497 

of  all  the  great  Munster  families.  But  Fin  an  belonged  to 
that  branch  of  the  race  of  Cian,  son  of  Ollioll  Olum,  which 
was  settled  in  the  portion  of  Bregia,  called  from  him 
Keenaght,  extending  from  Dromiskin  to  Dublin  ;  and  it  is 
highly  probable  that  Finan  himself  was  a  native,  not  of  Ely 
0' Car  roll,  as  Colgan  says,  but  of  Sord,  now  called  Swords, 
where  his  family  seems  to  have  resided.  He  was  called  the 
Leper,  because  on  one  occasion  when  a  poor  woman  brought 
to  the  saint  her  son,  who  was  blind,  deaf,  and  leprous  from 
his  birth,  the  saint  prayed  to  God  to  cure  the  child  and  offered 
himself  to  bear  its  leprosy.  His  prayer  w^as  heard — the  child 
was  made  whole,  but  the  saint  was  stricken  with  the  dread 
disease,  which  he  endured  for  thirty  years.  St.  Finan  the 
Leper  is  said  to  have  been  a  disciple  of  St.  Columba,  and  to 
have  been  placed  by  that  saint  over  his  own  foundation  at 
Swords ;  but  at  what  time  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  The 
saint  is  also  said  to  have  founded  Ardfinnan  on  the  Suir  in 
Tipperary,  which  took  its  name  from  him.  He  is  also 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Clonmore  in  the  co.  Carlow, 
founded  by  St.  Maedhog,^  and  according  to  the  writer  of  his 
Life,  he  was  buried  there.  His  connection,  however,  with 
Innisfallen  in  Lough  Lein  is  very  doubtful,  and  unsupported 
by  any  satisfactory  evidence  that  we  have  seen.  It  is  much 
more  likel}^  that  the  Inisfaithlen  referred  to  by  his  biographers 
was  the  island  off  the  Coast  of  Dublin,  now  called  by  its 
Danish  name  of  Ireland's  Eye,  but  which  in  ancient  times 
was  known  as  Inisfaithlen — a  fact  of  which  Colgan  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  aware.  The  same  name  was  also  given 
to  the  island  of  Beg  Erin,  or  Begery,  in  the  Bay  of 
Wexford. 

On  the  other  hand,  St.  Finan  Cam  was  a  Kerry  man  by 
race  and  birth,  and  moreover  spent  most  ot*  his  life  in  the 
West  of  Kerry,  which  has  many  places  connected  with  his 
name  and  memory.  He  was  born  in  that  wild  promontory  of 
Corkaguiny  (Corca-Duibhne)  which  is  swept  bare  by  the  wild 
Atlantic  blasts.  His  father  Mac  Airde^  is  mentioned  in  the 
Life  of  St.  Brendan — for  it  seems  to  be  the  same  person — 
as  a  man  of  considerable  wealth,  who  made  a  present  of  thirtv 
cows  with  their  calves  to  that  saint  shortly  after  he  was  born. 
Indeed  it  seems  highly  probable  from  the  narrative  that  the 
family  of  St.  Brendan  and  St.  Finan  were  connected  by  ties 
of  consanguinity.     We  are  told  too  in  the  Life  of  Finan  in  the 

^Martyr.  JDoneg.  April  13th. 

2  Others  say  he  was  Kennedy,  son  of  Maenag.  Becnait,  daughter  of  Cian, 
was  bin  mother. 

2j 


4D8  TIIK  SCHOOLS  OF  DKSMOM). 

Salaynanca  MS.  tliat  St.  Brendan  was  tlie  first  tutor  of  tlie 
boy,  and  that  ihe  latter  spent  seven  years  in  Brendan'^ 
corner — contra  foinaceni — whilst  lie  was  learniiiii-  to  ren^^ 
and  study  mnnastic  discipline  under  the  guidance  of  that 
great  master.  This  was  probably  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixth  centur}^,  whilst  Brendan  was  still  living  in  his  native 
Kerry,  before  he  went  on  hi.^  Atlantic  voyages,  or  founded 
any  of  his  monasteries  in  the  province  of  Connaught. 

It  was  by  the  direction  of  the  same  saint  that  young 
Finan,  who  was  already  far  advanced  in  holiness,  left  his 
father's  territory,  and  went  to  Slieve  Bloom,  the  utmost 
boundary  of  his  native  Munster  towards  the  noith,  and 
there,  about  a.d.  560,  founded  the  monastery  of  Kinnity,  near 
Birr,  at  the  roots  of  81ieve  Bloom,  wilh  which  his  name  has 
been  ever  since  associated.  It  is  a  singular  i'act  that  so  late 
as  the  year  a.d.  907,  we  find  that  Colman,  Abbot  of  Kinnity, 
and Ki7ig  of  Corca-D2iibJinc^^\^'$>  slain  in  the  fatal  field  of 
Ballaghmoon,  where  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan,  and  so  many  of 
his  Munster  nobles  lost  their  lives. 

Finan,  however,  returned  after  a  brief  sojourn  at  Kin- 
nity to  his  native  territory  ;  and  thenceforward  we  find  that 
almost  all  the  events  recorded  in  his  life  took  place  in  Kerry, 

There  is  one  incident  mentioned,  which  goes  far  to  show 
that  this  St.  Finan  Cam  was  the  founder  of  the  monastery 
on  Innisfallen.  For  we  are  told  that  a  boat  was  built  on 
'  St.  Finan's  Island,'^  and  that  a  message  was  sent  to 
Fedelmith,  the  King  of  I.ough  Lein,  to  carr}''  away  the 
boat.  The  king  came  with  thirty  men  to  bring  the  boat  to 
^he  water,  but  the}^  could  not  carry  it.  Then  the  angels  of 
God,  with  Finan,  carried  the  boat  down  to  the  Lake  Lugdech. 
It  is  true  this  seems  to  refer  to  Finan's  Island  on  Lough 
Currane,  but  the  incident  certainly  shows  that  Finan  had 
friendly  relations  with  the  King  of  Lough  Lein,  who  in 
return  would  very  naturally  grant  the  holy  man  one  of  the 
islands  on  his  own  lake  for  a  religious  house. 

On  another  occasion  we  find  that  when  Finan's  horse 
died,  another  steed  came  out  of  Lough  Lein,  and  for  three 
years  drew  the  saint's  waggon  ;  and  then  at  the  bidding  of 
Finan  once  more  returned  to  his  stable  beneath  the  waves  of 
Lough   Lein.     So   the   saint   then   i^robably    had   his   own 


1  **  Alio  autem  tempore  ratia  fabricat.ua  est  in  iiisxila  apud  8.  FinHmii>', 
et  missum  est  nb  eo  ad  regein  sta<?ni  Lein,  neilitet  I'Vdelniitli,  ut  purtMretui 
spcam  ratis."  .  .  .  '♦  Et  portaveruut  ratem  seouui  (an^vli)  Bupej 
fitajj^nuni  Ijuydeoli.*' 


THE    SCHOOL    OF    INNISFALLEN — ST.    FIN.A  N.  499 

*  home '  on  the  shore,  or  in  an  island  of  the  lake.  Once  again, 
on  a  particular  occasion,  when  Finan  was  living  on  a  certain 
island,  and  his  horses  were  on  the  mainland  grazing,  having, 
it  seems,  their  feet  tied,  they  swam  to  the  saint's  house, 
without  loosening  the  bonds,  and  at  his  bidding  swam  back 
again  to  the  .^hore.  We  find  him  also  protecting  his  tribes- 
men of  Corkaguiny  against  the"  attacks  of  JN^echtan,  King  of 
the  Hy-Fidhgente,  who  dwelt  beyond  Slieve  Lougher,  in  the 
west  of  the  County  Limerick.  This  prince,  refusing  to  listen 
to  the  prayers  of  Finan,  was  conquered  in  battle,  and  forced 
to  fly  from  his  kingdom.  We  are  then  told  that  he  betook 
himself  to  Diarmaid,  King  of  the  Ily-Niali,  which  fixes  the 
date  of  these  events  at  some  time  between  a.d.  544  and  5Q5, 
the  limits  of  the  duration  of  King  Diarraaid's  reign.  He  re- 
turned, however,  more  than  once  to  his  monastery  of  Kinnity, 
where  many  monks  lived  under  his  rule  and  guidance.  We 
find  him  also,  towards  the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  at  an 
assembly  of  the  Munster  chiefs,  probably  at  Cashel,  in  the 
time  of  Failbhe  Flann.  Failbhe  succeeded  his  brother  as 
King  of  Munster  in  a.d.  619 ;  but  he  was,  no  doubt,  for 
many  years  previously  a  prince  of  much  influence  and  power. 
On  this  occasion  Finan  wrought  some  wondrous  miracles 
before  the  king,  and  Failbhe  did  penance,  and  granted  all 
the  requests  of  Finan — one  being  to  allow  him  'to  take  a 
census  of  the  population,' — it  means  rather  to  remit  a  tax  that 
pressed  on  the  people.  We  also  find  the  saint  nigh  to  Lough 
Lugdech,  which  seems  to  be  the  lake  now  called  'Lough 
Currane,'  in  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  Iveragh,  near 
the  Bay  of  Eallinskelligs.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite 
haunt  of  the  saint ;  and  the  remains  of  his  oratory  are  still 
to  be  seen  on  an  island  in  the  lake.  On  this  occasion  Finan 
wanted  to  get  his  horse  shod ;  but  the  smith  had  broken  his 
tongs,  and  could  not  hold  the  glowing  iron.  "  Take  it  in 
your  hands,"  said  the  saint.  The  smith  did  so,  and  held  it 
without  inconvenience,  whilst  he  fashioned  the  shoe  with  his 
hammer!  This  is  a  fair  specimen  of  some  of  the  extravagant 
miracles  attributed  to  Finan  by  the  writer  of  his  Life. 

"  Lough  Lugdech,  now,''  says  O'Donovan,  ''  called  Lough 
Luigeach  (Lee),  or  Currane  Lough,"  is  of  oval  form,  about 
three  miles  long  by  two  broad.  It  abounds  with  salmon  and 
white  trout,  which,  no  doubt,  often  furnished  a  luxurious 
meal  to  the  abstemious  saint.  On  the  south  it  is  surrounded 
by  a  range  of  bold  mountains,  partly  covered  with  woods  in 
Smith's  time,^  but  now  quite  bare  of  timber.     The  remains 

^  History  of  Kerry ^  p.  ]00. 


500  THE  SCHOOLS  of  dksmond. 

of  Finan's  Church  tmd  cell  were  to  be  seen  on  the  largest  of 
throe  small  islands  in  the  lake/  when  Smith  wrote  about  140 
years  ago  ;  and  he  says  that  they  keep  his  (Fiiian's)  iestival 
on  the  16th  of  March.  This  is  the  day  generally  assigned 
to  Finan  the  Leper  in  our  Mart3a'ologies — the  7th  of 
April  being  the  festival  of  Finan  Cam,  according  to  the 
Martyrology  of  Tallaght — the  change  may  have  taken  place 
from  the  confusion  of  names,  for  no  one  says  that  the  Leper 
saint  ever  penetrated  as  far  to  the  soutli-west  as  Lough 
Currane.  The  obliquity  which  gave  Finan  tlie  surname  of 
'  Cam/  was  in  his  e^^es,  not  in  his  body,  adds  the  same 
eminent  authority. 

Derrjaiane  also  takes  its  name  from  our  saint ;  it  means 
the  oak-grove  of  Finan — Daire  Fionain — the  letter  *  f  ' 
being  aspirated,  and  not  sounded  in  the  compound.  The  old 
abbey,  however,  situated  on  the  shore,  is  of  mediaoval  origin, 
as  its  ruins  tell.  St.  Finan's  Bay,  north  of  Bolus  Head,  also 
speaks  of  the  saint.  It  is  quite  open  and  exposed  to  all  the 
fury  of  the  Atlantic  billows. 

St.  Finan  was  in  all  probability  the  first  founder  of  the 
oratory  on  the  Greater  Skelligs,  which  is  directly  opposite 
the  bay  to  the  south-west.  When  the  Danes  swarmed  round 
our  coasts,  the  monastery  was  removed  from  the  island  to  the 
mainland,  and  its  dilapidated  walls  may  still  be  seen  in  the 
only  sheltered  corner  at  the  head  of  St.  Finan's  Bay.  Several 
holy  wells  also  bear  the  saint's  name,  and  his  memory  is  still 
vivid  in  various  parts  of  Kerry.  In  our  opinion  this 
St.  Finan  Cam,  not  St.  Finan  the  Leper,  was  the  founder  of 
the  monastery  of  Innisfallen. 

Y. — The  Annals  of   Innisfallen. 

There  are  only  two  entries  referring  to  Innisfallen  in  the 
Four  Masters ;  one  a.u.  1144,  merely  records  the  death  of 
Flanagan  of  Innisfallen,  a  distinguished  anvicJiara^  or  soul's 
friend — that  is  coun^-ellor  and  confessor — or  as  we  now  say, 
spiritual  director.  The  other  entry,  however,  is  an  earlier 
and  far  more  important  one.  It  records  the  death  in  a.d. 
1009  [rectc  1010)  of  Maelsuthain  O'Cearbhail  (Carroll)  of  the 
community  or  family  of  Innisfallen,  ''chief  doctor  of  the 
western  world  in  his  time,  and  lord  of  the  Eoghanacht  of 
Lough  Lein,"  who  died  'alter  a  good  life.'  This  JMaelsuthain 
was  a  very  celebrated  man,  and  in  all  probability  the 
original  compiler  from   older  authorities  of  the  Annals  of 

^It  contains  about  two  acres  and  is  oallod  Church  lalaml.  The  iuiu8 
of  both  church  and  cell  aro  still  to  ho  seeti  on  tlie  islaud. 


THE  ANNALS  OF  INNISFALLEN.  501 

Innisf alien.  Hence  he  deserves  special  notice  at  our  bands. 
The  Eoghanacht  of  Lough  Lein,  of  whom  he  wao  chief,  was 
that  branch  of  the  great  Eugenian  race  of  Desmond,  whose 
territory  surrounded  the  beautiful  Lakes  of  Killarney,  and 
included  the  greater  part  of  the  Barony  of  Magunihy. 
O'Donoghue  of  Lough  Lein,  whose  principal  stronghold  was 
on  Ross  Island,  was  the  chief  of  this  wide  territory.  He 
derived  his  descent  from  Cas,  son  of  Core,  King  of  Munster, 
whose  elder  brother,  Nadfraich,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  great 
MacCarthy  famil}^  In  a.d.  1015  was  slain  Domhnall,  who 
commanded  the  forces  of  Desmond  at  Clontarf,  and  he  was 
father  of  Donchadh,  from  whom  the  family  name  has  been 
derived.  The  O'Carrolls  of  Lough  Leiii  were  sub-chieftains 
under  the  O'Donoghues,  and  derived  their  descent  from  a 
younger  brother  of  that  Nadfraich  above  referred  to  as 
ancestor  of  the  MacCarthy  Mor. 

Maelsuthain    O'Carroll  was    in   the    beginning    of  the 
eleventh  century  head  of  this  sub-tribe,  and  hence  is  called 
lord  of  Lough  Lein.     The  School  of  ^  Innis fallen  was  one  of 
those  which  appear  to  have  suft'ered  least  from  the  ravages 
of  the  Danes.     This,  no  doubt,  was  mainly  due  to  its  remote 
insular  situation  amongst  the  mountains  of   Kerry.     It  is 
highly  probable  that  Brian  Boru,  the  hero  of  Clontarf,  was 
educated  at  Innisfallen ;  at  least  we  find  that  Maelsuthain, 
the  head  of  the  island  school,  was  his  intimate  friend  and 
counsellor  during  many  years  of  his  victorious  career.      When 
Brian  marched  in  triumph  to  Armagh,  he  laid  an  offering  of 
twenty  ounces  of  gold  on  the  High  Altar  of  the  cathedral ; 
and  our  Maelsuthain  O'Carroll,  of  Lough  Lein,  who  accom- 
panied him,  made  the  following  entry  in  the  name  of  the 
king,  in  the  Book  ofAtmagh: — ''St.  Patrick,  when  going 
to  heaven,  ordained  that  all  the  fruit  of  his  labour,  as  well  of 
baptisms,  as  of  causes  and  other  alms,  should  be  carried  to 
the  apostolic  city,  which  in  Irish  is  called  Ardd-Macha.     So 
I  have  found  it  in  the  libraries  of  the  Scots.     This  I  have 
written,  that  is,  Calvus  P'erenms,  '  the  ever  bald,'  (which  is 
equivalent  to  the  Irish  Mael-suthain),  in  the  sight  of  Brian, 
Emperor  of  the  Scots,  and  what  I  have  written  he  determined 
for  all  the  kings  of  Maceria,"^that  being  the  Latin  equivaleut 
of  Cashel. 

^  The  original  entry  may  still  be  seen  in  the  Book  of  Armagh,  as  follows : 
"  Sanctus  Patricius  iens  ad  caelum-  mandavit  totum  fractum  laboris  sui  tarn 
baptismi  tarn  causarura  quam  elemoisinarum  deferendum  esse  apostolicae 
urbi  quae  Scotice  nominatur  Ardd-Macha.  Sic  reperi  in  Bibliothecis 
Scotorum.  Ego  8cripsi,  id  est,  Calvus  Pereunis  in  conspectu  Briain  irapera- 
toriH  kcotorum  efc  quod  scripsi  finivit  pro  omnibus  regibus  Materiae." 


502  THE    SCHOOLS    OF    DESMOND. 

Maelsuthaiii  is  sometimes  called  the  Anmchara^  of  Brian; 
but  as  it  seems  that  he  was  a  lajaiicin,  the  word  must  mean 
rather  counsellor  than  ghostly  adviser.  That  Maelsutliain 
was  a  renowned  professor  of  the  Innisfallen  school  is  apparent 
not  only  i'rom  the  eulogy  of  the  Four  Masters  and  the  Ulster 
Annals,  which  call  him  *  chief  sage  of  Ireland,'  but  also  from 
the  curious  tale  about  Maelsuthain  that  has  been  translated 
by  O'Curry.  It  is  in  substance  as  follows.  Maelsuthain  was 
so  renowned  a  professor  that  three  students  came  all  the  way 
from  Connor,  in  the  County  Antrim,  to  his  school  at  Innis- 
fallen, in  w^hich  they  spent  three  years.  Then  they  resolved 
to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  but  their  professor  told 
them  that  it  was  now  high  time  to  pay  him  something  for 
their  education.  They  had  no  money,  however,  which  is 
always  a  scarce  commodity  with  students,  but  offered  to 
spend  three  years  in  service  with  their  teacher  as  a  recom- 
pense for  their  education.  *'  JSTo/'  said  he,  "  go  to  Palestine, 
and  all  I  ask  is  that  when  you  die,  as  you  will  in  the  Hoi}'' 
Land,  you  shall  come  to  me,  and  let  me  know  whether  I  also 
shall  die  in  the  peace  of  the  Lord.''  They  agreed  to  this,  and 
went  to  Palestine,  where  they  died  in  grace ;  but  they  asked 
permission  from  St.  Michael  to  return  to  their  old  professor, 
and  tell  him  his  fate  before  going  to  heaven  themselves. 
St.  Michael  granted  this  request,  and  bade  them  tell  Mael- 
suthain that  he  had  only  three  years  and  a-half  to  live,  and 
then  he  was  to  be  condemned  to  liell  for  all  eternit3\  So 
they  came  to  Maelsuthain,  in  the  shape  of  three  white  doves. 
He  bade  them  welcome,  and  asked  what  was  to  be  his  future 
lot.  They  told  him.  "And  why  am  I  to  be  sent  to  hell  ?  " 
said  he.  They  told  him  the  reasons  also,  as  St.  Michael  had 
directed  them :  first,  because  he  interpolated  the  canons  ; 
secondl}^  because  of  unchastity ;  and,  thirdly,  because  he  had 
given  up  the  Altus.  *'  I  shall  not  go  to  hell  all  the  same," 
replied  the  professor,  "  for  God  has  promised  that  *  the  im- 
piety of  the  wicked  shall  not  hurt  him  in  whatsoever  hour  he 
shall  turn  himself  away  from  it.'  I  will  turn  away  from  my 
sins  ;  I  will  put  no  sense  of  my  own  in  the  canons  ;  I  will 
perform  a  hundred  genuflections  every  day  ;  T  will  recite  the 
Altus  seven  times  every  night  to  make  up  for  my  'past 
neglect;  ami  I  will  keep  a  three  days'  fast  every  week."  On 
the  day  of  his  death  the  three  white  doves  returned,  and  told 


^  Lectures,  MS.  Materinls,  p.  77.  Thoug-h  Aniiichara  generally  weans 
t  onfe.ssor,  it  somotimes  nicims  i-oiuusellor.  It  is  applied  to  the  Angel  Victor 
by  the  acholiuat  on  Fiacu's  Hymn 


THE    ANNALS    OF    INNISFALLE:S.  503 

bim  that  his  penance  was  accepted  by  God,  and  that  they  saw 
hi,5  place  in  heaven,  and  would  now  accompany  him  into 
eternal  glory.  So  he  was  anointed  by  the  clergy  around  his 
bed  ;  and  his  three  pupils  parted  not  with  him  until  they  all 
went  to  heaven  together,  '^  And,"  adds  the  tale,  *'  it  is  this 
good  man's  writings  (or  manuscripts — screptra),  that  are  in 
Innisfallen  in  the  church  there  still." 

This  reference  seems  to  designate  some  well-known  writ- 
ings connected  with  Innisfallen,  of  which  Maelsuthain  was 
the  author  or  compiler,  and  which  can  hardly  be  any  other 
than  the  well  \iTiown  Annals  of  Innisfallen,  Eugene  U'Curry 
tells  us  that  it  has  been  a  constant  tradition  in  the  South  of 
Ireland  that  the  Annals  of  In?tzsf alien  were  compiled  by 
Maelsuthain,  and  he  adds  that  he  himself  had  no  doubt  the 
O'Carroll  was  either  '  the  original  projector  of  the  compila- 
tion,^ or  that  he  enlarged  the  previous  meagre  outlines  kept 
in  the  monastery  of  Innisfallen  into  this  more  regular  and 
extensive  historical  work. 

The  principal  copy  of  these  Annals  is  at  present  preserved 
in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford.  ''  It  contains,"  says  Dr. 
O'Conor,  "  fifty-seven  leaves  (of  parchment),  of  which  the 
first  three  are  considerably  damaged,  and  the  fourth  partly 
obliterated.  Some  leaves  at  the  beginning  are  also  missing." 
The  missing  leaves  seem  to  have  begun  with  a  short  account 
of  the  creation  and  the  history  of  the  early  patriarchs  extracted 
from  the  Book  of  Genesis.  At  the  sixth  begins  the  history 
of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Greeks  ;  then  it  treats  of  the  general 
history  of  the  great  empires  of  the  world  down  to  the  year 
A.D.  430  (at  folio  9),  where  their  real  interest  begins.  Thence- 
forward there  is  a  brief  chronicle  of  Ireland  in  different 
hands,  down  to  the  year  a.d.  1319.  The  first  scribe  has 
written  down  to  the  year  a.u.  1130  (at  folio  30).  The  writing 
of  this  portion  is  free  and  elegant ;  the  initial  letters  are 
coloured  and  adorned; and  everything  seems  to  point  to  the 
fact  that  the  original  scribe  of  this  manuscript  wrote  no 
further.  But  afterwards  the  work  becomes  more  rude  and 
careless  ;  there  is  no  attempt  at  ornamentation ;  in  fact,  the 
appearance  of  the  manuscript  is  a  faithful  picture  of  the  state 
of  the  country — daily  going  from  bad  to  worse.  It  is  fruit- 
less now  to  speculate  how  this  A'enerable  monument  of  Irish 
learning  came  into  the  Bodleian  Library  of  Oxford. 

The  work  known  as  the  Dublin  Anjials  of  Innisfallen  is  a 
translation  in  Trinity  College  Library,  which  Theophilus 
O'Flanagan  testifies^  that   he  made    into    English    *'  about 

^  In  a  letter  to  Thorns  Wright,  I5th  Jan.,  1803. 


504  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  DESMOND. 

ninetoon  years  aero,  from  a  copy  perfected  under  thedlrrct'on 
of  Dr.  O'Brien,  Bishop  of  Cloyno  and  Iloss,  from  the  original 
in  the  Bodleian  Library."  Dr.  O'Brien's  scribe  was,  accord- 
ing to  O'Flanagan,  a  priest  of  the  name  of  Conroy,  who  was 
well  versed  in  the  Irish  language. 

There  is  another  copy  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  in 
Irish  and  English,  beginning  with  a.d.  250,  and  coming  down 
to  A.D.  1320.  It  is  on  paper,  and  contains  320  folios. 
During  the  later  years  it  deals  chiefly  with  the  affairs  of 
Munster.  At  a.d.  1010  -vve  find  the  following  entry  : — 
"  Maelsuthain,  son  of  O'Carroll,  King  of  the  Eoghanacht  of 
Locha  Lein,  and  tJie  Primate  of  Irelmid,  died  in  Aghadoe." 
In  the  Irish  it  is  'Priomfaidh  Eirion,'  which  appears  to  mean, 
*  chief  sage  of  Ireland.'  More  than  half  this  vokmie  deals 
with  the  period  from  a.d.  1170  to  1320,  and  it  contains  many 
interesting  entries  during  that  time.  The  chronology  is, 
however,  very  defective. 

Poetry,  it  seems,  was  cultivated  in  Innisfallen  as  well  as 
history — for  we  are  told  that  in  a.d.  1197  Gilla  Patrick 
O'lluihair  went  to  his  rest.  He  was  archdeacon  of  the  island 
— which  shows  that  there  w^as  a  considerable  community  there 
at  the  time — and  superior  of  the  convent.  He  also  founded 
many  religious  houses,  to  whish  he  gave  books,  vestments,  and 
other  necessaries.  He  was,  moreover,  the  Annalist  tells  us, 
'  a  celebrated  poet ;'  and  w^as  held  in  the  highest  estimation 
for  his  chastitj^,  piety,  wdsdom,  and  universal  charity.  We 
have  also  another  entry,  a.d.  1208,  which  gives  us  a  beautiful 
pictui'c  of  a  reverend  priest  of  *  Cloonuama,'  who  died  in  this 
abbey,  where  he  passed  the  evening  of  a  life  chequered  by 
misfortune  in  penitence  and  prayer,  and  was  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  the  Abbey  of  Innisfallen. 

There  is  one  significant  entry  a  few  years  earlier — 
"  anno  1180,  this  abbey  of  Inisfallen  being  ever  esteemed  a 
paradise  and  a  secure  sanctuary,  the  treasure  and  the  most 
valuable  effects  of  the  W'hole  country  were  deposited  in  the 
hands  of  its  clergy  ;  notwithstanding  W'hich  we  find  the 
abbey  was  plundered  in  this  year  by  Maolduiu,  son  of  Daniel 
O'Donoghue.  Many  of  the  clergy  were  slain — even  in  their 
cemetery — by  the  MacCartbys.  But  God  soon  punished  this 
act  of  impiety  and  sacrilege,  by  bringing  many  of  its  authors 
to  an  untimely  end." 

During  the  eleventh  century  the  O'Donoghoes  of  Lough 
Lein  rose  to  great  power  and  influence — one  of  them  became 


That  is,  'Cloyiie  of  the  Cuvos.' 


THE  ANNALS  OF  INNISIALLEJS'.  505 

king  of  Casliel,  and  several  of  them  are  described  as  royal 
heirs  of  Cash  el.  It  was  an  O'Donoo-hue  who  restored  the 
cathedral  church  of  Aghadoe  in  the  twelfth  century — he  was 
slain  in  a.d.  1166.  In  all  probability  this  Maolduin,  son  of 
Daniel,  was  in  feud  with  his  own  family,  who  were  always 
the  protectors  of  the  monks  of  Innisf alien,  and  he  called  in  the 
MacCarthys  to  help  him  in  plundering  this  venerable  shrine. 
It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  vengeance  soon  overtook  the 
despoilers  of  this  paradise,  as  the  chronicler  aptly  describes  it. 
Yes,  Innisf  alien  is,  in  truth,  an  earthly  paradise.  The 
island  contains  about  twelve  acres  ;  but  this  small  area  is 
dowered  with  every  charm  that  can  gratify  the  senses.  The 
surface,  fringed  with  evergreen  bowers,  is  gently  undulating, 
and  covered  with  a  carpet  of  green,  so  pure  and  so  soft,  that 
the  eye  loves  to  linger  on  its  hues.  There  are  miniature 
creeks,  where  the  wavelets  die  in  gentle  ripples  ;  there  are 
giant  elms  and  hoary  ash  trees,  that  have  lived  for  centuries  ; 
the  holly  and  the  arbutus  are  not  shrubs,  but  forest  trees, 
and  their  bright  green  leaves,  with  blossoms  of  purest  white, 
or  berries  of  deepest  red,  gleam  through  the  heavy-laden 
boughs.  Then  there  are  the  manifold  associations  of  religion, 
and  history,  and  poetry,  and  romance,  called  up  before  the 
mental  vision  by  the  aspect  of  the  ruined  churches  on  this 
queen  of  islands.  You  have,  besides,  the  mingled  melodies 
of  whispering  leaves,  and  singing  birds,  and  murmuring 
waters,  tilling  the  ear,  and  inviting  the  listener  to  contem- 
plation and  repose.  Of  old,  the  tinkKng  of  bells  was  heard 
from  these  ruined  cloisters,  and  the  gray  Franciscan  habit 
was  seen  stealing  along  the  shores  of  Muckross,  and  the 
cathedral  chimes  of  Aghadoe  were  borne  over  the  waters  to 
the  students'  ears.  Now  they  are  all  gone — no  lectures 
within  these  silent  roofless  walls  ;  no  midnight  vigils  of  the 
gray  friars  in  Muckross ;  no  bishop's  throne  in  Aghadoe, 
Yet  young  Killarney  rivals  these  ivy-grown  haunts  of  ancient 
learning  and  holiness  in  all  things  save  one — the  unapproach- 
able beauty  of  the  sites  chosen  by  the  monks  of  old.  Their 
successors  live  nigh  to  scenes  of  beauty  ;  but  they  have  so 
placed  themselves  that  they  can  never  see  them.  They  seem 
to  prefer  naked  walls  and  flat  fields  to  the  glorious  vision 
of  nature's  unapproachable  beauties,  which  she  has  poured 
out  with  lavish  hand,  by  mountain,  stream,  and  woodland  all 
around  this  peerless  Lake  of  Learning.^ 

^  Lough  Lein  is  written  Loch  Leighinii  in  an  old  MS.,  and  the  natives 
of  the  district  explain  the  word  as  the  Lake  of  Learning. 


CHAPTEll    XXI. 

THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND. 
I. — The  School  of  Mungket. 


"  Though  Garryowen  has  gone  to  wreck, 
We'll  win  her  olden  glories  back  ; 
The  night  long,  starless,  cold  and  black, 
We'll  light  with  song  and  story." 


The  first  reference^  we  find  made  to  Mungret  is  in  the 
Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick.  When  the  saint  bad  come  into 
the  territory  of  Hy-Fidhgente,  which  included  that  portion 
of  the  modern  County  Limerick  west  of  the  river  Maigue, 
with  a  small  portion  of  the  barony  of  Coshma  east  of  that 
river,  Lomman,  the  king  of  the  district,  made  a  feast  for 
Patrick  on  the  summit  of  Mullagh  Cae,  to  the  south  of  Carn 
Feradaig.  This  hill  still  bears  its  ancient  name,  and  the 
gifted  poet^  from  whom  we  have  already  so  often  borrowed 
beautiful  thoughts,  describes  its  situation : — 

"That  pleasant  hill  ascends 
Westward  of  Ara  girt  by  rivers  twain, 
Maigue,  lily-lighted,  and  the  '  Morning  Star ' 
Once  Samhair  named,  that  eastward  through  the  woodo 
Winding,  upon  its  rapids  earliest  meets 
The  morn,  and  flings  it  far  o'er  mead  and  plain. "3 

N^ow  Lomman,  son  of  Mac  Eire,  and  Mantau,  a  deacon  of 
Patrick's  household,  had  prepared  a  feast  for  the  saint  and 
his  people  on  the  summit  of  this  green  hill,  when  it  chanced 
that  a  band  of  itinerant  jugglers  came  upon  the  scene,  and 
meeting  Patrick  first,  asked  him  for  some  food.  The  laws  of 
hospitality  were  always  imperative  in  Celtic  Ireland,  and 
accordingly  Patrick  told  them  to  go  to  Lomman  and  Mantan, 
and  that  they  would  supply  their  wants.  No  one  had  yet 
tasted  of  the  banquet,  not  even  Patrick  himself;  and  hence, 
when  the  jugglers  applied  for  food,  they  were  rather  rudely 

^  There  is  no  foundation  lor  O'Jialloran's  stutemeiit  tliut  Muii^icfc  N\ac« 
founded  before  the  time  of  St.  Patrick. 
^  Aubrey  dy  Vere. 
*  Hit  b\asl  of  Knock  Can. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUNGRET.  507 

repulsed  by  Lomman  and  the  deacon,  who  told  them  in  effect 
that  strollers  like  them  were  not  the  persons  to  bless  the  meat 
and  partake  of  it  first. 

They  meant  no  harm,  but  still  Patrick's  request  was  not 
complied  with,  and  his  honour  was  compromised,  when 
hospitality  was  refused  even  to  the  jugglers.  So  Patrick 
said :— ' 

"  To  the  boy  who  cometh  from  the  north  (Limerick) 
To  him  the  victory  has  been  given." 

And  forthwith  a  youth  named  Nessan  appeared  coming  up  the 
hill-side  with  his  mother,  and  she  being  the  stronger  was 
carrying  a  cooked  ram  on  her  shoulders  for  the  king's  feast. 
Then  the  saint  asked  the  boy  to  give  him  the  wether,  that  ho 
might  give  it  to  the  jugglers,  and  thus  save  his  honour  by 
complying  with  the  laws  of  hospitality.  The  boy  at  once 
gladly  gave  the  ram  to  Patrick ;  but  his  mother  grumbled  a 
little  when  she  saw  its  destination. 

Patrick,  however,  resolved  to  teach  them,  all,  that  obedi- 
ence and  charity  are  the  first  of  Christian  virtues.  Therefore, 
he  said  to  Lomman,  his  host,  that  none  of  his  race  should 
ever  be  king,  or  crown-prince,  or  bishop  ;  and  to  Deacon 
Mantan,  he  said  that  his  cloister  would  not  be  lofty,  and  that 
it  would  bo  the  dwelling  of  a  rabble,  and  that  sheep  and  swine 
would  tread  on  his  remains — but  to  Nessan  he  said  :  '*  Thou 
wilt  be  mighty  of  race"  : — 

"  Thou  that  didst  the  hungry  feed, 
The  poor  of  Christ  that  know  not  yet  His  name, 
And  helping  them  that  cried  to  me  for  help, 
Mice  honour  cherish,  like  a  palm  one  day, 
Shall  rise  thy  greatness." 

Nessan's  mother,  too,  was  punished  for  her  grumbling. 
She  was  not  to  be  buried  in  her  son's  church  of  Mungret, 
but  beyond  the  cloister  wall  to  the  west,  where  its  sweet- 
toned  bell  could  not  be  heard.  Then  Patrick  ordained  Nessan 
a  deacon,  and  founded  a  church  for  him,  that  is,  Mungret, 
near  Limerick. 

On  one  occasion  "JSTessan  went  to  visit  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly, 
that  he  might  inquire  from  that  saint  if  it  were  right  for  a 
monk  to  receive  or  to  refuse  the  offerings  of  the  faithful. 
When  Nessan  arrived  it  was  the  hour  of  ^JsTone,  and  the 
community  were  chanting  the  office  in  the  church.  Nessan, 
however,  declined  to  go  into  the  guest-house  until  he  should 
see  Ailbe  and  put  his  question.     Isow  Ailbe  continued  in 


508  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND. 

prayer  from  the  hour  of  None  until  Tierce  on  the  following 
day  ;  and  no  one  went  into  him  except  the  guest- master. 

At  leno'th  he  gave  his  answer  to  the  patient  deacon — 
"  Go/'  said  he,  "  and  tell  Nessan  this  verse  in  the  Scottish 
tongue  : 

•*  Danae  Dee  nis  frithcoirthi, 
Si'lba  forri  [forru]  Discoithi ; 
Acht  tobertliar,  ragabae, 
Sech  ni  muide,  ni  chele.'* 

That  is  :— 

Gifts  of  God  are  not  to  be  refused, 

[But]  possession  is  not  to  be  retained  of  them 

[Literally  :  possession  is  not  to  be  put  upon  them] 

if  they  are  offered,  you  shall  accept  them, 

But  you  shall  not  boast  [of],  you  shall  not  conceal  [them].^ 

The  festival  n  Nessan  is  o:iven  in  the  Calendar  ot*  ^no-us 
as  the  25th  of  July.  "  It  is  of  him,''  says  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,  "  Cuimin  of  Condeire  gave  his  testimony  in  showing 
that  he  never  told  a  lio  out  of  his  mouth."    Thus  he  says: — 

"  Nessan,  the  holy  deacon,  loves 
Angelic  pure  devotion  ; 
Never  came  outside  his  teeth 
What  was  untrue  or  guileful." 

And  the  same  autliority  likens  him  to  Laurentius  the  Deacon 
in  his  habits  and  life.^  Colgan  saj^s  that  Nessan  died  in 
A.D.  551  ;  but  even  granting  that  he  was  a  m.ere  boy  when 
St.  Patrick  was  in  Munster  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  he  could 
have  lived  so  long. 

The  fame  of  Mungret  School  is,  however,  due  much  more 
to  St.  Munchin,  or  Manchin,  surnamed  the  Wise,  than  to 
Deacon  Nessan,  although  unfortunately  little  can  be  ascer- 
tained "with  certainty  about  his  history.      He  was  of  the 

^  On  this  passage  Dr.  M'Carthy  has  kindly  sent  me  the  following  note: — 
That  is  :  do  not  refuse  what  is  offered,  but  dispense  what  you  do  not 

require  for  your  own  needs:  ask  not,  but  accept  what  is  proffered,  without 

being  vainglorious  thereat,  or  without  concealing  the  benefaction  (in  order  to 

hoard  it  without  incurring  the  censure  of  being  avaricious). 

The  metre  is  heptasyllabie,  each  line  ending  in  a  word  of  three  syllables. 

Its  name  is  Casbairdne. 

The  chief  Old-Irish  form  is  ra(jabae^ro-a-gahae :  that  is,  the  relative 

pronoun  a  (them)  is  placed  (infixed)  lietwt>en  the  verbal  particle  to  and  the 

verb — them  ijim  sliall  accept.     A  mediteval  forger  could  nut  have  coiue<l  an 

expression  of  the  kind. 

Plainly,  the  quatrain  embodied  a  rti/e  of  the  monastrry  of  Nt>ssan  ;  for 

most  of  tlioir  regulations  were  embodied  in  verse,  being  thus  lasier  to  bo 

remembered. 

^  Nessan  is  exjjreswly  named  amongst  the  saints  of  the  St  ei'tul  (hilcr  ,  if 

indeed,  it  be  Nessan  of  Mungret  who  is  referred  tu. 


Tin:  SCHOOL  OF  MUNGltKl.  '  509 

Dalcassian  race,  being  son  of  Sedna,  and  grandson  of  Cas, 
who  was  seventh  in  descent  from  Cormac  Cas,  son  of  OllioU 
Olura,  the  great  father  of  the  race.  His  uncle  Blod  was 
king^  of  the  Dalgais  of  Thomond,  during  the  early  years  of 
St.  Patrick's  mission  in  Ireland.  According  to  some  writers, 
St.  Manchan  or  Munchin.  of  Limerick,  was  identical  with 
Manchan  the  Master,  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Z?/"^  of  Si. 
Patrick.  There  were,  however,  several  saints  who  bore 
that  name;  and  it  seems  highly  improbable  that  'Master' 
Manchan  of  the  Tripartite  was  the  founder  of  St.  Munchin's. 
O'Ourry  says  that  this  latter  saint  was  daltJia,  or  fo:>te:-son, 
and  pupil  of  St.  Mac  Creiche  of  Ennist3^mon  in  Clare,  who 
flourished  towards  tlie  end  of  the  hl'th  century  ;  for  he  was 
the  friend  and  contemporary  of  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly.  We 
assume,  therefore,  that  Manchin,  the  founder  of  Cill-Munchin, 
now  known  as  St.  Munchin's,  flourished  in  the  first  half  of 
the  sixtli  centur}^  It  is  said  that  he  succeeded  Nessan  as 
Abbot  of  Mungret,  and  that  under  him  and  his  successors, 
this  monastic  scliool  tittaiiied  great  fame  during  the  sixth 
and  seventh  centuries. 

The  fame  of  Mungret,  however,  seems  to  be  principally 
founded  on  local  tradition,  for  we  can  find  no  satisfactory 
evidence  to  prove  its  celebrity  iji  any  of  our  ancient 
documents.  It  is  said  that  there  were  no  less  than  six 
churches  in  Mungret,  and  no  less  than  1,500  monks  (not 
to  speak  of  the  boys  at  school)  within  its  cloisters.  Of 
these  one-third  were  preachers,  or  as  we  should  now  say,  went 
about  giving  missions ;  one-third  were  constantly  engaged  in 
celebrating  the  divine  office ;  and  the  remaining  third  were  em- 
ployed in  teaching  in  the  schools,  or  labouring  for  the  commu- 
nity.^ It  is  strange  that  no  trace  of  these  ancient  buildings 
now  remains,  with  the  exception  of  the  walls  of  one  not  very 
ancient  church,  which  is  41  feet  long,  b}'  23  feet  in  breadth. 
The  door-way  in  the  west  gable  has  a  flat  lintel  with  sloping 
jambs — its  most  characteristic  feature.  The  round  arches  of 
the  remaining  opes  rather  show  that  this  church  belongs  to 
the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  than  to  the  time  of  St.  Munchin.^ 
It  is  probable  that  St.  Munchin  presided  for  many  years  at 
Mungret ;  tind  then  in  his  old  age  retired  from  community  life, 
andbuilt  himself  a  cell  and  oi  atory  inthc  neighbourhood,  which 
ivas  afterwards  known  as  Cill-Munchin,  and  became  the  nucleus 


^  The  Psaltuir  of  Cushel  is  quoted  for  this  statement,  but  that  WQik  no 
loDii'er  exists;  Keating-,  however,  saw  it. 

-  The  remiiius  of  a  smaller,  but  later  church,  are  still  to  be  seen  a  little 
to  the  south  of  the  older  and  larger  building. 


510  THK  SCHOOLS  OF  TIIOMONIk 

of  the  present  city  of  Ijimerick.  Thus  it  was. that  he  came 
to  be  iccogtiised  as  the  patron  of  the  city  and  diocese  of 
Limerick ;  and,  as  such,  his  church  is  said  to  have  been  the 
cathedral  church  of  the  city  down  to  the  building  of  St. 
Marv's  bv  Donald  0']»r!en,  who  died  in  a.]).  lir»4. 

It  is  very  douhtf'ul  if  there  was  any  See  in  Limerick 
before  the  Danish  colony  became  Christian,  and  got  a  bishop 
of  their  own.  The  only  scrap  of  evidence  in  favour  of  a  line 
of  earlier  prelates  in  St.  Munchin's  that  we  could  find,  is*- tJie 
statement  in  the  prose  Lz/e  of  St.  Senan,  that  '*  Deron, 
Bishop  of  Limerick,"  was  prej-ent  at  the  obsequies  of  St. 
Senan  in  Scattery  Island.  But,  as  Lanigan  remarks,  this 
Life  is  of  the  post-Norman  period,  and  cannot  be  accepted  as 
an  unquestionable  authority. 

The  subs(^quent  history  of  Mungret  may  be  briefly 
summed  up.  The  death  of  Ailill,  Abbot  of  Mungret,  is  noticed 
bv  the  YouY  Masters  in  a.d.  760,  which  shows  that  there  was 
a  succession  of  abbots  in  that  great  school.  But  evil  days 
were  now  in  store  for  Mungret.  Situated  close  to  the  great 
highway  of  the  Shannon,  it  was  one  of  the  first  places  that 
felt  the  fury  of  the  Danes,  and  sufiered  most  from  their 
constant  presence  in  the  great  estuary  of  Luimnech.  "VVe  are 
told  that  it  was  burned  and  blundered  bv  these  ^o-entiles'  in 
A.D.  834,  like  most  of  the  great  monasteries  on  the  southern 
coasts  and  estuaries.  Shortly  afterwards  the  Danes  took 
permanent  possession  of  the  estuary  of  the  Shannon ;  and 
although  defeated  by  the  native  tribes  at  Shanid  and  else- 
where, still,  owing  to  their  possession  of  the  sea,  and  the 
constant  arrival  of  fresh  hordes,  they  were  able  to  maintain 
themselves  at  Limerick,  where  they  established  strong  forts 
on  the  King's  Island,  which  they  held  against  all  comers 
down  to  the  time  of  Brian  Boru.  They  were,  indeed,  the 
real  founders  of  the  city  of  Limerick,  and  their  choice  of  that 
site,  so  suitable  at  once  for  commerce  and  defence,  shows  how 
keenly  alive  their  chiefs  were  to  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  a  good  natural  position.  Of  course  whilst  the  Danes 
held  the  lower  Shannon  and  all  its  islands,  Mungret  could 
not  flourish.  At  best  they  could  only  live  there  on  suiferanee, 
and  were  const  an  tl}^  exposed  to  pillage  and  murder. 

Still  Mungret  was  not  obliterated.  Cormao  Mac  Cullinan 
by  his  will,  which  he  made  before  he  set  out  for  the  iatal  field 
of  Ballaghmcion,  bequeathed,  amongst  other  charitable 
bequests  to  other  churches,  three  ounces  of  gold,  an  embroi- 
dered vest,  and  his  blessing  to  Mungret ;  so  tluit  it  is  not 
improbable  the   great    kin i^-bish op.  so  learned  in  the  Scotio 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  MUNGRET.  511 

tongue,  as  tHe  Four  Masters  tell  us,  had  himself  been  a 
student  of  Mungret.^  In  a.d.  909,  Maelcaisil,  Abbot  of 
Mungret,  died;  and  although  the  school  was  burned  in 
A.D.  934,  we  read  of  Abbot  Muirgheas,  whose  death  is  noticed 
in  A.D.  993,  by  the  Four  Masters.  They  also  record  the  death 
of  "  Rebachan,  son  of  Dunchadh,  Archdeacon  of  Mungret,"  or 
as  they  write  it  Mungarid,  in  the  next  year ;  so  that  it  was 
still  a  place  of  importance,  having  an  abbot,  an  archdeacon, 
and  an  airchinneach  also,  for  Constans,  who  held  that  office, 
died  in  a.d.  1033.  It  was  burned  in  a.d.  1080  ;  and  was  no 
sooner  rebuilt  than  it  was  once  more  destroyed  by  a  native 
prince,  Domhnall  Mac  Lochlann,  '  King  of  Ireland,'  in 
A.D.  1088.  On  this  occasion  the  King  of  Ireland  harried  the 
coasts  and  the  churches  of  Thomond  quite  as  cruelly  as  ever 
the  foreigners  had  done. 

Yet,  phoonix-like,  it  rose  once  more  from  its  ruins,  for  we 
are  told  that  in  a.d.  1102,  ''Moran  O'Moore  CMughron 
O'Morgair),  chief  lector  of  Armagh,  and  of  all  the  west  of 
Europe,  died  on  the  third  of  the  nones  of  October  at  Mungret 
in  Munster."  Though  the  Irish  princes  of  the  North  and 
South  were  as  usual  at  deadly  feud,  Mungret  gave  a  hospit- 
able home  and  an  honourable  grave  to  the  great  professor 
from  Armagh,  who  was  the  father  of  St.  Malachy — one  of  the 
greatest  of  our  Celtic  saints.  The  last  entry  in  the  Four 
Masters  is  the  shameful  record  that  Mungret  was  plundered 
in  A.D.  1107  by  Mortogh  O'Brian.  Can  it  be  that  this 
Mortogh,  who  thus  impiously  plundered  the  shrine  of  his 
kindred  at  Mungret,  is  the  same  Mortogh  who  gave  Cash  el  to 
the  Church,  and  carried  the  arms  of  Thomond  in  triumph 
from  Luimnech  to  Lough  Foyle  ?  Thenceforward  Mungret, 
as  a  school,  disappears  from  our  Annals — almost,  but  not 
quite,  up  to  the  present  hour. 

'  The  learning  of  the  Mungret  women '  is  proverbial  about 
Limerick  ;  and  the  proverb  had  its  origin  in  this  way.^  A 
controversy  arose  between  Mungret  and  some  other  monastic 
school  of  the  South,  as  to  "which  was  the  more  learned  com- 
munity ;  and  it  was  agreed  by  both  parties  that  their  best 
scholars  should  meet  at  Mungret  on  a  certain  day,  and  exhibit 
their  learning  in  a  public  disputation.  JSTow  as  the  time  drew 
nigh  the  Mungret  scholars  feared  they  would  be  worsted  in 
the  disputation,   and  so  they  had  recourse  to  stratagem.     A 


^  Sneidhius  of  Disert  Diarmada  was  Cormac's  principal  tutor. 
2  See  the  Eev.    Denis  Murphy  in  the  Journal  uf  the   R-  ti.  A.  A.,   for 
July,  1889. 


51'i  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  TTIOMONI). 

number  of  tliem  dressed  themselves  as  women,  and  ^oing  to 
the  phice,  where  a  stream  crossed  the  hi»;^hway  near  Mungrot 
by  wdiicb  the  visitors  were  to  approach,  they  began  to  wash 
clothes.  The  strangers  coming  up  put  some  questions  to  the 
ladies  in  the  vernacular,  but  the  ladies  replied  in  excellent 
Latin,  and  even  some,  it  is  said,  in  Greek.  The  visitors  were 
filled  with  astonishment,  and  asked  them  how  they  learned  the 
ancient  languages.  ''  Oli,"  they  said,  ''  every  one  about 
Mungret  speaks  Latin  and  Greek;  that  is  nothing  at  all — 
'  mere  crumbs  from  the  monks'  table  ' — would  you  like  to  talk 
philosophy  and  theology  with  us?"  When  the  strangers  saw 
that  even  the  women  were  so  learned  they  knew  they  would 
have  no  chance  at  all  if  they  met  the  monks ;  so  they 
decamped  right  off,  leaving  the  victory  to  the  '  wise  women 
of  Mungret.' 

Mungret  is  finely  situated  on  a  gently  rising  sweep  of 
fertile  land,  close  to  Lord  Emly's  beautiful  demesne  at  Tervoe, 
about  three  miles  to  the  south-west  of  Limerick.  It  com- 
mands a  grand  view  of  several  reaches  of  the  Shannon,  with 
the  pine  clad  hills  of  Clare  rising  in  the  distance  beyond  the 
river.  Once  more,  too,  bands  of  students  roam  through  its 
meadows  ;  and  in  statelier  halls  than  St.  Nessan  built  the 
languages  and  philosophy  of  Greece  and  Rome  are  taught  to 
eager  disciples.  There  is  once  more  a  great  college  at 
Mungret;  once  more  its  students  come  from  afar  to  seek 
sanctity  and  learning  under  the  shadow  of  the  ancient  Church 
of  St.  Nessan.  The  Jesuits  have  there  established,  since  1884, 
a  College  and  an  Apostolic  School, both  of  which  have  achieved 
w^onderful  success  during  the  brief  period  of  their  existence. 
May  St.  Nessan,  and  all  the  saints  of  Mungret,  help  them  to 
revive  the  ancient  glories  of  their  own  monastic  school,  and 
to  send  to  foreign  lands  missionaries  of  the  Celtic  race,  as 
zealous  and  as  learned  as  the  men  wdio  in  olden  days  carried 
the  faith  and  fame  of  Erin  from  the  Shannon's  banks  through 
?o  many  distant  lands,  even  to  the  utmost  shores  of  Calabria. 

II. — The  School  of  Iniscaltha. 

Another  celebrated  nursery  of  ancient  sanctity  and 
learning  flourished  in  the  island  of  Iniscaltra,  especially 
during  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries.  This  beautiful 
island  is  situated  in  the  south-western  angle  of  Lough  Derg, 
where  that  great  expansion  of  the  Shannon  runs  in  towards 
the  village  of  Scariil',  between  the  Counties  of  Galway  and 
Clare.     It  is    (elliptical    in    shape,  and   contains  45    statute 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  INISCALTRA.  513 

acres  of  exceedingly  fertile  land,  so  tliat  £100  per  annum 
has  been  frequently  paid  for  the  grazing  of  the  island,  xt 
belongs  to  the  county  Gralway,  but  ecclesiastically  the  island 
is  a  portion  of  the  parish  of  the  same  name,  in  the  diocese  of 
Killaloe.  The  gaze  of  every  stranger  is  at  once  arrested  by 
the  stately  round  tower,  which  rises  up  in  lonely  grandeur 
from  this  green  speck  in  the  placid  bosom  of  the  lake, 
marking  the  spot  where  the  saints  of  old  sought  communion 
with  God,  and  spent  their  lives  in  prayer,  and  fasting,  and 
sacred  study.  No  one  now  dwells  on  this  lonely  and  beautiful 
island ;  and  indeed  it  would  be  a  profanation  to  erect  a 
building  for  the  common-place  purposes  of  every-day  life  on 
its  sacred  soil.  Better — far  better — to  leave  its  tower,  its 
graveyards,  and  its  ruined  churches  to  be  the  lone  and  silent 
memorials  of  the  vanished  past,  than  to  mar  their  holy 
memories  by  association  with  anything  that  would  be  common- 
place or  trivial. 

Mention  is  first  made  of  this  island  in  a.d.  548,  when,  as  the 
Four  Master's  and  the  Annals  of  Ulster  record,  "  Colum 
of  Inis-cealtra  died  "  of  the  Crom  Chonaill,  or  Yellow  Plague, 
which  then  for  the  first  time,  but  not  for  the  last,  depopu- 
lated these  countries,  and  carried  c5'  amongst  others 
many  of  the  most  distinguished  saints  and  scholars  of 
ancient  Erin.  The  Four  Masters  record  in  this  same 
year,  and  probably  from  the  same  cause,  the  death  of 
St.  Ciaran  of  Clonmacnoise,  St.  Tighernach  of  Clones^ 
St.  Finnian  of  Clonard,  the  tutor  of  the  saints  of  Ireland, 
St.  Colum  of  Inis-cealtra,  and  also  of  St.  MacTail  of  Old 
Kilcullen,  of  Sincheall  of  Druimfada,  now  Killeigh,  in 
King's  County,  of  St.  Odhran  of  Latteragh,  on  the  eastern 
elopes  of  Keeper  Hill,  and  of  St.  Colum,  son  of  Ninnidh, 
called  also  Colum  Mac  Hy-Crimthainn,  the  celebrated  founder 
of  Terry  glass.  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  two  Colum  s 
here  mentioned,  Colum  of  Inis-cealtra,  and  Colum  Mac  Hy- 
Crimthainn,  were  really  one  and  the  same  person  ;  but  the 
transcriber  finding  Colum  in  one  place,  called  '  Colum 
of  Iniscaltra,'  and  in  another  place  *  Colum  of  Terry  glass ' — 
Tir-da-glas — thought  they  were  difierent  persons,  and 
recorded  them  as  such. 

The  Life  of  St,  Columba  of  Terryglass,  recently  pub- 
lished in  the  Salamanca  MS.,  shows  how  this  error  may 
have  arisen.  This  St.  Columba  was  of  Lagenian  origin,  for 
his  patron}  mic,  Mac  Hy-Crimthainn,  is  derived  from  an 
ancestor,  who  was  King  of  Leinster  five  generations  before. 
His  father,  Ninnidh,  seems  to  have  been  born  not  far  from 


514  tHE  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND. 

Clonenagh,  in  Queen's  County,  for  in  his  youth  we  are  told 
that  the  saint  learned  his  psalms  and  hymns  from  a  holy  old 
man  named  Colman  Culc,  who  lived  in  that  neighbourhood, 
and  founded  the  Church  of  Cluain  Cain.  This  has  been 
identified  with  great  probability  as  Clonkeen,near  Clonenagh, 
in  the  Queen's  County.  Columba  afterwards  studied  under 
the  celebrated  Finnian  of  Clonard,  and  he,  with  his  greater 
namesake,  Columba  of  lona,  is  reckoned  amongst  the  Twelve 
Apostles  of  Erin,  who  studied  together  at  that  great  school. 
When  he  was  sufficiently  trained  in  all  spiritual  knowledge 
at  Clonard,  we  are  told  that  he  resolved  to  go  to  E-ome,  and 
bring  home  with  him  some  of  the  relics  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul.  On  his  return  he  came  to  St.  Martin's  monastery 
at  Tours,  where  he  was  privileged  to  obtain  the  staff  and 
chrismal  of  that  saint,  which  he  carried  home  with  him  to 
Erin.  He  also  visited  England  during  this  return  journey, 
and  preached  with  some  success  to  the  still  unconverted 
Saxons.  Returning  home  to  Leinster  his  brother  Cairbre 
offered  him  a  place  called  Echargabul,  on  which  to  build  a 
church  and  monastery  ;  but  he  preferred  to  leave  in  that 
place  one  of  his  disciples  called  Cronan,  who  was  a  foreigner. 
Afterwards,  with  his  disciples,  he  remained  a  year  at 
Clonenagh,^  and  then  crossing  Slieve  Bloom  he  came  to 
ETy-Many  of  the  Connaughtmen,  and  founded  a  church,  where 
he  had  a  flock  of  700  souls,  at  a  place  called  Tir  Snama,  which 
seems  to  have  been  not  far  from  Lough  Derg  ;  for  we  are 
told  that  shortly  afterwards  he  founded  other  churches  near 
the  lake,  called  Aurraith  Tophiloc  and  Tuam  Bond  en,  where 
he  dwelt  for  some  time. 

Then  an  angel  appearing  to  him  bade  him  go  to  the 
island  Keltra — since  called  Iniscaltra.  At  that  time  a  certain 
old  man  dwelt  on  the  island,  called  Maccrihe  ;  but  the  angel 
told  him  to  leave  the  island  to  St.  Columba,  which  he 
willingly  did. 

Thus  we  find  St.  Cokmiba  of  Terryglass  established  at 
Iniscaltra,  where  he  remained  a  '  long  time,'  and  where  he 
was  miraculously  supported  for  a  while  by  the  liquor  th&t 
distilled  from  a  lime  tree  growing  on  the  island.  The  birds 
that  lived  on  the  island,  too,  became  quite  familiar  with  the 
saint ;  and  when  Nadcumius,  one  of  his  disciples,  asked  him 
the  reason,  he  gave  a  very  beautiful  reply.  "  Am  I  not  a 
bird  myself,"  he  said — **  why  should  they  fear  me,  for  my 
soul  always  flies  to  heaven,  as  they  fly  through  the  sky  P^' 


»  See  Life  of  St.  Fintan  in  this  work,  p.  399. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  INISCALTRA.  515 

It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  one  of  his  *  family  ' 
died  suddenly  on  the  shore  opposite  the  north.ern  part  of  the 
island  at  Mount  Shannon,  he  ordered  his  monks  to  go  and  say 
to  the  dead  man — "  Columba  bids  thee  arise'' — and  the  dead 
man  arose  and  returned  with  them  to  the  island. 

Whilst  at  Iniscaltra  the  saint  seems  to  have  made  frequent 
voyages  over  the  lake.  On  one  of  these  occasions  seeing  the 
place,  '  where  Terryglass  now  is,'  rising  over  the  broad  waters 
of  the  lake,  towards  the  east,  he  said,  "  Oh !  that  my  resur- 
rection would  take  place  from  that  sweet  spot" — a  wish  that 
was  destined  afterwards  to  be  fulfired. 

Crowds  of  people  came  to  visit  the  saint  and  bis  com- 
panions at  Iniscaltra,  so  that  he  pined  for  some  more  lonely 
spot,  where  he  might  hide  himself  far  away  from  men. 
Accordingly  he  embarked  in  his  curragh,  as  we  may  sup- 
pose, then  shootmg  the  rapids,  and  sailing  out  into  the 
estuary  of  the  Shannon,  called  Luimnecb,  he  established  him- 
self with  a  few  companions  in  a  lonely  island,  called  *  Insula 
Erci '  in  the  Latin  Life,  which  may,  perhaps,  have  been  cor- 
rupted into  Iniscorcy,  the  name  of  an  island  in  the  bay 
formed  by  the  Pergus  River,  close  to  Kilydysart.  The 
place,  at  any  rate,  was  west-north-west  (a  circio)  of  Mungret, 
not  very  far  away ;  and  had,  close  at  hand,  another  small 
island,  to  which  the  saint  was  sometimes  in  the  habit  of  re- 
tiring, in  order,  it  would  seem,  to  be  still  more  alone  with 
God. 

From  this  island  he  was  called  away  to  visit  his  master, 
St.  Finnian  of  Clonard,  who  had  been  stricken  with  the 
yellow  plague,  and  anxiously  longed  to  receive  the  Holy 
Communion  from  his  hands.  The  saint  at  once  set  out  for 
far-distant  Meath,  a  ten  days'  journey,  and  arrived  in  time 
to  give  the  '  sacrifice  '  to  his  beloved  master  before  he  died  of 
that  dreadful  pestilence.  It  was  in  the  year,  it  seems, 
A.D.  551  or  552  (548  with  the  Four  Masters). 

The  blessed  Columba  himself  seems  to  have  caught  the 
contagion  whilst  attending  his  dear  old  master ;  for  retiring 
to  a  neighbouring  place  called  Cluain  Hii,  where  one  of  his 
old  fellow -students  had  founded  a  church,  he  sickened  and 
died  of  the  same  disorder  towards  the  close  of  the  same  year 
— his  festival  day  being  December  13th,  as  marked  in  all  our 
Calendars. 

The  men  of  Meath  learning  that  so  great  a  saint  had  died 
amongst  them,  were  unwilling  to  let  the  blessed  body  be 
carried  off,  so  that  his  companions  had  recourse  to  stratagem 
to  convey  the  body  secretly  away.     But  even  this  they  could 


516  THE    SCHOOLS   OF    THOMOND. 

not  effect  until  a  year  after  the  saint's  death,  so  closely  were 
they  watched  by  the  men  of  Meuih.  At  last  they  hid  the 
remains  of  their  beloved  father  in  a  waggon,  covered  over 
with  oats,  and  taking  several  other  waggons  also,  as  if  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  a  supply  of  provisions  with  them, 
they  set  out  for  the  Shannon,  choosing  the  road  towards 
Clonmacnoise.  There  they  were  hospitably  received ;  and 
they  told  the  abbot,  in  confidence,  of  the  blessed  burden 
which  they  bore  along  with  them.  The  abbot  then  greatly 
rejoiced,  and  wished  to  have  the  holy  relics  kept  at  Clonmac- 
noise ;  but  the  brethren  would  not  consent.  Terryglass, 
blessed  by  St.  Patrick,  on  the  swelling  shore  of  the  beautiful 
Lough  Derg,  was  chosen  by  himself  to  be  *  the  place  of  his 
resurrection ; '  so  the  Abbot  -^ngus,  next  successor  to  St. 
Ciaran,  let  them  go  in  peace  with  his  blessing.  But  the 
men  of  Meath  now  began  to  suspect  that  their  treasure  was 
taken  away,  and  followed  quickly  after,  headed  by  the  prince 
of  the  southern  113^-Niall,  Colman  Beg.  The  brethren,  however, 
had  already  embarked ;  and  when  Colman  took  the  helm  to 
pursue  them,  Nadcumius  threatened  him  with  God's  anger  if 
he  followed  them  further.  So  for  the  time  he  turned  back, 
and  the  monks  with  swelling  sail  and  sturdy  oar  quickly 
traversed  the  lake,  and  came  to  Iniscaltra,  where  they  buried 
the  saint  in  secret  for  seven  years,  giving  out,  it  seems,  that 
his  remains  reposed  at  Terryglass.^  We  are  told  that  the 
lake  was  lit  up  with  a  heavenly  light  of  marvellous  beauty 
during  all  the  time  that  the  body  of  the  saint  was  borne  over 
its  heaving  bosom. 

Meantime  the  men  of  Meath,  for  seven  years,  kept  watch 
around  Terryglass,  to  see  if  they  could  get  a  chance  of 
recovering  their  lost  treasure ;  but  finding  no  opportunity, 
they  returned  at  last  to  their  homes.  Only  then  did  the 
faithful  Nadcumius  transfer  the  holy  relics  from  Iniscaltra 
to  Terryglass,  and  thus  carry  out  at  length  the  dying  wish 
of  his  beloved  master.  The  men  of  Meath  saw  the  bright 
beams  that  shone  from  heaven  over  all  the  lake  on  the  night 
the  holy  relics  were  transferred  ;  and  at  last  reluctantly 
said — "Let  us  cease  this  toil.  The  saint  chose  this  place  for 
himself;  let  him  rest  in  peace  there  for  ever.'* 

Such  is  the  account  given  in  the  Life  ;  but  in  the  Leabhar 
BreaCy  it  is  stated  that  the  relics  of  Colum,  son  of  Crimthann, 

^  The  ruins  of  a  mediajval  monastery  may  still  be  seen  at  Terryglass  ;  aud 
a  beautiful  new  church  has  been  lately  erected  through  the  muniftoetioe  ot 
Colonel  Hickie  of  Slevoir,  at  a  coat  to  him  of  nearly  £10,000. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  INISCALTRA.  517 

were  taken  by  Mochoemlie  of  Terry gla^^^,  and  by  Odhran  the 
Master,  on  a  wain  soutb wards  over  Esge,  to  Cairain  of  Inis- 
caltra.  Esge  is  a  corruption  of  Echtge,  the  ancient  and  cor- 
rect name  of  the  Slieve  Aughty  mountains,  that  sepnrate 
Gal  way  from  Clare.  As  St.  Caimin  was  certainly  not  then  in 
Iniscaltra,  this  would  seem  to  point  to  a  subsequent  trans- 
lation of  the  holy  relics  once  more  to  the  beautiful  island 
where  Columba  had  spent  so  many  years.  His  successor, 
Caimin,  had,  it  would  seem,  rendered  the  island  once  more  a 
celebrated  home  of  learning  and  piety,  and  wished  to  possess, 
at  least  a  portion  of  the  blessed  body  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor. 

Columba  died  a.d.  552  ;  St.  Caimin,  the  still  more  famous 
saint  of  Iniscaltra,  and  who  has  always  been  regarded  as  its 
patron,  died,  according  to  the  Anna/s  of  Innis fallen, 'yx^\j  one 
hundred  years  later,  in  a.d.  653 ;  so  that  Caimin  cannot 
have  been  a  disciple  of  Columba.  He  came,  howeve'i%  of  the 
same  royal  Lagenian  race  of  Cathair  Mor,  for  his  father 
Dima,  or  Dimma,  belonged  to  Hy-Kinsellagh,  but  his  mother 
Cumaine,  who  was  also,  it  is  said,  the  mother  of  jGruaire,  King 
of  Connaught,  and  of  Cummian  Fad  a,  Bishop  of  Clonfert, 
belonged  originally  to  the  west  of  the  County  Kerry. 
We  know  little  of  the  life  of  this  great  saint.  He  appears 
to  have  been  present  at  the  Synod  of  Easdara,  now  Ballysa- 
dare,  which  was  held  by  St.  Columba,  and  attended  by  the 
principal  saints  of  Erin  about  the  year  a.d.  580  or  Ki%h.  In 
that  case  the  saint  must  have  been  born  about  the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century,  and  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  years 
before  he  died.  It  is  still  more  difficult  to  explain  how  he 
could  have  been  a  friend  and  contemporary  of  St.  Sen  an  of 
Scattery  Island,  who  died  about  the  year  a.d.  544. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  Caimin  has  always  enjoyed 
the  reputation  of  being  himself  a  distinguished  scholar,  and 
the  master  of  a  very  famous  school.  Lanigan  tells  us  that 
he  wrote  '*  a  Commentary  on  the  Psalms  collated  with  the 
Hebrew  text,"  a  portion  of  which  Usher  says  that  he  himself 
saw,  and  that  both  the  text  and  notes  were  generally  regarded 
as  in  the  handwriting  of  St.  Caimin. 

If  this  be  the  fragment  of  the  Commentary  on  the 
119th  Psalm,  now  in  Merchants'  Quay,  Dublin,  that  hand- 
writing is  certainly  marvellously  beautiful,  but  there  is,  we 
believe,  no  appearance  of  any  collation  with  the  Hebrew 
text.  This  fragment  was  once  in  the  Franciscan  Convent  of 
Donegal ;  aftei wards,  it  was  in  Coigan's  possession,  and  has 
now  fitly  returned  to  the  representatives  of  the  original  owners. 


518  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND. 

Caimin's  school  at  Iniscaltra  attracted,  we  are  told,  great 
iiimibers  of  pupils,  even  from  foreign  countries.  In  \k\Q  Life 
of  St.  Senan  reference  is  made  to  suveii  ships  that  arrived  in 
the  Shannon  crowded  with  students  seeking  this  island 
college  of  St.  Caimin.  Some  poems  have  been  attributed 
also  to  the  saint,  but  without  good  authority.  At  present  the 
remnant  of  the  119th  Psalm  is  all  that  can  fairly  be  regarded 
as  his ;  but  when  complete,  it  must  have  been  a  very 
beautiful  and  most  interesting  specimen  of  our  ancient 
Latin  MSS. 

Belonging,  as  he  did,  to  the  ruling  classes,  and  connected 
by  blood  with  several  of  the  provincial  kings,  being,  more- 
over, a  man  of  great  wisdom  and  virtue,  Caimin  seems  to 
have  exercised  very  considerable  influence  over  the  course  of 
public  events  in  his  own  time.  Guaire,  his  half-brother, 
much  asfainst  the  wish  and  counsel  of  Caimin,  provoked  the 
Kino^  of  Tara  at  the  time,  Diarmaid,  son  of  Aedh  Slaine,  to  a 
pitched  battle  at  a  place  called  Carn  Conall,  near  Gort. 
Gaaire  was  defeated,  and  his  allies,  the  kings  of  Munster 
and  Hy-Fidhgeinte,  were  slain  on  the  field,  thus  verifying 
Caimin's  predictions  of  the  disastrous  consequences  that 
would  certainh^  result  to  the  authors  of  this  unjust  war. 
The  Four  Masters  say  this  great  battle  was  fought  in 
A.D.  645,  but  A.D.  648  or  649  seems  to  be  the  true  date. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  curious  story  told  by  the 
Scholiast  on  the  Felire  of  ^n^zis,  that  Caimin  w^as  afflicted 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  life  w  ith  many  painful  diseases, 
which  he  bore  in  a  spirit  of  perfect  resignation.  On  a 
certain  occasion  when  Guaire,  Caimin,  and  Cummian  were 
together  in  the  great  church  of  Iniscaltra,  which  Caimin 
had  built,  and  the  tw^o  saints  were  giving  spiritual  counsel  to 
Guaire,  Caimin  said  to  his  brother,  "  Well,  Guaire,  what 
would  you  wish  to  have  this  church  filled  with  ?  '*  "  With 
gold  and  silver,"  replid  Guaire,  "  that  I  might  give  it  in 
charity  to  the  saints  and  to  the  poor  for  the  good  of  my 
soul."  Cummian,  in  answ^er  to  the  same  question,  said  he 
would  wish  to  have  it  filled  with  books,  for  learned  men  to 
instruct  others  in  the  Word  of  God  ;  but  Caimin  himself, 
when  asked  the  same  question,  said  he  wished  it  full  of  all 
diseases  and  sicknesses  to  afflict  his  body.  And  we  are  told 
that  each  of  the  brothers  got  his  wish  from  heaven,  '*  so  that 
sickness  and  disease  came  on  Caimin,  and  not  one  bono  of 
him  remained  united  to  the  other  on  earth,  but  his  flesh  was 
dissolved,  and  his  nerves  with  the  t^xcoss  of  every  disease 
that  fell  upon  him/'     On   account,  doubtless,  of  this   poni- 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  INISCALTRA.  51^ 

tential  spirit,  Caimin  has  been  likened,  by  an  old  autlior,  to 
Pachomius  the  monk,  one  of  the  great  fathers  of  Eastern 
monastic! sm.  The  monastic  school  of  Caimin  continued  to 
flourish  for  many  centuries  after  his  death,  and  produced 
several  distinguished  scholars,  whose  names  are  still  held  in 
great  veneration  by  the  learned. 

The  ruined  monuments  still  remaining  at  Iniscaltra,  and 
now  happily  in  charge  of  the  Board  of  Works,  sufficiently 
attest  the  ancient  importance  of  the  religious  establishment 
on  "  Holy  Island."  The  peasantry  still  speak  of  it  as  the 
**  Seven  Churches,"  and  the  island  is  almost  invariably  called 
'Holy  Island,'  which  shows  the  reverence  that  still  clings  to  its 
ruined  walls.  The  round  tower  which,  in  the  distance,  seems 
to  rise  from  the  waters  of  the  lake,  is  a  strikingly  beautiful 
and  picturesque  object  in  the  landscape.  It  is  still  80  feet 
high,  46  feet  in  circumference,  with  an  internal  diameter 
of  nearly  8  feet.  The  stones  in  the  lower  courses  are  very 
large,  and  the  masonry  of  a  massive  character  for  the  first 
seven  or  eight  feet ;  after  that  the  work  becomes  coarser  and 
more  irregular,  and  the  stones  are  much  smaller.  The  door- 
way is  10  feet  7  inches  above  the  present  level — anciently  it 
was  much  more.  There  is  a  single  window  for  each  of  the 
diiferent  lofts,  looking  towards  the  cardinal  points,  and 
lighting  tlie  different  storeys.  The  northern  window  is 
formed  of  finely  cut  stone,  and  is  triangular  outside,  but 
square-headed  within. 

There  is  probably  no  foundation  for  the  local  tradition 
which  ascribes  the  building  of  this  tower,  as  well  as  those  of 
Inis  Clorann  and  Scattery  Island,  to  St.  Senanus.  It  is  much 
more  likely  that  it  was  built  at  the  close  of  the  tenth,  or  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  by  Brian  Boru,  who  also 
erected  or  repaired  the  great  church,  which  had  been  more 
than  once  partially  destroyed  by  the  Danes.  The  door-way 
of  the  tower  is  circular-headed,  and  formed  of  very  finely- 
chiselled  blocks  of  stone.  It  was  anciently  secured  by  an 
iron  door — the  bolt  hole  and  traces  of  its  fastenings  were 
visible  in  1838,  when  O'Donovan  visited  the  island,  and  one 
of  the  floors  existed,  in  the  memory  of  an  old  man  then 
living ;  no  traces,  however,  of  the  flooring  now  remain. 

What  is  now  called  St.  Caimin's  Church,  a  little  to  the 
east-north-east  of  the  belfiy  or  round  tower,  was  probably  a 
restoration  by  Brian  Boru  of  the  great  church  built  by 
St.  Caimin  himself.  It  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel,  the 
former  31  feet  by  20 ;  and  the  latter  15  by  12^  feet.  The 
east  wnl]  of  the  chancel  was  quite  orone,  but  has  been  partially 


520  THE  SCHOOLS  OF  TIIOMOND. 

restored.  The  masonry  of  the  chancel  is  finely  jointed 
ashlar,  mifch  superior  to  the  coarser  work  of  the  nave.  The 
chancel  arch  is  the  most  striking  and  characteristic  feature  in 
this  old  church.  It  is  semi-circular,  formed  of  fine  cut  stone 
in  three  plain  orders,  rising  from  engaged  jamb-shafts  with 
very  peculiar  capitals.  The  arch  is  10  feet  2  inches  wide  at  the 
bottom,  narrowing  to  9  feet  11  inches  at  the  top  of  the  jambs. 
It  is  regarded  by  the  best  judges  as  a  work  of  the  time  of 
King  Brian.  The  west  door- way  has  been  lately  restored. 
Its  character  is  similar  to  that  of  the  chancel — a  plain  impost 
moulding,  two  orders  rising  from  engaged  pilasters,  with 
sculptured  heads  carved  on  the  round  at  the  top.  There  was 
a  chevron  moulding  round  the  face  of  the  arch.  The  sill  is 
of  limestone,  and  the  entire  door  seems  to  have  been  an  inser- 
tion in  an  older  building.  There  are  two  windows  in  the 
south  wall  of  the  nave — one  square,  the  other  round-headed, 
but  not  specially  striking ;  the  round-headed  window  has  a 
deep  and  finely  executed  splay. 

A  stone  font,  one  foot  and  a  half  deep,  probably  for  holy 
water,  was  close  to  the  west  door  at  Lord  Dunraven's  visit, 
and  is  there  still.  Traces  of  the  ancient  cash  el  which  sur- 
rounded the  monastic  church  were  also  visible.  There  are 
many  interesting  inscribed  stones  and  crosses  lying  about. 
The  base  of  a  cross  lies  sunk  in  the  ground  north-east  of  a 
piece  of  a  wall  said  to  have  been  portion  of  a  small  chapel 
called  *  Teampul  na  bh-fear  ngonta,*  or  the  Church,  of  the 
Slain  Men.  Here,  it  is  said,  the  bodies  of  those  slain  in  battle 
were  usually  buried. 

The  fine  Church  of  St.  Mary — TempuU  Maire — is  about 
fifty  paces  from  St.  Caimin's  Church,  and  is  much  larger ;  but 
we  cannot  now  describe  it  at  length.  The  view  through  the 
arch  of  the  church  over  the  lake  towards  the  wooded  hills  of 
Tipperary  is  of  surpassing  beauty,  and  once  seen  can  never 
be  forgotten. 

Several  sculptured  stones  also  have  been  found,  and  six  of 
them  still  bear  the  names  of  the  deceased  persons  over  whose 
graves  they  were  placed.  One  oblong  slab  with  the  words 
OR  DO  ARSSEI  .  .  .  was  partially  broken,  so  that  the  full 
name  cannot  be  deciphered.  Another  flag  has  a  beautiful 
cross  within  a  circle  with  the  words,  MOENGAL  MAC 
LODGIN,  over  the  arms  of  the  cross.  Another  is  inscribed, 
HILAD  I  DECHENBOIR— the  stone  tomb  of  ten  persons 
Another  stone  with  Celtic  cross  of  interlaced  bands,  asks 
a  prayer  for  '*  Conn ;  '*  whilst  three  simpler  tiag  stones, 
with    rather    plain    crosses    of    similar    formation,    ask   u 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  INISCALTRA.  521 

prayer  for  DIarmait  Mace  Delbaid,  for  Maelpatralc,  and  for 
Laithbertach. 

We  can  identify  with  much  probability  Diarmaid,  as 
''  Diarmaid,  son  of  Caicher,  Bishop  of  Inis-cealtra/'  who  died 
A.D.  951  (F.  M.)  The  last  may  refer  to  "  Laithbeartach  son  of 
^ngus,  Bishop  of  Cluain-fearta  Brenainn  (Clonfert)/' who 
died  A.D.  820,  probably  during  a  pilgrimage  at  the  Holy 
Island.  Diarraait  is  the  only  bishop  whose  name  is 
mentioned  by  the  Four  Masters  in  connection  with  Inis- 
caltra.  They  also  give  the  names  of  five  abbots,  and  one 
•inchorite^  of  Iniscaltra.  St.  Caimin  himself  was  probably 
only  a  priest.  He  died  in  a.d.  G52  ;  but  we  could  find  no  trace 
of  his  tomb-stone,  although  he  was  certainly  buried  there.  It 
may  be  that  he  was  the  saint  interred  in  the  square  building 
outside  the  present  wall  of  the  churchyard  and  which  is 
sometimes  called  the  *  Confessional.'  The  churchyard  is  still 
much  used  for  interments,  and  is  greatly  overcrowded,  the 
coffins  in  some  cases  not  being  covered  with  mpre  than  six 
inches  of  earth. 

This  holy  and  beautiful  island  suffered  fearfully  during  the 
ravages  of  the  Danes.      The  Shannon  was  a  highway  for  their 
'ships'  from  Limerick  to  Lanesborough,  and  hence  we  find  that 
all  ttie  churches  on  its  shores  and  islands  were  frequently 
pillaged  and   burned  by   these   marauders   during  the  two 
centuries  of   their  domination.      It  was  first  plundered  by 
Turgesius  about  the  year  a.d.  836,  who  on  the  same  occasion 
plundered  all  the  churches  of  Lough  Derg  and  set  up  his  wife 
Ota,  as  a  kind  of  priestess  to  deliver  oracles  on  the  high  altar 
of  Clonmacnoise.     It  was  again  plundered  in  a.d.  922  by  the 
Danes  of  Limerick,  who  brought  a  fleet  on  Lough  Derg  "  and 
plundered  Inis-cealtra,  and  they  drowned  its  shrines,  and  its 
relics,  and  its  books,"  and  having  harried  both  shores  of  the 
river  as  far  as  Lough  Ree,  they  returned  safely  to  Limerick. 
Yet  we  find  it  had  a  bishop  in  a.d.  951  ;  and  the  comarb  of 
Colum    Mac    Hy-Crimthainn    in  Terryglass,    Killaloe,   and 
Inis-cealtra,  died  a.d.  1009  {recte  1010).  This  is  the  last  abbot 
of  whom  we  have  any  record.       It  is  evident,  however,   that 
the  school  and  monastery  still  continued  to  flourish.      Brian 
Boru   repaired    the    great    church    about    that    very    time, 
A.D.   1005-1010,   and   no  doubt  also  restored  the  efficiency 
of  the   schools,    for  his  biographer   tells  that  *'  he  sent  pro- 
fessors and  masters  1o  teach   wisdom   and  knowledge,   and 


^  This  anchorite,  who  died  in  a.d.  898,  is  called  Cosgraich.     He  dwelt  in 
the  round  tower,  which  on  that  account  is  sometimes  call  Cosgraich's  tower. 


522  TIIK  SCHOOLS  OF  TIIOMOND. 

to  buy  books  beyond  the  sea  and  tho  great  ocean,  because 
their  own  writings  and  books,  in  every  church  and  in  every 
sanctuary  where  they  were,  were  burned  and  thrown  into  the 
water  by  the  plunderers  frarn  tirst  to  last,  and  Brian  himself 
gave  the  price  of  learning  and  the  price  of  books  to  every  one 
separately  who  went  on  this  service.^ " 

We  may  be  sure  that  Brian  did  not  neglect  Iniscaltra  ; 
for  it  was  the  great  school  of  his  own  hereditary  kingdom, 
and  was  within  a  few  miles  distance  of  his  own  palace  of 
Kincora. 

III. — Other  Mona^stic  Schools  of  Thomond. 

There  were,  at  least,  four  other  great  monasteries  in 
Thomond,  and  two  of  them  are  mentioned  as  having  monastic 
schools  connected  with  them,  that  is,  Birr  and  E-oscrea.  But 
we  do  not  find  the  names  of  any  distinguished  scholars 
educated  in  these  schools,  and  hence  our  account  of  these 
monasteries  must  be  very  brief. 

St.  Brendan  of  Birr,  is  to  be  carefully  distinguished  from 
his  more  celebrated  namesake  of  Clonfert.  He  is  sometimes 
called  Brendan  the  Elder — Brendanus  Senior — and  like 
Brendan  of  Cionfert,  came  of  the  race  of  Fergus  MacE-oy, 
which  produced  more  saints  and  heroes  than,  perhaps,  any 
of  the  other  Celtic  tribes.  The  two  Brendans  were  together 
at  Clonard  under  St.  Finnian,  and  both  are  ranked  amongst 
the  Twelve  Apostles  of  Erin.  St.  Brendan  of  Birr  was 
especially  remarkable  for  the  fulness  of  the  prophetic  spirit"^ 
which  he  possessed  ;  and,  according  to  one  account,  it  was 
in  obedience  to  his  counsel  that  St.  Columba,  after  the 
battle  of  Cuil-Dreimhne,  i-esolved  to  leave  Ireland,  and 
preach  the  Gospel  in  Alba.  It  is  said  that  on  the  same 
occasion  he  befriended  Columcille  at  a  Synod  held  near 
Tellown  in  Meath,  where  an  attempt  was  made  by  some  of 
the  *  saints  '  to  excommunicate  Columba  for  his  alleged  share 
in  bringing  about  that  bloody  conflict. 

It  is  certain  that  Brendan  was  highly  esteemed  by  all  his 
contemporaries,  and  when  he  founded  his  monastery  at 
Biorra,  or  E-iverstown,  as  it  would  be  called  in  English,  it 
soon  grew  to  be  a  very  celebrated  institution.  The  Four 
Masters,  at  a.d.  553,  tell  us  that  **  Brendan  of  Birr  was  seen 


Vita. 


1  ♦'  Wars  of  the  Gael,"  page  139. 

^  "  Qui  Prophetain  scholia illiaet  etiam  Sanclorum  Ilibermao  litnlebatiir.' 


OTMKR  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND.  523 

ascending  a  chariot  into  the  sky  this  jenr."  This  entry  is 
liot  intended  to  signify  that  he  died;  but  rather  that,  like 
St.  Paul,  he  was  taken  up  to  heaven  for  a  little,  for  his 
death  is  noticed  by  the  same  Four  Masters  under  date  of  the 
year  a.d.  571,  when  they  tell  us  that  he  died  on  the  29th  of 
September.  The  real  date  appears  to  have  been  a.d.  573. 
From  a  scholastic  point  of  view,  the  subsequent  history  of 
this  monastery  contains  nothing  especially  interesting. 

St.  Cronan  of  Roscrea  belonged  to  the  territory  and  sept 
of  Ely  O'Carroll,  in  which  his  monastery  was  situated.  He 
spent  much  of  his  youth  in  Connaught  ;^  but  afterwards 
returning  home,  he  founded  his  first  monastic  cell  at  a  place 
called  Seanross.  This  old  church,  though,  perhaps,  subse- 
quently raodiiied  and  restored,  is  situated  within  a  few  paces 
of  Corville  House,  near  Roscrea,  the  beautiful  residence  of 
Count  O'Byrne,  who  carefully  preserves  the  building  from 
injury  or  profanation.  At  this  period,  however,  all  the  low 
ground  around  Corville,  towards  the  railway,  was  the  Locha 
Cre,  or  Stagnum  Cre,  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Lives 
of  the  Saints  of  this  district.  Seanross  was  a  wooded  pro- 
monotory  running  into  the  lake, and  it  was  then  so  inaccessible 
and  secluded  [desertics  et  avius)  that  even  Cronan  resolved,  to 
leave  it,  and  establish  his  monastery  for  the  convenience  of 
his  disciples  at  the  Eoss  of  Cre,  which  was  on  the  highway 
from  Meath  to  Munster  then,  as  it  is  now. 

Here  St.  Cronan,  who  was  himself  an  accomplished 
scholar,  established  what  was  certainly  a  very  famous  school, 
although,  unfortunately,  we  know  very  little  of  its  history. 
There  is  a  Life  of  the  saint  in  the  Salamanca  MS.^  but 
although  abounding  in  miracles,  it  is  very  scanty  in  facts. 
Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  miracles.  On  one  occasion  Cronan 
requested  a  certain  skilful  scribe,  named  Dimma,  to  write  a 
copy  of  the  Four  Gospels  for  him.  Dimma  said  he  could  only 
afford  to  give  one  day's  writing — doubtless  he  was  otherwise 
engaged.  "  Very  well,"  said  Cronan,  *' it  will  suffice;  but 
begin  at  once,  and  continue  to  write  without  stopping  until 
sunset."  So  Dimma  set  to  work  ;  but,  wondrous  to  relate, 
the  sun's  light  shone  round  him  for  forty  days  and  forty 
nights,  until  the  entire  manuscript  of  the  Gospels  was  com- 
pleted. 

"We  have,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  still  in 
existence,  this  wonderful  manuscript  written  by  Dimma  for 
St.  Cronan ;  and  it  was  so  highly  prized  in  Eoscrea  that 


'Ad  gurgitem  Kuyad,  perhaps  Ball  ysLiiiinon, 


024  TIIK    SCHOOLS    OF   THOMONP. 

Tatlieus  O'Carroll,  chieftain  of  Ely,  had  a  beautiful  cover  or 
shrine  made  to  enclose  the  precious  volume,  about  the  middle 
of  the  twelfth  century.  The  manuscript  itself  contains  an 
entry,  which  tells  who  the  writer  was,  not  for  the  sake  of 
vain  glory,  but  to  beg  a  prayer  from  every  reader  for  his 
soul's  welfare,  according  to  the  good  old  Celtic  custom. 

Finit.  Oroit  do  Dimmu  rod  scrib  pro  Deo  et  bene- 
dictione — 

That  is — **  A  prayer  for  Dimma,  who  wrote  it  for  God, 
and  a  blessing/* 

And  at  the  end  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  we  read  thus  : 

Finit.  Amen  ►!<  Dimma  Mace.  Nathi  ^  This  Book 
of  Dimma  contains  "  the  Four  Gospels,  with  the  Latin  ritual 
and  prayers  for  the  visitation  of  the  sick.  A  coloured  figure 
of  each  of  the  first  three  Evangelists  precedes  his  Gospel,  and 
there  is  a  special  symbol  prefixed  to  the  opening  of  the 
Gospel  according  to  8t.  John.  On  the  fractured  final  page 
of  the  volume,  at  the  termination  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  after 
the  words  quoted  above — '  Dimma  Mace  Nathi ' — there  are 
two  imperfect  and  archaic  Irish  lines,  in  which  the  writer 
pram's  that  '  he  may  not  be  venomously  criticised,'  and 
that  he  mav  attain  *  a  mansion  in  heaven,'  as  the  reward  of 
his  labours."^ 

This  Book  of  Dimma  is  at  present  in  the  Library  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin  ;  but  only  a  small  portion  of  the  ornamenta- 
tion of  the  beautiful  cumdachy  or  shrine,  is  now  to  be  had. 
The  shrine  and  its  contents  were  taken  away  from  Roscrea 
monastery  at  the  suppression  ;  but  were,  it  is  said,  found  in 
the  year  a.d.  1789  by  some  boys  who  were  hunting  for 
rabbits  in  the  Devil's  Bit  Mountain,  which  is  not  far  from 
Roscrea.  The  silver  plate  of  the  shrine  was,  it  is  supposed, 
then  torn  off,  and  the  precious  stones  that  adorned  it  were 
also  abstracted  ;  but  the  portion  representing  the  Passion  of 
Christ  was  left  untouched.  It  afterwards  passed  from  Dr. 
Harrison  of  Nenagh,  through  Dr.  Todd,  into  the  Library  of 
Trinity  College. 

Of  Dimma,  the  scribe,  nothing  else  is  known  for  certain. 
There  were  many  saints  and  scholars  of  the  name ;  but  it  is 
supposed  that  this  scribe  is  identical  with  Dimanus,  whose 
name  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  that  of  St.  Cronan  in 
the  letter  addressed  to  the  Irish  Prelates  in  a.d.  634,  by 
Pope  John  IV.,  concerning  the  alleged  appearance  of 
Pelagianism  in  Ireland. 


'  Sue  Gilbert's  Autiona/  ]\Linus(ri^)t$,  Vol.  i.,  pajjo  21 


OTHER  MONASTIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THOMOND.  525 

We  know  from  various  entries  in  our  Anriaxs  that 
St.  Cronan's  School  of  Roscrea  continued  to  flourish  for  many 
centuries  even  during  the  worst  period  of  the  Danish  ravages. 
We  find  frequent  reference  to  its  abbots,  scribes,  and  pro- 
fessors down  to  the  period  of  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion. 
A  portion  of  the  old  abbey  still  remains,  and  shows  that  it 
was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  Romanesque 
architecture  in  Ireland. 

St.  Senan's  monastery  on  Scattery  Island  was  also  a  very 
famous  institution ;  but  we  do  not  find  that  it  was  celebrated 
as  a  school.  Neither  was  St.  Flannan's  monastery  at 
Killaloe  frequented  by  scholars,  who  seem  to  have  preferred 
the  quiet  beauty  of  Iniscaltra  to  the  passes  of  the  Shannon, 
especially  after  the  arrival  of  our  unwelcome  visitors  frorr 
Scandinavia. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 
LATER   SCHOOLS  OF   THE   WEST. 

I. — St.  Colman's  School  of  Mayo. 

"  'Tis  a  rosary  of  islands  in  the  Ocean's  hollow  palm — 

Sites  of  faith  unchanged  by  storms,  all  unchanging  in  the  calm, 
There  the  world-betraved  may  hide  them,  and  the  weary  heart  find 
balm." 

—M'Gee. 

The  history  of  St.  Colman,  who  founded  the  monastery  of 
Innisboffin,  and  the  Monastic  School  of  Mayo,  is  full  of 
interest.  He  may  be  called  an  island-saint,  like  Enda  of 
Aran  ;  but  his  was  a  far  more  strange  and  adventurous  career. 
Trained  in  loua,  ruling  in  Lindisfarne,  defeated  but  not 
subdued  by  Wilfrid  at  Whitbv,  and  then  comins:  home  in 
his  old  age  with  the  relics  of  his  sainted  predecessors  to 
labour  and  to  die  in  the  misty  islands  of  the  West — there  is 
no  element  of  romantic  interest  wanting  in  Colman' s  extra- 
ordinary history. 

We  may,  we  think,  fairly  assume  with  Colgan  that  he  was 
1  native  of  some  part  of  the  West ;  for  otherwise  the  very 
xistence  of  Innisboffin  would  have  been  unknown  to  him. 
It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  he  received  hi*  education 
and  religious  training  in  lona,  and  that  he  was  for  many 
years  a  member  of  that  community.  Bede  describes  him  as 
an  Irish  Bishop  (de  Scottia  Episcopus),  and  shows  very  clearly 
what  he  means  thereby,  when  he  adds,  that  on  his  departure 
from  Lindisfarne  he  returned  to  Ireland  (in  Scottiam  re- 
gressus  est).  Indeed,  Bede  has  never,  even  once,  applied  the 
word  *  Scottia  '  except  to  Ireland.^ 

Colman  was  a  monk  in  lona  during  the  abbacy  of  Segienus, 
the  third  ruler  of  that  monastery  from  a.d.  623  to  652.  These 
were  years  of  much  missionary  enterprise,  especially  after 
King  Oswald  mounted  the  throne  of  Northumbria  in  a.d.  634. 
At  his  request  Segienus  sent  ore  of  his  monks,  Corban  by 
name,  to  preach  to  the  Northumbrians.  But  Corban's  mission 
was  a  failure  ;  he  expected  too  much  from  the  semi-barburous 
Angles  of  Northumbria  :  and  he  offered  them  the  solid  food 

*  See  Skene's  Celtic  Seotlatid,  Introduction,  pag'e  3 


ST.  colman's  school  of  mayo,  527 

before  he  gave  them  the  milk  of  sound  doctrine.  After  his 
return  to  lona,  Aidan,  an  Irishman,  as  Bede  tells  us,  was 
consecrated  bishop,  and  sent  to  preach  in  Northumbria. 
Bede  gives  a  most  interesting  account  of  his  life  and  cha- 
racter,^ and  adds,  as  might  be  expected,  that  his  mission 
was  entirely  successful.  He  converted  the  Northumbrians, 
and  founded  the  monastery  and  See  of  Lindisfarne  about  the 
vear  a.d.  635.  When  Bishop  Aidan  died  in  a.d.  651,  another 
Irish  prelate  called  Finan  was  sent  to  succeed  him  in  the 
government  of  the  Northumbrian  Church.  His  first  task 
was  to  build  a  church  in  Lindisfarne,  of  hewn  oak,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Irish,  and  he  covered  it  with  reeds.  In  this 
church  he  laid  the  body  of  his  sainted  predecessor  on  the 
right  side  of  the  high  altar. 

The  Easter  Controversy,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken, 
embittered  the  brief  episcopacy  of  Finan.  Like  Aidan  and 
all  the  monks  of  lona,  he  still  followed  the  old  Irish  custom 
of  calculatmg  the  Easter  Hay,  so  that  the  southern  Angles, 
who  followed  the  Roman  method,  were  much  scandalized  to 
see  the  King  celebrating  Easter  Sunday,  while  the  Queen, 
Eanfled,  and  her  Roman  chaplain  were  keeping  the  rigorous 
fast  of  Palm  Sunday. 

Bishop  Finan  died  in  a.d.  661,  after  ten  years'  episcopacv, 
during  which  nothing  was  done  to  bring  about  uniformity  ; 
and  Colman,  another  Irish  monk  of  lona,  was  appointed  to 
succeed  him.  But  he,  too,  persisted  in  observing  the  old 
Irish  Easter,  and  wearing  the  frontal  tonsure,  so  that  even 
King  Oswy  felt  it  was  high  time  to  try  and  establish  one 
uniform  usage  in  Northumbria. 

For  this  purpose  a  Conference,  or  Synod,  was  appointed 
to  meet  in  the  monastery  of  Streaneshalch,  since  called 
Whitby.  The  abbess  Hilda  favoured  Bishop  Colman,  and 
presif^ed  over  the  assembly  as  it  was  held  in  her  monastery  ; 
and  she  was  besides  a  royal  lady.  King  Oswy  also  favoured 
the  Scots,  but  Aldfrid,  his  son,  the  crown  prince,  was  in 
favour  of  the  Roman  usage.  The  learned  and  eloquent 
Wilfrid,  then  an  abbot,  but  afterwards  Archbishop  of  York, 
was  the  great  champion  of  orthodoxy,  and  was  supported  in 
his  views  by  Agilbert,  a  Frenchman,  who  had  studied  the 
Scriptures  in  Ireland,  and  appears  to  have  been  acquainted 
with  the  Irish  language  and  usages.  On  the  other  side  was 
Colman,  and  he  had  an  able  episcopal  supporter  in  Bishop 
Cedd,  who,  though  a  southern  prelate,  was  inclined  to  favour 


^  Bede^  Liber  iii.,  C.  v. 


528  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  WEST. 

the  Irish  usage,  for  ho  was  traiued  and  consecrated  by  the 
*  Scots/  that  is  the  Irish  party. 

Colman  was  called  upon  by  the  king  to  open  the  discus- 
sion. He  justified  his  own  usage  by  three  arguments — first, 
because  he  received  the  practice  from  the  holy  elders  of  the 
Irish  Church,  who  had  ordained  him  bishop  and  sent  him  to 
Northumbria ;  secondly,  because  it  was  the  practice  of  the 
holy  Apostle  St.  John ;  and  thirdly,  because  this  usage  had 
been  sanctioned  by  the  holy  and  learned  Anatolius,  a  man  of 
great  authority  in  the  Church  of  God. 

Then  Wilfrid^  rose  to  reply,  as  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue.  He  was,  besides,  an  able  and 
learned  man  who  had  travelled  much  abroad.  His  first 
argument  against  Colman  was  of  itself  quite  conclusive : 
*'  The  Easter  which  we  observe  we  saw  celebrated  everywhere 
in  Africa,  Asia,  Egypt,  and  Greece — we  saw  it  celebrated  by 
all  men  at  Rome,  where  the  blessed  Apostles,  Peter  and  Paul, 
lived,  taught,  suffered,  and  were  buried."  Apostolic  authority 
and  universal  usage  were  thus  clearly  against  the  few  Picts 
and  Britons — the  Irish  had  nearly  all  given  in  by  this  time — 
who  still  adhered  to  the  old  Easter  and  the  frontal  tonsure. 
As  to  the  authority  of  St.  John,  to  which  Colman  appealed,  it 
was  not  to  the  purpose.  For  according  to  Wilfrid,  St.  John 
kept  Easter  on  the  14th  day  of  the  first  moon  in  the  evening, 
no  matter  what  day  of  the  week  it  happened  to  be — in  this 
respect  following  the  Jews,  whilst  it  was  yet  lawful  to 
Judaize.  "But  you,  Colman,  admit  that  Easter  may  not  be 
celebrated  on  a  week  day,  and  hence  you  do  not  follow  the 
practice  of  St.  John,  nor,  as  I  have  shown,  of  St.  Peter 
either."  This  was  a  home  thrust  for  poor  Colman,  and  Wilfrid 
followed  it  up  by  disposing  of  Anatolius  also.  *'  He  v/as,  I 
admit,  a  holy,  learned,  and  commendable  man  ;  but  you  do 
not  observe  his  decrees  ;  for  he  had  a  cycle  of  nineteen  years 
of  which  5^ou  know  nothing,  or  if  you  do,  you  despise  it ; 
although  it  is  now  followed  by  the  entire  Church." 

As  to  Colman's  appeal  to  the  authority  of  his  sainted 
predecessors,  Wilfrid  admitted  that  they  were  holy  men,  and 
perhaps  even  men  of  miracles  ;  but  they  were  excusable  on 
account  of  ignorance  of  the  truth  :  "  you,  however,"  he  says, 
"  have  no  such  excuse  because  the  more  perfect  rule  adopted 
by  the  entire  Church  is  now  brought  home  to  your  minds.'* 

Wilfrid  concluded  by  appealing  once  more  to  the  authority 
of  the  Apostolic  See  of  Peter  as  conclusive,  for  it  was  to 

*  See  Irish   EcclesiaUical  Jiecord  for  April,  1887. 


ST.  colman's  school  of  mayo.  529 

Peter  our  Lord  said — "  Thou  arfc  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  my  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it." 

"  Colman,"  said  the  king,  "  is  it  true  that  these  words 
were  spoken  to  Peter  by  our  Lord  ?"  "It  is  true,  0  king,"  said 
Colman.  **  Then,"  said  the  king,  "  as  Peter  is  the  door- 
keeper, I  will  not  contradict  him  in  anything  lest  there 
should  be  none  to  open  to  me  if  I  made  him  ray  adversary." 
So  the  Conference  ended,  and  Colman  and  his  clerics  felt 
that  they  were  defeated.  It  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  old 
man  ;  and  he  felt  it  keenly,  not  for  his  own  sake,  but  for  the 
sake  of  his  sainted  predecessors.  "  His  doctrine,"  says  Bede, 
''  was  rejected  and  his  sect  despised  ;  "  and  that,  too,  by  men 
whom  he  must  have  regarded  as  interlopers.  Why  should  they 
put  their  sickles  into  his  harvest  ?  Why  not  leave  him  and 
his  clergy  and  people  in  peace  ?  When  hard  work  was  to  be 
done,  they  were  not  to  be  found — it  was  the  monks  of  lona 
who  converted  the  Northumbrians  to  the  Church  ;  but  now 
these  Southerns  came  to  regulate  the  date  of  their  Easter 
Day,  and  forbid  them  to  wear  the  tonsure,  which  they  had 
worn  from  their  boyhood,  and  which  was  worn  by  Columcille 
himself,  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Picts  and  Scots.  It  was 
intolerable  ;  and  now  as  King  Oswy  and  his  son  Aldfrid  had 
turned  from  their  spiritual  fathers  to  Wilfrid  and  his  associ- 
ates, Colman  resolved  to  leave  Northumbria  for  ever. 

But  first  the  old  man  returned  to  Lindisfarne,  and  told  his 
monks  all  that  had  happened.  For  his  own  part,  he  declared 
that  he  would  not  accept  the  new  discipline,  nor  give  up  the 
traditions  of  his  sainted  predecessors,  who  proved  their 
mission  by  countless  miracles ;  and  that,  as  the  king  was 
determined  to  follow  the  new  discipline  introduced  by 
Wilfrid,  he  himself  would  return  to  his  native  country 
where  he  might  follow  the  ancient  discipline  in  peace. 
Those  who  listed  might  remain  ;  but  those  who  choose  to 
come  with  him  were  welcome,  and  together  they  would  seek 
an  asylum  in  the  far  west  of  Ireland. 

The  sequel  is  told  by  Bede  : — "  Colman,  the  Irish  Bishop, 
departed  from  Britain,  and  took  with  him  all  the  Irish  (Scoti) 
that  he  had  assembled  in  the  Island  of  Lindisfarne,  and  ;ilso 
about  thirty  of  the  English  nation,  who  had  been  instructed 
in  the  monastic  life,  and  leaving  some  brothers  in  his  church 
of  Lindisfarne,  he  repaired  first  to  the  Island  of  Hii,  whence 
he  had  been  first  sent  to  preach  the  Word  of  God  to  the 
English  nation.  Afterwards  he  retired  to  a  small  island, 
which  is  to  the  went  of  Ireland,  and  at  some  distance  from  its 


530  LATER  L^CUOOLS  OF  THE  WEST. 

coast,  called,  in  tlic  language  of  the  Irish  (Sooti),  Inisbofinde, 
that  is,  the  Island  of  the  White  Cow.  Arriving  there  he 
built  a  monastery,  and  placed  in  it  the  monks  he  had 
brought  with  him  of  both  nations  ;  who,  not  agreeing  among 
themselves,  by  reason  that  the  Scots — that  is  the  Irish — in 
the  summer  season,  when  the  harvest  was  to  be  brouglit  in, 
leaving  the  monastery,  wandered  about  through  places  with 
which  they  were  acquainted,  yet  wished  to  get  a  share  of 
what  the  English  monks  had  provided  for  their  common 
table.  Colman  sought  to  put  an  end  to  these  dissensions  ; 
and,  travelling  about,  at  length  found  a  place  in  Ireland  fit 
to  build  a  monaster}^  which,  in  the  language  of  the  Scots,  is 
called  Magco  "  (Mayo.)^ 

Such  is  the  brief,  but  most  interesting,  account  which  the 
Father  of  English  History  gives  of  the  founding  of  the  two 
monasteries  of  Inisboffin  and  Mayo  ;  and  it  is  confirmed  in 
all  points  by  our  native  Annalists.  But  there  are  some  few 
additional  particulars  to  be  noted. 

When  Colman  and  his  monks  were  leaving  Lindisfarne, 
their  hearts  were  sore  at  the  thought  of  leaving  behind  them 
the  relics  of  their  sainted  father  Aidan,  who  had  founded 
that  church  and  monastery.  Yet  they  did  not  wish  to  carry 
away  all  the  holy  relics,  and  so  they  adopted  a  middle  course. 
They  opened  the  grave  which  was  outside  their  wooden 
church,  in  the  little  green  churchyard,  where  they  had  so 
often  w'alked  and  prayed.  With  reverent  hands  and  stream- 
ing eyes  they  took  a  part  of  the  sacred  relics  to  carry  home 
with  them  to  their  native  Ireland  ;  the  rest,  for  greater 
security,  they  re-interred  in  the  sacristy  for  those  who  were 
to  come  after  them. 

Then  the  band  of  exiles  set  out  on  their  journey  home. 
But  first,  as  in  duty  bound,  Colman  and  his  monks  resolved 
to  visit  lona,  the  parent  house,  which  had  s^nt  them  to  preach 
the  Gospel  in  I^orthumbria.  Bede  does  not  tell  us  how  long 
they  remained  there  ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  period  from 
the  dates  given  in  our  own  Annals.  Colman  left  Lindisfarne 
A.T).  664  ;  and  the  Chronicon  Scotorum^^vrndi  the  first  entry  in 
the  Annals  of  Ulster  ^  tell  us  that  in  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Inisbofinde.  In  that  case  the  visit  to  lona  could  only  have 
been  a  passing  one.     I^ut  the  weight  of  authoi'ity  goes  to 

^  Bede,  Eccles.  Hist.,  Book  iv.,  c.  4. 

^A.D.  G44,  *' Navigatio  Colmain  opiscopi  cum  reliquia  Sootoruni  ad 
insiOam  Vacoae  Albao  in  qua  fuudavit  eeclosiaiu."'  Ch.  Scotoi  urn. 

*  They  way  lie  caiuo  in  tlio  year  in  which  Diarnmit  and  Blathmac  died  ; 
that  i«,  in  a. D.  G(j4,  accordiiij^  to  tlif  first  entry. 


ST.  C()LMAN*S  SCHOOL  OF  MAYO.  531 

bIiow  that  this  voyage  of  Colman  did  not  take  place  until 
A.D.  667  or  668.1  j^  ^he  Ulster  Annals^  Hennessy  renders 
the  contraction — "  cum  reliquis  scorurn,"  as  if  it  were — cum 
reliquiis  sanctorum — ''  with  the  relics  of  saints,"  which  they 
undoubtedly  had  with  them ;  but  in  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters  it  is  rendered  with  '*  the  other  saints  ;  "  and  in  the 
Chronico7i^  "  with  the  other  Irish  monks  " — as  if  it  were, 
cum  reliquis  scotorum.  There  is,  however,  no  difference  in 
meaning,  because  Colman  brought  both  with  him  to  Mayo — 
his  Irish  monks,  and  the  relics  of  his  sainted  father  Aidan,  if 
not,  also  of  Columba,  and  some  other  saints  of  lona. 

And  there,  says  Bede,  in  Inisbofinde  he  founded  his 
monastery  ;  and,  as  the  Irish  Ajznals  say,  there  he  also  built 
his  church. 

It  is  a  bare  and  desolate  island  exposed  to  all  the  fury  of 
the  Atlantic  storms  ;  but  the  monks  of  old  thought  little  of 
comfort  so  long  as  they  could  be  alone  with  God — and  who 
was  to  disturb  them  on  the  naked  shores  of  this  barren 
island  I'  It  is  probable  that  at  this  time  the  island  was  un- 
inhabited ;  and  we  know,  from  the  Life  of  St.  Flannan  of 
Killaloe,  that  the  people  of  these  western  coasts  were  still 
half  pagan.  The  more  need  then  of  apostolic  men  to  instruct 
them  in  Christian  doctrine. 

The  island  took  its  ancient  name  from  a  wild  tale  of  a 
certain  white  heifer  that  dwelt  in  an  enchanted  lake  in  the 
island,  whence  it  was  seen  to  emerge  from  time  to  time  to 
graze  on  its  shores.  The  lake  is  there  still,  and,  if  one  may 
credit  the  islanders,  the  White  Cow  is  there  too,  in  spite  of 
St.  Colman  and  all  his  monks.  The  island  is  about  six  miles 
due  west  of  Eenvyle  Point,  in  the  Joyce  country,  and  con- 
tains 2,312  statute  acres,  most  of  which,  however,  is  quite 
naked  and  barren.  At  one  time  the  population  amounted  to 
fifteen  hundred  souls,  who  lived  very  much  on  the  produce  of 
their  stormy  seas ;  but  at  present,  we  believe,  it  has  fallen  to 
about  two-thirds  of  that  number. 

Inisboffin  still  contains  several  interesting  memorials  of 
3t.  Colman.  The  ruins  of  his  ancient  church  are  yet  to  be 
seen  in  the  townland  of  Knock.  There  is  also  a  holy  well  to 
the  south-west  of  St.  Colman's  oratory,  which  is  called  Tatar 
Flannain,  and  takes  its  name  from  the  patron  saint  of 
Killaloe,  who  spent  a  considerable  time  on  the  island,  and 
was  much   venerated   there.     In   the    townland   of  Middle 


1  See  the  Four  Masters,    the     second  entry   in   the  Annals  of    Vlshr 
k.T>,  667,  and  Tiohemach,  who  has  it  in  a.d.  668. 


r)o2  f.ATEll  SCHOOLS  OF  TUK  WKsl'. 

Quarter  dwelt  another  recluse,  who  appears  to  have  been  a 
disciple  of  St.  Colrnan ;  the  site  of  his  *  House '  is  still 
pointed  out,  and  called  in  Irish — Aittighe  Guarim — the 
place  of  Guarim's  House.  The  celebrated  Grace  O'Malley, 
better  known  as  Grana  Weale,  had  a  castle  on  the  island, 
which  has  almost  quite  disappeared — but  the  place  is  still  called 
Diin-Graine.  In  Cromwell's  time  the  island  was  fortified, 
and  became  a  kind  of  penal  colony,  in  which  many  horrible 
atrocities  were  committed  on  the  helpless  Irish.  The  remnant 
who  survived  were  crowded  into  ships,  like  African  slaves, 
and  transported  to  Barbadoes.  Those  who  did  not  perish 
during  the  voyage  soon  succumbed  beneath  the  broiling  sun 
of  the  West  Indian  plantations.  The  islanders  still  remember, 
with  a  shudder,  those  terrible  times. 

It  seems,  however,  that  the  Celts  and  Saxons  did  not  get 
on  amicably  together  even  in  St.  Colman's  time.  The  saints 
themselves  will  sometimes  disagree  ;  and,  according  to  Bede, 
the  Irish  monks  were  much  in  fault.  During  the  summer 
months,  when  the  grain  was  to  be  sown,  and  reaped,  and 
harvested,  they  wandered  about  in  the  neighbourhood — 
*'  through  places  with  which  they  were  acquainted '' — 
coshering,  in  fact,  upon  their  friends,  and  very  likely 
pocketing  such  alms  as  they  could  get.  But  when  the 
winter  came,  they  returned  to  the  monastery  to  eat  what  they 
had  not  sown  nor  helped  to  reap.  It  was  too  bad  ;  and  if  it 
be  true,  and  not  the  recital  of  some  Anglo-Saxon  returned 
to  Yarrow  from  Connemara,  one  cannot  blame  the  Saxon 
monks  for  objecting  to  such  a  state  of  things. 

So  Colman  resolved  to  put  the  Saxon  monks  in  a  monas- 
tery by  themselves,  and  make  the  Irishmen  work  for  their 
living.  He  travelled  about  far  and  near  to  find  a  suitable 
place  on  the  mainland  for  a  monastery.  At  length  he  suc- 
ceeded. He  bought  a  small  parcel  of  land  from  the  '  earl ' 
to  whom  it  belonged — this  is  Bede's  way  of  saying  it — and 
got  more,  it  seems,  on  condition  that  the  monks  residing  there 
should  pray  to  the  Lord  for  him  who  let  them  have  the  place 
"Then  Colman,  building  the  monastery  with  the  help  of  the 
earl  and  all  his  neighbours,  placed  the  English  there,  leaving 
the  Scots  in  the  aforesaid  island.  That  monastery  is  to  this 
day  (a.d.  730)  possessed  by  English  inhabitants ;  being  the 
same,  that  growing  up  from  a  small  beginning,  to  be  very 
large,  is  generally  called  Mageo  (Magh  eo)  ;  and  as  all 
things  have  long  since  been  brought  under  a  better  method, 
it  contains  an  exemplary  society  of  monks,  who  are  gathered 
there  from  the  province  of  the  English,  and  live  by  tho 


ST.  COLMAN^S  SCHOOL  OF  MAYO.  533 

labour  of  their  hands,  after  the  example  of  the  venerable 
fathers,  under  a  rule  and  canonical  abbot,  in  much  continency 
and  singleness  of  life.''  The  English  monks  were  anxious,  in 
fact,  to  get  Home  Rule,  even  in  Ireland ;  and  were,  it  seems, 
much  the  better  of  getting  it.  We  shall  presently  return  to 
the  history  of  this  monastery  of  Mayo. 

Of  Colman's  further  history  we  know  nothing  except  the 
date  of  his  death.  Doubtless  with  his  Celtic  sympathies  he 
preferred  to  live  in  his  island  retreat ;  although  of  course  he 
visited  from  time  to  time  the  English  monks  of  Mayo.  But 
they  had  now  got  a  *  canonical  abbot '  of  their  own,  one 
elected  by  themselves,  and  were,  it  seems,  an  entirely  indepen- 
dent community.  Their  subsequent  history  shows  that  the 
monastery  of  Mayo,  as  Bede  says,  became  a  large  establish- 
ment,  and  ultimately  an  episcopal  See. 

Colman's  death  is  noticed  by  the  Four  Masters  in 
A.D.  674  ;  the  Annals  of  Ulster  enter  it  under  a.d.  675  ;  but 
the  true  year  appears  to  be  a.d.  676 — the  ninth  after  his 
arrival  in  luisbotfin.  All  our  martyrologies  irive  his  festival 
on  the  8th  of  August.  In  the  telire  of  ^ngus  he  is  set 
down  as  the  "  praiseworthy  Colman  of  Inis-bo-iinde  ;  "  and 
the  scholiast  describes  that  island  as  situated  in  the  western 
sea  off  Connemara  in  the  west  of  Connaught.  There,  too,  he 
was  buried. 

Bede,  while  strongly  dissenting  from  Colman's  views  on 
the  Easter  Question,  bears  noble  testimoi^y  to  his  many 
virtues.  He  was  much  beloved,  he  says,  by  King  Oswy, 
on  account  of  his  singular  discretion.  Then  he  adds  that  the 
place  (Lindisfarne)  he  governed  shows  how  frugal  he  and  his 
predecessors  were  ;  how  they  despised  earthly  goods  ;  and 
kept  no  money  which  they  did  not  give  to  the  poor ;  how 
their  whole  care  was  to  serve  God,  not  the  world — to  feed  the 
soul,  and  not  the  belly.  Hence  the  religious  habit  was  then 
held  in  great  veneration ;  the  monk  was  joyfully  received 
everywhere,  and  people  from  all  quarters  ran  to  get  his  bless- 
ing. When  these  Irish  monks  went  into  a  village,  it  was 
either  to  preach,  baptize,  visit  the  sick,  or  otherwise  take  care 
of  souls.  They  refused  to  endow  their  monasteries  with  lands 
or  other  possessions,  content  to  preach  the  Gospel  and  to  live 
by  the  labour  of  their  hands,  and  the  small  alms  of  the 
faithful.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  they  converted  Northum- 
bria,  and  that  even  in  these  unbelieving  days  of  ours  the 
memory  of  the  Irisii  monks  of  Lindisfarne  is  still  revered  by 
men  of  all  classes  and  of  all  creeds. 


534  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  WLST. 


IT. — St.  Gerald  of  Mayo. 

St.  Gerald  was  in  all  probability  the  first  'canonical  abbot' 
whom  the  Saxons  of  Mayo  elected  with  the  assent  of  Colman 
to  preside  over  that  famous  monastery.  There  is  a  Life  of 
this  saint  given  by  Colgan  at  the  13th  of  March,  his  festival 
day.^  It  was  evidently  not  written  for  a  considerable  period 
after  the  saint's  death  ;  and  although  containing  much  that 
Lanigixn  calls  '  sorry  stuff','  it  still  furnishes  us  with  some 
valuable  information.  The  composition  of  the  Life  has  been 
attributed  to  Augustin  Magraidin,  the  compiler  of  the 
celebrated  manuscript  belonging  to  the  Monastery  of  All 
Saints  in  Lough  Ree.  The  substance  of  Magraidan's  strange 
biography  is  as  follows  : — 

Whilst  Colman  was  Archbishop  of  Northumbria,  the  king 
of  that  or  some  neighbouring  territory,  Cusperius  by  name, 
sent  his  four  sons  to  be  educated  inider  Colman's  care  at 
Lindisfarne.  Their  names  were  Gerald,  Balanus,  Berikertus 
and  Hubritanus  or  Hulbritanus.  The  queen,  their  mother, 
was  called  P)ei)itia.  And  here,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  we 
may  observe  that  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  to  find  the 
names  of  these  holy  brothers  in  our  domestic  martyrologies. 
Balloin  of  Teeh-Saxon  (in  the  co.  Mayo)  is  given  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Do?iegal on  the  3rd  of  September  ;  Beretchert 
of  Tolach-leis  is  given  at  the  6th  of  December;  and  Huildbriti 
at  the  24th  of  April,  is  given  both  by  Marianus  O'Gorraan 
and  the  Martyrology  of  Tallaght.  The  four  brothers  were 
instructed  by  Colman  in  the  liberal  arts,  in  theology,  and  in 
monastic  discipline,  and  seem  to  have  become  greatly  attached 
to  their  master. 

It  is  said  that  Gerald  became  Abbot  of  Winton  before 
Colman's  departure  from  Lindisfarne.  When  these  four 
brothers  saw  how  the  kings  and  clergy  of  Northumbria 
rejected  the  discipline  and  authority  of  Colman,  they  resolved 
to  leave  their  native  country  and  accompany  their  beloved 
master  to  Ireland.  There  was  nothing  to  detain  them  in 
England.  Their  mother  was  dead,  and  their  father,  it  seems, 
entered  on  a  career  of  crime,  which  hastened  their  departure. 
And  so,  says  the  Life,  embarking  in  their  fleet  of  ships,  or 
rather  boats,  and  taking  with  them  all  necessaries,  they  set 
sail  and  landed  at  the  *  mouth  of  the  Shannon  in  Connaught.'* 
The  subsequent  narrative,  however,  shows  tliat  it  is  much 
more  probable  that  they  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 


''See  also  O'Hanlon's  Lives  of  the  Saints. 

2  Clare  was  a  part  of  CouuauiJ^ht,  at  least  at  an  ourlior  duttt. 


ST.  GERALD  OF  MAYO.  5r35 

Moy  near  Killala,  for  it  is  in  that  district  we  find  them  shortly 
after  their  arrival. 

It  was  nothing  new  or  strange  for  English  princes  and 
nobles  to  go  to  Ireland  to  be  educated  at  this  period.  It  is 
fortunate  that  on  this  point  we  have  the  unexceptional  testi- 
mony of  Bede  himself.  "  Many  of  the  nobility,  and  of  the 
lower  ranks  of  the  English  nation  were  there  (in  Ireland)  at 
that  time  (when  the  pestilence  broke  out),  who,  in  the  days 
of  the  Bishops  Einan  and  Colman,  forsaking  their  native 
island,  retired  thither  either  for  the  sake  of  divine  studies,  or 
of  a  more  continent  life  ;  and  some  of  them  at  once  devoted 
themselves  to  a  monastic  life ;  others  chose  rather  to  apply 
themselves  to  study,  going  about  from  one  master's  cell  to 
another.  The  Irish  (Scoti)  willingly  received  them  all,  and 
took  care  to  supply  them  with  food,  and  also  to  furnish  them 
with  books  to  read,  and  their  teaching  gratis."^ 

It  seems  that  the  west  of  Ireland  was,  especially  after 
the  return  of  Colman,  a  favourite  place  of  refuge  for  these 
Saxon  scholars.  In  fact  we  find  in  all  our  native  annals  that 
the  sons  of  Gartnait,  King  of  the  Picts,  with  the  people  of 
kSketh  (probably  Skye),  made  a  voyage  to  Ireland  in  the  very 
same  year,  according  to  the  Ulster  Annals,  that  Colman  sailed 
for  Inisbofinde.  Their  return  to  Scotland  two  years  later  is 
also  mentioned,  which  shows  that  they  spent  at  least  two 
years,  most  probably  in  the  West  of  Ireland,  with  Colman. 

Whether  or  not  St.  Gerald  and  his  brothers  accompanied 
St.  Colman  to  Ireland  is  doubtful.  The  narrative  in  the 
Life  would  seem  to  imply  that  they  came  straight  to  Ireland 
after  Colman's  departure  from  Lindisfarne,  and  that  during 
the  time  he  remained  in  lona  Gerald  and  his  companions  had 
founded  the  monastery  of  Elitheria,  or  *  The  Pilgrims 
Home,'  as  we  might  call  it.  At  first,  it  seems,  they  met  with 
some  opposition  from  a  certain  wicked  ruler  in  the  district, 
called  Ailill,  who  sent  an  armed  force  to  oppose  their  landing. 
This  was  in  all  probability  Ailill,  or  Oilioll,  son  of  Dunchadh 
of  Murrisk,  prince  of  the  Hy-Fiachrach,  and  ancestor  of  the 
O'Dowds.  Dunchadh  himself  was  slain  in  a.d.  681  ;  but  his 
son,  Oilioll,  might  well  be  of  age  and  a  ruler  of  a  sepa-rate 
territory  in  a.d.  664  or  665.  He  was  prince  of  Tirawley ; 
and  hence  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  was  either  at  Killala 
or  in  the  Bay  of  Westport  that  the  Saxon  pilgrims  landed. 
By  a  wondrous  miracle  Gerald  disarmed  the  hostility  of 
Ailill,  and  even  induced  him  to  grant  them  the  site  of  a 


^Bedc,  Eccka   Eist.^  Book  |ii,  c.  27. 


536  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  WEST. 

monastery  which,  in  tho  Life,  is  callrcl  Elitheria,  or  the  Field 
of  the  Stag,  from  the  Irish  ElitJi^  a  stag.  Colgan,  however, 
thinks  it  more  probable  that  the  place  received  its  name 
from  elitheir,  a  pilgrim.  This  locality  has  not  been  identified. 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  it  was  not  far  from  the  banks  of 
the  Moy,  for  prince  Ailill,  seeing  the  wonders  wrought  by 
8t.  Gerald,  asked  him  to  remove  a  rock  from  the  bed  of  that 
iwer  which  was  a  great  impediment  to  navigation,  and  tore 
the  fishermen's  nets  when  they  were  draughting  the  river 
for  salmon.  In  this,  also,  Gerald  gratified  the  prince,  and 
caused  the  rock  to  be  broken  in  fragments.  No  doubt  this 
occurred  somewhere  between  Ivillala  and  Ballina.  » 

Here  the  writer  of  Gerald's  Life  is  guilty  of  a  great 
anachronism,  for  he  says  that  Haghallach  (Ragallus),  the 
celebrated  King  of  Connaught,  hearing  of  the  fame  of 
St.  Gerald,  invited  the  latter  to  come  to  his  court,  and 
promised  also  to  give  him  land  for  founding  a  monastery;  add- 
ing that  afterwards  he  fulfilled  this  promise,  and  gave  him 
the  ground  on  which  the  monastery  of  Mayo  was  built. 
Kow  Raghallach,  or  Keilly,  King  of  Connaught,  was  slain 
in  A.D.  645,  as  the  Four  Masters  say,  or  in  a.d.  648,  accord- 
ing to  the  Annals  of  Ulster^  that  is,  nearly  twenty  years 
before  Gerald  came  to  Ireland.  The  King  of  Connaught, 
when  Mayo  was  founded,  was  Cennfaeladh,  son  of  Colgu, 
whose  death  is  notified  by  the  Four  Masters,  a.d.  680. 
Besides,  Bede  expressly  says  that  it  was  CoLman  himseK  who 
procured  the  site  of  the  Mayo  monastery,  partly  for  money 
and  partly  for  the  prayers  of  the  community. 

We  are  then  told  that  Gerald  divided  this  community 
into  three  sections.  One  party  he  sent  back  to  England  in 
order  to  procure  all  things  necessary  for  the  new  monastery. 
A  second  division  was  told  off  to  build  the  dun  or  cashel — 
murus  it  is  called  in  the  Latin  Life — around  the  monastery. 
)  The  third  division  was,  meantime,  employed  in  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Divine  Offices  for  themselves  and  for  the  people 
around  them. 

We  are  then  told  that  Gerald  of  Mayo,  and  all  the  other 
heads  of  religious  houses  in  Ireland,  went  to  Tara  in  obediencu 
to  ancedict  of  the  joint  kings,  Diarmaid  and  Blathmac,  who 
reigned  from  a.d.  658  to  664  or  ^^^.  The  purpose  of  the 
kings  in  summoning  this  meeting  seems  to  have  been  to 
devise  some  means  of  staying  the  dreadful  plague  and  its 
attendant  famine  which  were  then  ravaging  the  country. 
St.  Fechin  and  St.  Gerald  are  represented  as  divided  in 
opinion;  the  former  said  the  plaijue  was  sent  by  God  to  pro- 


ST.  GERALD  OF  MAYO.  537 

vent  the  people  from  starving,  and  that  they  must  have 
perished  either  way,  seeing  that  the  country  was  over 
populated.  But  St.  Gerald,  like  many  other  well-meaning 
people,  put  his  trust  in  God,  and  said  that  all  the  clergy 
should  pray  to  God  to  stop  the  plague,  and  also  to  supply 
food  for  the  starving  people.  Divine  Providence,  he  said, 
could  do  both  one  and  the  other  ;  but  it  seems  there  was  no 
human  help  to  save  them.  The  plague,  however,  soon  solved 
the  problem;  it  spared  none — saints,  kings,  and  people  alike 
perished,  so  that  half  the  population  of  the  land  disappeared 
in  two  years.  St.  Gerald  himself  escaped,  and  saved  many 
others  by  his  gift  of  healing  ;  but  his  sister,  Segresia,  and  one 
hundred  of  her  nuns,  who,  it  seems,  had  a  convent  close  to 
Elitheria,  with  fifty  of  the  monks  of  that  establishment,  all 
perished. 

It  is  certain  that  St.  Gerald  was  alive  until  a.d.  697,  for 
we  are  told  that  about  that  time  St.  Adamnan,  the  celebrated 
Abbot  of  lona,  paid  him  a  visit  at  the  convent  of  Mayo.  We 
know  that  Adamnan  in  that  year  went  to  Ireland,  and  pro- 
mulged  the  celebrated  '  Lex  Innocentiae,'  by  whi(!h  women 
were  forbidden  to  share  the  dangers  of  the  battlefield.  We 
know,  too,  that  he  founded  the  Church  of  Skreen  in  Hy- 
Fiachrach,  probabl)^  about  the  same  time ;  and  if  he  were  in 
that  neighbourhood  nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  he 
should  visit  the  foundation  of  Colman,  whom  he  must  have 
known  in  his  youth,  and  try  to  ascertiiin  how  the  Saxon 
monastery,  which  he  had  planted,  was  progressing  in  the 
land  of  the  Scots.  He  seems  to  have  remained,  too,  a 
considerable  time  in  Ireland,  or  very  soon  returned  thither, 
for  in  A.D.  703  he  celebrated  the  Roman  Easter  (Canonicum 
Pascha)  '  in  Hibernia.'^  It  is  even  stated  that  he  ruled  the 
monastery  of  Mayo  for  seven  years  after  the  death  of  Gerald 
himself,  and  during  that  time  was  engaged  in  writing  books, 
casting  bells,  and  teaching  the  monks,  until  he  returned  to 
die  in  his  own  monastery  of  lona.  This  is  not  *  manifestly  a 
figment,'  as  has  been  said  by  some  writers  ;  there  is  nothing 
at  all  improbable  in  it,  especially  if  St.  Gerald  did  not  live 
after  a.d.  697,  as  Colgan  thinks. 

The  chief  difficulty  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  death  of 
St.  Gerald  seems  to  be  recorded  at  a  much  later  date.  The 
Four  Masters  record  it,  a.d.  726,  "  Gerald  of  Magh  Eo  died 
on  the  13th  of  March."  The  Annals  of  Ulster  record  the 
same  event,  a.d.  731.      *' The  Pontiff  of  Magh  Eo  of  the 


^  See  Keeves'  Adamnan,  page  378 


538  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  WEST. 

Ntixoiip,  Gerald,  died."  It  is  allep^ed,  however,  that  the 
words  •  Pontifox  Magh  Eo  of  the  Saxons  '  should  be  con- 
nected witli  the  previous  entry,  which  would  then  read 
thus :  "  Bellum  Coniiacht  in  quo  cecidit  Muredach  Mac 
Indrechtaigh  pontifex  Maighe  Eo  Saxonum."  The  critics 
say,  however,  that  the  mistake  was  made  by  the  Four 
Masters,  who  connect  it  in  this  way,  and  that  Gerald,  not 
Muredach  Mac  Indrechtaigh,  was  the  Pontiff  referred  to. 
If  Gerald  really  lived  to  this  date,  he  must  have  been  at 
least  ninety  years  of  age  when  he  died  in  his  monastery  of 
Mayo.  It  is,  at  all  events,  certain  that  he  died  there,  and 
his  fame  as  a  saint  and  scholar  both  during  his  life,  and  long 
aftervi^ards,  was  the  means  of  attracting  crowds  of  students 
both  from  Erin  and  Saxonland,  to  the  great  monastic  school, 
which  he  founded  in  the  plains  of  Mayo. 

There  is  a  local  tradition  that  King  Alfred  the  Great 
visited  Mayo,  and  that  he  sent  his  son  to  be  trained  up  in 
that  monastery,  but  that  the  young  prince  died  there,  and 
some  of  the  natives  even  undertake  to  point  out  the  place 
where  he  was  buried.  It  is  very  likely  this  tradition  had  its 
origin  in  the  undoubted  visit  to  Ireland,  and  most  probably 
to  Mayo  also,  of  King  Aldfrid  of  Northumbria.  He  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  Adanfinan,  and  probably  accompanied  that 
saint  to  Ireland.  William  of  Malraesbury  states  expressly 
that  he  spent  his  youth  in  Ireland,  and  if  so,  it  was  most 
likely  at  Mayo. 

III. — Subsequent  History  of  the  School  of  Mayo. 

Of  the  subsequent  history  of  this  great  monastic  school 
we  know  very  little. 

Aedhan,  Bishop  of  Magh  Eo,  died  a.d.  768  (F.M.);  and  the 
monastery  was  burned  in  a.u.  778  [recte  783)  by  lightning, 
"  on  Saturday  night,  precisely  on  the  4th  of  the  Nones  of 
August.  That  night  was  terrible  with  thunder  and  light- 
uing,  and  wind-storms,"  which  destroyed  Armagh  and  Clon- 
broney,  as  well  as  the  monastery  of  Mayo.  Probably  all  these 
edifices  were  then  built  of  wood.  It  is  said  that  Turgesius, 
the  Dane,  attacked  and  plundered  the  monastery  in  a.d.  818  ; 
but  of  this  pillage  we  can  find  no  record,  except  in  the  Life  of 
St.  Gerald,  which  is  no  authority  for  dates.  In  a.d.  805 
(but  really  in  a.d.  808),  the  Four  Masters  say  the  oratory  of 
Mayo  was  again  burned. 

During  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  frequent  men- 
tion is  made  of  Mayo ;  and  it  seems  that  during  this  period 


SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  THE  SCHOOL  OF  MAYO.  539 

a  bishop  usually  dwelt  in  the  monastery,  who  exercised  juris- 
diction over  the  surrounding  parishes. 

It  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  holy  place  to  be 
buried  in,  for  we  are  told  that  Domhnall,  son  of  Turlough 
O' Conor,  Lord  of  North  Connaught,  "  the  glory,  and  the 
moderator,  and  the  good  adviser  of  the  Irish  people/*  died  in 
A.I).  1176,  and  was  interred  at  Mayo  of  the  Saxons  (F.M.) 

In  A.D.  1209  is  recorded  the  death  of  ''  Cele  O'DufFy,  Bishop 
of  Magh  Eo  of  the  Saxons,"  which  shows  that  at  this  period 
it  was  recognised  as  a  diocese  long  after  the  Synod  of  Kells, 
in  A.D.  1152.  O'Donovan,  in  a  note  to  this  entry,  observes 
that  although  Colgan  translates  Magh  Eo,  the  plain  of  the 
''  Oaks,"  it  more  probably  means  the  plain  of  the 
"  Yews." 

This  O'Duffy  was  a  member  of  the  celebrated  family  of 
that  name,  which  during  the  twelfth  century  produced  the 
most  distinguished  ecclesiastics  in  the  province  of  Connaught. 
They   were   not   merely   prelates   and    scholars,  but  liberal 
patrons  of  the  fine  arts  as  they  were  known  at  the  time.     To 
them  we  owe  the  beautiful  processional  cross  of  Cong,  the  gem. 
of  Irish  metal-work.     From  a  very  early  period  they  were  con- 
nected with  the  School  of  Clonmacnoise,  and  afterwards  with 
the  School  of  Tuam;    but  the  monastery  of  Cong  seems  to 
have  been  their  favourite  dwelling-place  when  living,  and 
resting-place  when  dead.      Cong  was  made  a  diocese  at  the 
Synod  of  Rathbreasil  in  a.d.  1110.    The  monastery  was  burned 
A.D.  1114  ;   it  was  then  probably  that  the  beautiful  building 
was  erected,  whose  picturesque  ruins  have  charmed  every 
visitor  to  that  remote  district.     In  the  base  of  the  market 
cross  of  Cong  we  find  an  inscription,  probably  of  the  13th 
century,   asking   a   prayer   for    '^  Nichol   and   for  Gilleberd 
O'Dufiy,  who  was  in  the  Abbacy  of  Cong,"  and  who  doubtless 
caused  this  cross,  the  "  symbol  of  their  faith  and  hope,"  to 
be  erected  in  the  square  of  their  monastic  city.     In  a.d.  1150 
Muireadhach  O'Dujffy,  Archbishop  of  Connaught,  "  the  chief 
senior   of   all  Ireland  in    wisdom,   in    chastity,   and  in  the 
bestowal  of  jewels     and  food,  died  at  Cong."     In  a.d.  1168, 
Flanagan  O'Duffy, "Bishop  and  chief  doctor  of  the  Irish  in 
literature,  history,  and  poetry,  and  in  every  kind  of  science 
known    to  man  in  his  time,  died  at  Cong,  in  the  bed  of 
Muireadach  O'Dulfy."     Catholicus  0'Du%,    Archbishop  of 
Tuam,  was  the  most  distinguished  man  of  his  time.     He  was 
present  at  the  Council  of  Lateran  in  a.d.  1179,  and  died  in 
A.D.  1201. 

In  A.D.  1236  MacWilliam   (Burke)  went  to  Mayo  of  the 


540  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF*  THE  WEsT. 

Saxons,  then,  it  seems,  under  the  protection  of '  King'  Felim 
O'Conor,  '*  and  he  left  neither  rick  nor  basket  of  corn  in  the 
large  church-enclosure  of  Mayo,  or  in  the  yard  of  the  church 
of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,  and  he  carried  away  eighty 
baskets  out  of  the  churches  themselves."  These  yards  ad- 
joining the  churches  seem  to  have  been  used  as  haggards  by 
the  monks  for  storing  their  corn,  and  were  completely  pillaged 
by  Mac  William.  Yet  the  monks  still  continued  to  live  in  the 
midst  of  the  perpetual  strife  which  desolated  the  Province  of 
Connaught  during  the  next  century  ;  for  in  a.d.  1478 — a 
comparatively  recent  period — the  death  of  Bishop  Higgins 
of  Mayo  of  the  Saxons,  is  recorded. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  exactly  when  the  See  of  Mayo 
was  annexed  to  Tuam.  Christopher  Bodkin  was  Archbishop 
of  Tuam,  "  although  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Queen,'^  ^  from  /.u.  1555  to  a.d.  1572.  David  Wolf,  in  a 
letter  to  the  Holy  See  from  Limerick,  October  12th,  1561, 
says  that  Bodkin  held  besides  Tuam  the  Sees  of  '*  Duacensis, 
Enachdunensis,  et  Mayonensis  ;  "  but  he  (Bodkin)  says — 
'*  the  two  last  were  united  to  Tuam  long  ago."  There  is, 
however,  every  reason  to  believe  that  Bodkin  was  a  time- 
server,  and  a  see-grabber,  for  not  content  with  the  four  sees 
mentioned,  he  also  claimed  the  Diocese  of  Clonfert.  Bodkin 
might,  however,  with  some  show  of  reason  say  that  "  Mayo 
was  annexed  to  Tuam  long  ago."  So  early  as  the  year  a.d. 
1217,  there  was  a  letter  addressed  on  this  subject  by  Pope 
Honorius  III.  delegating  the  Bishop  of  Clogher,  the  Abbot 
of  Kells,  and  the  Archdeacon  of  Ardagh,  to  report  on  this 
very  question.  The  then  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  Felix  O'Huadan, 
asserted  that  Mayo  was  not  a  cathedral,  but  a  parochial 
church.  The  Archdeacon  of  Mayo  appealed  against  a  decision 
to  that  effect  given  by  Innocent  III.,  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  surreptitiously  obtained,  and  the  decision  was  withdrawn. 
Afterwards,  it  seems,  the  Archdeacon  in  a  collusive  suit 
allowed  judgment  to  go  against  himself  and  his  church.  This 
being  discovered  at  Rome,  the  Pope  ordered  the  aforesaid 
judges  to  summon  all  the  parties  before  them,  aud  having 
heard  all  the  witnesses,  to  send  a  full  report  of  the  entire  case 
to  the  Apostolic  See.'^  Unfortunately  we  do  not  know  the 
issue;  but  it  is  evident  that  the  Archbishops  of  Tuam  during 
the  troubles  of  subsequent  centuries  were  able  to  assert  their 
own  jurisdiction ;  and  so  the  Canons  of  Mayo  lost  their  status 
as  Canons  of  a  Cathedral  Church.     About  this  period,  too. 


1  See  Brady,  Vol  ii.,  p.  134.  -  See  Theinefj  Vet.  Mun.,  pago  1. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  TVAU.  541 

many  of  tlie  parlslies  belonginf^  to  tlie  ancient  See  of  Mayo 
around  Clew  Bay  were  claimed  by  tlie  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  founded  by  St.  Patrick.^  The 
claim  was  to  some  extent  allowed  by  Innocent  III.  ;  but 
afterwards  it  fell  into  abeyance,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  Tuam 
was  recognised  over  all  these  Patrician  churches  of  the  ancient 
diocese  of  Mayo. 

There  are  still  considerable  ruins  of  the  ancient  monastery 
at  Mayo,  but  the  buildings  do  not  appear  to  have  dated  back 
to  the  original  foundation  by  St.  Colman,  who,  doubtless, 
built  his  monastery  in  the  old  Irish  style. 

lY. — The  School  of  Tuam. 

The  School  of  Tuam  belongs  to  the  earliest  period  of  Irish 
ecclesiastical  history  ;  and  the  School  of  Tuam  belongs  also 
to  the  latest,  and  best  period  of  Celtic  art.  We  shall  consider 
it  in  both  respects — first  as  a  school  of  Sacred  Science  under 
St.  Jarlath,  and  then,  along  with  Clonmacnoise,  as  a  school 
of  Sacred  Art  in  the  eleventh  century,  just  before  the  advent 
of  the  Anglo-Normans  to  Ireland. 

Of  St.  jarlath  himself  unfortunately  we  know  very  little, 
for  no  Life  of  the  saint  has  been  discovered.  His  name  is  not 
mentioned  in  our  Annals,  and  hence  we  are  dependent  for 
such  information  as  we  possess  on  isolated  passages  having 
reference  to  him  in  the  Lives  of  other  saints.  Colgan  has 
collected  these  meagre  notices  together ;  and  was  thus  en- 
abled to  furnish  us  with  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  this 
eminent  saint.  ^ 

Jarlath  belonged  to  the  race  known  as  the  Conmaicne. 
They  are  so  called  because  their  common  ancestor  was  Conmac, 
son  of  the  celebrated  P'ergus  Mac  Eoy,  so  famous  during  the 
heroic  period  of  Irish  history.  The  descendants  of  Conmac 
were  lords  of  a  considerable  territory  in  the  province  of 
Connaught,  and  gave  their  name  to  several  well-known 
districts.  In  North  Connaught  they  were  known  as  the 
Conmaicne  of  Moyrein  in  Leitrim  and  Cavan,  with  Fenagh 
as  their  ecclesiastical  city,  and  St.  Caillin  as  their  patron 
saint.  In  West  Connaught  they  were  divided  into  three 
families  or  branches — the  Conmaicne  Mara,  of  the  Sea,  who 
have  given  their  name  to  the  modern  Connemara ;  the  Con- 
maicne   Cuil-Tola,    who   occupied    the    present   barony   of 


1  See  Theiner    Vet.  Mon,,  p.  2.         '  See  Acta  Sanctorum^  po.  308-310 


dA'2  later  schools  of  riiL  west. 

Kilmaine  in  the  Coimty  Mavo,  and  the  Conmaicne  Chineal- 
Dubhaiii,  who  dwelt  around  J)unniore  in  the  County  Galway. 
Tuani  is  in  the  barony  of  Dun  more,  or  at  least  on  its  borders, 
and  so  we  may  assume  that  Jarlath  belonged  to  the  Con- 
niaiene  of  Dunmore,  for  the  Irish  saints  generally  founded 
their  ehurehes  in  their  own  tribe-land.  His  father's  name 
was  Loga  (or  Lugha),  "  of  the  i  ace  of  Conmac,  son  of  Fergus, 
son  of  Ross,  son  of  Rudhraighe  from  whom  the  Clanna 
Rudhraighe  are  called,  and  Mongfinn, daughter  of  Ciardubhan, 
of  the  Cinel  Cinncun  was  his  mother."^ 

St.  Benen,  or  Benignus,as  we  have  already  seen,  was,  before 
he  became  Coadjutor  to  St.  Patrick  in   Armagh,  assigned 
by  that  saint  to  be  in   an  especial  manner  the  apostle  of 
the  Conmaicne.    Hence  he  founded  the  Church  of  Kilbannon, 
which  still  bears  his  name,  a  little  to  the  north-west  of  Tuam, 
in  the  very  heart  of  their  territor}^     But  he  did  more.     He 
undertook  himself  to  train  up  two  young  clerics  to  be  future 
bishops  of  the  Conmaicne,  when  he  should  be  called  away  by 
death   or  by   other   duties.     These    two   young   men  werp 
Jarlath  of  the  Western  Conmaicne,  and  Caillin  of  the  Con- 
maicne of  Moyrein.     We  are  told  in  his  Life  that  he  not 
only  educated  these  young  men  in  all  knowledge  human  and 
divine,  but  also  promoted  them  to  Holy  Orders,  and  fov.nded 
and  consecrated  churches  for  them^  so  that  they  might  con- 
tinue his  work  without  interruption. 

St.  Benignus  died  in  a.d.  468,^  and  hence  we  must  assume 
that  Jarlath  was  then  at  least  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and 
was  probably  something  more.  The  first  church  of  St.  Jarlath 
was  founded  at  Cluainfois  (Cloonfush),  about  two  miles  to  the 
west  of  Tuam.  There  is  still,  as  I  myself  can  testify,  a  vivid 
tradition  at  Cluainfois  of  conferences  held  there  between  the 
three  saints — Benen,  Jarlath,  and  Caillin.  The  old  round 
tower  of  Kilbannon  can  be  distinctly  seen  from  Cluainfois,  a 
little  to  the  north,  and  whether  the  conferences  were  held 
there  or  at  Cluainfois,  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  the  saints 
frequently  meeting,  and  holding  converse  on  those  weighty 
questions  in  scripture  and  theology,  which  they  loved  to 
discuss  together.  The  tradition  is  that  they  were  generally 
held  at  Cluainfois,  and  the  name  itself  implies  as  much — it  i:: 
according  to  Colgan  the  '  Meadow  of  Retreat,'  as  we  should 
say,  or  '  Locus  commorationis,'  as  Colgan  calls  it.  This  is 
still  more  probable,  if  with  some  writers  we  place  the  death 

1  Martyr,  of  Donegal,  page  349.         ^  ^unals  (if  Ulster,  page  467. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  TUAM.  543 

of  Benen  in  a.d.  476,  ten  years  later  than  the  date  assigned 
in  the  Annals  of  Ulster} 

The  place  still  deserves  its  ancient  name.  It  is  indeed  a 
Meadow  of  Retreat.  The  old  churchyard,  which  alone  marks 
at  present  the  site  of  the  ancient  College  of  Cluainfois,  stands 
on  the  southern  slope  of  a  rich  and  wide  grazing  farm,  now 
tenanted  by  sheep  and  heifers  alone.  The  old  causeway  to 
the  church  can  still  be  traced,  though  much  overgrown  with 
grass.  A  solitary  ash-tree  rises  over  the  narrow  homes  of 
the  dead ;  but  there  is  no  trace  of  the  ancient  church,  except 
a  portion  of  its  foundations,  now  remaining.  Like  most  of 
the  sites  of  our  ancient  monasteries,  the  spot  was  admirably 
chosen  on  the  southern  slope  of  fertile  swelling  fields,  over- 
looking a  wide  prospect  to  the  south  and  west,  with  the  Clare 
river  quietly  stealing  through  the  low-lying  meadows  to  the 
south,  and  showing  here  and  there  reaches  of  its  waters 
gleaming  in  the  sunlight.  One  thing  at  least  our  monks  of 
old  greatly  loved,  and  that  was  water.  They  loved  it  in  all 
its  various  forms — whether  it  was  the  great  sea,  or  the  quiet 
lake,  or  the  murmuring  stream — they  never  built  a  monastery 
except  close  to  water  in  one  way  or  another.  This  love 
for  natural  beauty  seems  to  have  disappeared  in  modern 
times.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  in  old  times  the 
monks  had  sites  of  their  own  choice ;  but  in  our  times  we 
must  be  thankful  if  we  can  get  any  site  at  all  to  build  upon. 
We  venture  to  think,  however,  it  would  be  almost  better  to 
wait,  than  to  erect  a  noble  building  in  some  unsightly  hole, 
or  swampy  flat,  where  noisome  vapours  too  often  infect  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  glorious  vision  of  nature's  beauties  is  as 
completely  cut  off  as  if  the  inmates  dwelt  in  a  jail. 

Jarlath's  College  of  Cluainfois  soon  became  very  cele- 
brated, and  attracted,  especially  towards  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century,  scholars  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  Ireland. 
Two  especially,  as  Colgan  remarks,  became  even  more  eminent 
than  their  master.  One  was  St.  Brendan  of  Ardfert  and 
Clonfert,  the  other  was  St.  Colman  of  Cloyne. 

We  are  told  that  Brendan,  burning  with  a  love  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  ardently  desiring  to  see  with  his  own 
eyes  the  virtuous  example  of  the  sainted  fathers  of  the  young 
churches  of  Ireland,  asked  permission  of  his  master  St.  ErCj 
and  of  his  foster-mother  St.  Ita,  to  leave  his  native  mountains 
in  Kerry  and  travel  through  Ireland.  First  of  all  he  came 
to  St.  Jarlath's  School  at  Cluainfois,  for  he  had  heard  much 

1  See  Lnca  Patyiciana^  page  474, 


54-1  LATKll  SCHorH.S  OF  THK  Wy^^t. 

of  the  fame  of  that  great  and  holy  master.  On  his  way  it 
seems  he  met  Oolinun,  son  of  Senin,  and  induced  liim  to  give 
up  his  worldly  life,  and  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God. 
AVith  this  view  the  latter  accompanied  Brendan  on  his 
journey  to  AVestern  Counaught.  St.  Jarlath  received  them 
kindly,  and  we  are  told  that  they  remained  with  him  a  con- 
siderable time  drinking  in  deep  draughts  at  this  fountain  of 
sacred  knowledge.  But  Brendan,  though  still  very  young, 
probably  not  more  than  twenty  years  of  age,  had  already 
made  great  progress  in  virtue,  and  was  highly  favoured  by 
God.  In  the  spirit  of  prophecy  which  he  possessed,  he  told 
St.  Jarlath  that  Cluainfois  was  not  destined  by  God  to  be 
the  place  of  his  resurrection.  He  was  to  move  a  little  further 
eastward,  and  he  was  to  remain  at  the  place  where  the  wheel 
of  his  car  would  break  on  the  journey.  "  Remain  there," 
said  Brendan,  "  and  build  your  oratory,  for  God  wills  that 
there  shall  be  the  place  of  your  resurrection,  and  many  shall 
arise  in  glory  in  the  same  place  along  with  you.*'  The  holy 
old  man  obeyed  this  manifestation  of  the  IDivine  will ;  the 
chariot  wheel  was  broken  at  the  place  7W2t/caMed  Tuamda  gual- 
lan,  and  there  the  saint  built  his  church  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Cathedral  of  Tuam,  which  has  for  so  many  centuries  become 
the  metropolitan  Church  of  Connaught.  At  the  same  time 
St.  Jarlath  said  to  Brendan,  "  0  holy  youth,  it  is  you  should 
be  master,  and  I  the  pupil — but  go  now  with  God's  blessing 
elsewhere."  And  so  Brendan  with  the  blessing  of  God  and 
St.  Jarlath  left  Cluainfois,  and  shortly  after,  having  returned 
to  his  native  Kerry,  was  ordained  a  priest  by  his  first  master, 
the  holy  Bishop  Ere,  before  he  died.  If  this  was  St.  Ere  of 
Shiiiie,  who  died  in  a.d  512, St. Brendan  must  have  been  at  the 
School  of  Cluainfois  some  time  between  a.d.  504  and  that  da<e. 
It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  exact  date  of  St.  Jarlath's 
death.  As  he  was  a  disciple  of  St.  Benignus  he  cannot  have 
been  born  after  a.d.  400.  He  seems  to  have  been  an  aged 
man  when  Brendan  was  at  Cluainfois — certainly  not  less  than 
sixty  years  of  age.  He  is  ranked,  however,  amongst  the 
saints  of  the  Second  Order  ;  and  hence  it  is  assumed  that  he 
must  have  lived  until  a.d.  540,  when  he  would  be  about  ninety 
years  of  age.  It  is  well  known,  however,  that  in  those  days 
these  holy  men,  leading  active  and  abstemious  lives,  frequently^ 
lived  on  in  the  enjojanent  of  all  their  faculties  to  a  very  great 
age — even  beyond  a  hundred  years.  It  is  eating  and  drink- 
ing too  much  that  shortens  life,  rather  than  eating  and 
drinking  too  little.  St.  Jarlath  especially  was  remarkable  for 
(he  extreme  asceticism  of  his  life.    Prayer  and  sacred  study 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  TUAM.  545 

were  Lis  chief  food  ;  his  diet  was  so  meagre  that  he  seemed 
to  have  no  body.     He  was  fond  of  meditation  and  watchins: 
and  the  scholiast  in  the  Felire  of  ^ngus  tells  us  that  he 
made  three  hundred  genuflections  by  day  and  three  hundred 
every  night,  so  that  his  whole  life  was  one  continued  prayer. 
A  Prophecy  concerning  his  successors  in  the  See  of  Tuam, 
written  in  Irish,  has  been  attributed  to  St.  Jarlath.     Toothing 
is  known  of  its  existence  at  present ;   but  it  seems  to  have 
been  extant  when  Colgan  wrote.       Its  authenticity,  however, 
is  very  doubtful ;  and  it  appears  to  belong  to  a  class  of  docu- 
ments composed  many  centuries  later  than  the  alleged  time, 
but  which,  to  lend  them  authority,  are  falsely  attributed  to 
the  famous  saints  of  the  early  Irish  Church. 

The  relics  of  St.  Jarlath  were  for  a  long  time  preserved  in 
Tuam  with  great  reverence.  A  special  church,  close  to  the 
Cathedral,  was  built  for  the  scrinium,  or  shrine,  containing 
the  precious  treasures,  hence  called  Tempull  na  Serin  ;  but  at 
present  there  is,  we  believe,  no  trace  of  the  church,  or  of  the 
shrine  itself  to  be  found  anywhere.  Both  the  Church  of  the 
Shrine  and  St.  Jarlath' s  ancient  Cathedral  were  built  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Protestant  Cathedral  of  Tuam.  The  new 
and  beautiful  Catholic  Cathedral  occupies  a  fine  site  at  some 
distance  on  the  other  side  of  the  highway. 

After  the  death  of  St.  Jarlath  we  hear  scarcely  anything 
of  Tuam  for  nearly  five  hundred  years.  For  the  first  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  no  reference  whatsoever  is  made  to 
the  City  of  St.  Jarlath ;  but  in  a.d.  776  the  Four  Masters 
record  the  death  of  "  Nuada  O'Bolcan,  abbot  of  Tuaim 
Daolann."^  The  true  date  is,  however,  a.d.  781 ;  and  it  is 
strange  that  the  Annals  of  Ulster  record  in  the  same  year  the 
death  of  Ferdomnach  of  Tuaim  da  Ghualann,  without  any 
epithet  designating  his  ofiice.  No  reference,  however,  is 
made  to  either  as  bishop. 

In  A.D.  969,  Eoghan  O'Cleirigh,  *  Bishop  of  Connaught,' 
died.  The  reference  here  is  probably  to  a  prelate  resident  at 
Tuam,  for  in  a.d.  1085  Aedh  O'Hoism,  whose  death  is  entered 
under  that  year,  is  described  by  the  Four  Masters  as  comarb 
of  Jarlath,  and  High-bishop  (ard-epscoip)  of  Tuam.  This  is 
the  first  distinct  reference  to  a  Bishop  of  Tuam  since  the 
decease  of  St.  Jarlath. 

From  this  period,  however,  the  prelates  of  Tuam  appeal 
prominently  in  the  history  of  the  western  province.  Just  at 
this  time  the  O'Conor  family  reached  a  high  degree  of  power, 


^O'Donovan  says  it  is  another  form  of  *'  Tuaim  da  Grhualann." 


546  LATER  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  WEST. 

and  retained  it  for  throe  generations  over  the  entire  province. 
There  was  a  lon<;'  and  bitter  struggle  between  that  family  and 
the  O'Brians  of  Kincora  for  the  pre-eminence,  which  continued 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years.  After  the  death  of  Turlough 
O'Brian,  King  of  Ireland  *  with  opposition/  inA.D.  1()(S5,  the 
O'Conors  gained  the  ascendency.  Turlough  Mor  O'Conor 
was  the  most  powerful  prince  in  Ireland  for  fifty  years,  from 
A.D.  1106  to  his  death  in  a.d.  1156.  He  is  described  by  the 
Four  Musters  as  King  of  all  Ireland,  but  *  with  opposition.' 
They  add  that  ''  Turlough  Mor  O'Conor  was  the  flood  of  the 
glory  and  splendour  of  Ireland,  the  Augustus  of  the  West  of 
Europe,  a  man  full  of  charity  and  mercy,  hospitality  and 
chivalry  :  and  he  died  after  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age, 
and  was  interred  at  Clonmacnoise,  beside  the  altar  of  Ciaran, 
after  having  made  his  will,  and  distributed  gold  and  silver, 
cows  and  horses,  amongst  the  clergy  and  churches  of  Ireland 
in  general."  We  shall  see  presently,  when  treating  of  Celtic 
art  in  Clonmacnoise  and  the  West  of  Ireland,  that  if  Turlough 
was  not  the  Augustus  of  the  West  of  Europe,  he  was  certainly 
the  Augustus  of  the  West  of  Ireland.  He  was  succeeded  with- 
out opposition  by  his  degenerate  son,  Rory  O'Conor,  the  la^t 
monarch  of  Ireland* 


CHAPTER     XXI 1— {continued), 

CELTIC   ART   IN   THE   WESTERN   MONASTERIES 
DURING  THE  REIGN  OF  TURLOUGH  O'CONOR. 

**  He  stepped  a  man  out  of  the  ways  of  men, 

And  no  one  knew  his  sept,  or  rank,  or  name — 
Like  a  strong  stream  issuing  from  a  glen. 

From  some  source  unexplored,  the  Master  came." 

~M' Gee's  <  Gohhan  SaerJ" 

We  have  said  that  Turlough  Mor  O'Conor  was,  if  not  the 
Augustus  of  Western  Europe,  certainly  the  Augustus  of  the 
West  of  Ireland.  Uuring  his  long  reign  of  fifty  years  Celtic 
art  reached  its  highest  degree  of  perfection,  at  least  in  three 
great  branches — architecture,  sculpture,  and  metal  work.  He 
was  inaugurated  as  king  of  the  Siol  Muireadhaigh  in  the  year 
A.D.  1106  ;  and  he  went  to  his  rest,  beside  the  altar  of  Ciaran 
in  Clonmacnoise  in  a.d.  1156,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  With  his  own  right  hand  he  fought  his  way  through 
more  than  fifty  battles  to  the  kingship  of  all  Erin — an  honour 
to  which  no  prince  of  his  line  had  ever  before  attained  since 
the  time  of  Niall  the  Great.  He  had  a  clear  head,  too,  as 
well  as  a  strong  arm ;  and  thoroughly  appreciated  the  force 
of  the  royal  maxim — divide  et  iinpera.  Neither  did  he  ne- 
glect, so  far  as  he  could,  the  arts  of  peace.  He  made  many 
roads  and  causeways  through  woods  and  morasses  that  were 
hitherto  impenetrable  ;  he  built  bridges  over  the  Shannon 
and  Suck,  and  fortified  them  with  strong-  castles.  He  caused 
money  to  be  regularly  coined  at  Clonmacnoise  for  the  con- 
venience of  commercial  transactions.  He  had  a  great  fleet 
of  boats  on  the  Shannon  for  trading,  as  well  as  for  warlike 
purposjs.  He  founded  a  chair  of  divinity  in  the  great  School 
of  Armagh,  to  which  we  have  already  referred.  He  erected 
a  hospital  at  Tuam  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  and  was  most 
munificent  in  rebuilding  and  adorning  the  churches  of  his 
own  hereditary  dominions  with  all  those  beautiful  monuments 
of  Celtic  art  to  wliich  we  now  propose  to  direct  special 
attention. 

I.— The  O'Duffys. 

Augustus  always  finds  a  Maecenas  ;  and  it  was  doubtless 
owing  to  the  powerful  patronage  of  Turlough  that  in  all  his 
cathedral  cities  members  of  a  great  and  talented  ecclesiastical 


548  CELTIC  ART  IN  TIIK  WESTERN   MONASTERIES. 

family  held  the  crozicr,  to  whom  quite  as  much  as  to  himself 
we  owe  many  of  tiie  most  beautiful  specimens  of  Celtic  arr. 
still  extant  in  Ireland.  This  was  the  faiuily  of  the  O'Duffvs 
(Ua  Dubhthaig),  xvliich  flourished  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  twelfth  cent  ury,  and  <>ave  bishops  or  abbots  to  Clonmac- 
noise,  to  Roscommon,  to  Tuam,  to  Clonf'ert,  to  Cong,  to  Mayo, 
and  to  Boyle.  The  O'Dufl'ys  originally  belonged  to  the  Pro- 
vince of  Leinster,  for  they  were  sprung  from  the  race  of 
Cathair  Mor,  who  divided  that  province  amongst  his  twenty- 
four  sons.  But  later  on  some  members  of  the  family  settled 
both  in  Galway  and  E-oscommon,  and  appear  to  have  risen 
to  a  good  position ;  although  they  are  not  mentioned  by 
O'Dugan,  who  doubtless  regarded  them  as  more  or  less 
strangers  in  the  West.  They  seem  at  this  period  to  have 
been  located  in  Koscommon,  for  the  earliest  reference  we  find 
to  any  member  of  the  family  is  to  Flanagan  Ruadh  O'Dufiy, 
successor  of  St.  Coman  of  Roscommon,  and  also  it  appears?  a 
ferlegind,  or  professor,  of  the  School  of  Tuam.  His  death  is. 
recorded  in  a.d.  1097.  Domhnall  O'Dufiy,  who  died  in  a.d. 
1136,  is  called  in  the  Annals  of  Loch  Ce,  Bishop  of  Elphin, 
and  comarb  or  successor  of  Ciaran  in  Clonmacnoise.  Tho 
Four  Masters  call  him  High-bishop  of  Connaught,^  because 
he  was  doubtless  the  most  distinguished  prelate  of  his  time, 
for  as  yet  there  was  no  metropolitan  See  of  Tuam. 
DomhnaU's  death  took  place  in  the  monastery  of  Clonfert 
'  after  Mass  and  Celebration  ;  '  and  he  appears  to  have  been 
much  regretted,  ibr  he  is  described  as  the  head  of  the  wisdom 
and  hospitality  of  the  entire  province.  He  was  buried  on 
St.  Patrick's  Day  in  Clonfert;  the  true  year  seems  to  be 
A.D.  1137  {Annals  of  Lough  Ce). 

Muireadhach  O'Duffy,  who,  if  not  a  brother  of  Domhnall, 
was  doubtless  a  member  of  the  same  familA ,  appears  to  have 
succeeded  him  as  High-bishop  of  Connaught.  Reference  is 
made  to  this  prelate  by  the  Four  Masters  the  very  year  of 
DomhnaU's  death,  and  he  is  distinguished  from  the  comarb 
of  Jarlath  in  Tuam.  He  is  referred  to  again  in  a.d.  1143 
as  one  of  the  sureties  for  Rory  O'Conor ;  but  in  spite  of 
his  sureties  that  prince  was  seized  and  imprisoned  by  his  own 
father  Turlough.  At  his  death  in  a.d.  1150  he  is  described 
by  the  Four  Masters  as  "High-bishop  of  Connaught,  and 
chief  senior  of  all  Ireland  in  wisdom,  in  chastity,  in  the 
bestowal  of  jewels  and  food.'*     He  died  at  Cong  in  the  new 

^  In  like  manner  Bishop  O'Cattan  is  described  in  the  previous  year  as 
Hig-h-bishop  of  Ferns,  as  there  was  as  yet  no  Archbishop  of  Dublin. — See 
Four  Masters,  a.d.  1136. 


THE  0*DUFFYS.  549 

abbey  which  he  helped  to  found,  on  the  sixtcemth  of  May, 
that  is  the  festival  of  Brendan,  in  the  seventy-hfth  year  of 
his  age.  It.  will  be  observed  that  these  two  prelates  flourished 
during  the  reign  of  Turiough  O'Conor,  and  no  doubt  cor- 
dially co-operated  with  that  prince  in  his  projects  for  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the  development  of  art. 

Hugh  O'Hessian   (Aedh  Uu  h-Oissen)    appears  to  have 
succeeded  O'Duffy  as  High-bishop  of  Connaught  in  a.d.  1150. 
He  seems  to  have  lived  at  Tuam,  and  he  is  correctly  described 
as  Archbishop  of  Tuam;  for  in  a.d.  1152  he  was  one  of  the 
prelates  who  received  the  Pall  from  Cardinal  Paparo  in  the 
Synod  of  Kells.     He  died  in  a.d.  1161.     Mention  is  made  of 
a  Bishop  Flanagan  O'Duffy,  who  died  in  a.d.  1168;  but  no 
See  is  mentioned  in   connection  with  his  name.     He  was, 
however,  a  most  learned  man,  for  he  is  described  as  "Bishop 
and   chief   .Doctor   of  the  Irish  in  literature,   history,   and 
poetry,  and  in  every  kind  of  science  known  to  man  in  his 
time."     He  died  *  in  the  bed  of  Bishop  Muireadhach  O'Duffy 
at  Cong,'  and  was  doubtless  a  near  relative  of  that  prelate. 
Catholicus  O'Duffy  is  generally  represented  as  succeeding  to 
the  See  of  Tuam  after  the  death  of  O'Hessian  in  a.d.  1161. 
He  ruled  in  Tuam  for  forty  years;  and  was  through  goo; I 
and  ill  the  faithful  friend  and  counsellor  of  the  unhappy 
Rory  O'Conor  during  all  the  years  of  his  stormy  and  disas- 
trous reign.     He  was  present  with  five  other  Irish  bishops 
at  the  General  Council  of  Lateranin  a.d.  1179.    In  a.d.  1198 
he  saw  his  discrowned  monarch  die  in  his  old  age  amongst 
the  canons  of  Cong  '  after  exemplary  penance.'     Doubtless 
he  accompanied  the  king's  bod}^  to  Cionmacnoise,  and  saw  it 
laid  near  the  grave  of  his  great  father,  Turiough,  beside  the 
altar  of  Ciaran.     Then  stricken  by  the  weight  of  years  and 
sorrows,  the  archbishop,  too,  retired  to  Cong,  and  three  years 
later  died  amongst  the  same  holy  canons,  victorious,  like  his 
unhappy  master,  *  over  the  world  and  the  devil.' 

The  O'Duffys,  therefore,  were  the  real  ministers  and 
counsellors  both  of  Turiough  and  Rory  O'Conor  throughout 
the  twelfth  century ;  and  to  them,  as  much  as  to  those 
princes  themselves,  must  be  attributed  the  many  works  of 
art  which  were  produced  during  that  period.  They  had 
almost  all  the  ecclesiastical  power  of  the  province  in  their 
own  hands  ;  for  we  find  that  besides  those  already  mentioned, 
Maurice  O'Duffy,  who  died  in  a.d.  1174,  was  abbot  of  the  great 
Cistercian  monastery  of  Boyle,  and  another,  Kele  or  Catho- 
licus O'Duffy,  who  died  in  a.d.  1209,  was  Bishop  of  Mayo  of 
the  Saxons.     We  find  also  that  one  of  them  held  the  See  of 


550  CELTIC  ARr  IN  THE   WT-^TFliN  MONASTER  I ES. 

Clonfert  towards  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century — Willljun 
O' Duffy — whose  death  is  marked  under  a,.t>.  1297.  It  will 
be  seen,  however,  that  this  great  I'aniily  used  their  power  for 
God's  glory,  and  the  good  of  the  Church.  Whatever  they 
touched  they  arlorned,  as  the  existing  monuments  of  their 
artistic  taste  and  skill  so  conclusively  prove. 

II. — Celtic  Art  at  Clonmacnoise. 

Clonmacnoise  was  founded  by  a  saint,  who  was  born  and 
baptized  at  Fuerty,  within  three  miles  of  the  town  of  Ilos- 
common.  It  is  quite  true,  as  we  have  already  observed,  tliat 
Clonmacnoise  was  more  catholic  in  the  selection  of  its  abbots 
than  any  other  great  monastery  in  Ireland;  and  this  was  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  causes  which  raised  Clonmacnoise  to  its 
proud  pre-eminence  amongst  the  monastic  schools  of  Erin. 
Still  the  City  of  Ciaran  could  not  forget  the  rock  from  whence 
it  was  hewn  ;  and,  as  our  Annals  tell,  the  men  of  Roscommon 
always  occupied  positions  of  commanding  influence  in  Clon- 
macnoise. This  connection  will  also  help  to  explain  why 
Domhnall  0 'Duffy,  Bishop  of  Elphin,  and  Abbot  of  Ros- 
common, was  also  chosen  to  be  comarb  of  Ciaran,  at  Clon- 
macnoise. This  connection  also  gave  countenance  to  the 
ambitious  designs  of  Turlough  O'Conor,  who  was  resolved  tc 
annex  the  abbacy  of  Clonmacnoise,  with  all  its  rich  ternion 
lands,  to  his  own  hereditary  dominions.^  In  the  Synod  of 
Rathbreasil,  Cluain  appears  to  be  included  in  the  diocese  of 
Clonard,^  and  rightfully,  as  it  was  a  portion  of  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  Meath.  But  in  the  Synod  of  Kells  (a.d.  1152), 
Cluain,  or  Clonmacnoise,  is  explicitly  assigned  as  a  suffragan 
See  to  Tuam.  This  was  doubtless  owing  in  gieat  measure  to 
the  influence  of  Turlough  O'Conor ;  and  naturally  enough 
the  influence  of  the  O'Duffys  would  favour  the  designs  of  the 
king.  In  a.d.  1152,  however,  it  was  O'Al alone,  and  not  an 
O'Duffy,  who  was  Comarb  of  Ciaran ;  but  the  O'Malones 
themselves  were  a  branch  of  the  great  O'Conor  family,  who 
had  settled  in  Teffia^  (County  Longford). 

Clonmacnoise,  during  the  twelfth  century  especially,  was 
the  great  school  of  Celtic  Art.  This  statement  will  need  no 
proof  for  anyone  who  even  at  this  day  wanders  through  the 
ruined  City,  and  carefully  observes  its  churches,  its  crosses, 


ancient  poem  ascribed  to  uiEngus  Cele  De,  and  quoted  by  Colgaii 
ialtdir  na  Raun,  describes  tlie  ?i>iol  Briuin  of  Kosconunon  as  under 


1  The  an 
from  the  aS' 
the  patronage  of  Ciaran  of  Clonmacnoise 

2  See  Cambrensis  Eversiis,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  786- 
^  See  O'Hart's  J'edif/rees,  page  556. 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  551 

Jts  round  towers,  and  its  sculptured  tombstones.  But  we 
propose  to  put  in  more  formal  evidence,  and  to  show  that  it 
was  the  artists  of  Clonmacnoise  who  executed  many  other 
of  our  choicest  works,  which  at  first  sight  appear  to  have 
no  connection  with  the  City  of  St.  Ciaran. 

Architecture  was  certainly  one  of  the  fine  arts  taught 
in  our  monastic  schools,  and  with  very  considerable  success, 
as  existing  ruins,  and  especially  our  round  towers,  clearly 
prove.  The  architect,  or  ollamh-buihler,  was  at  the  head  of 
the  profession,  and  had  his  remuneration  fixed  by  law, 
.Besides  a  kind  of  per-centage  on  the  work  which  he  superin- 
tended, he  had  a  fixed  annual  salary  rated  at  twenty-one 
cows,  from  the  king-in-chief,  in  whose  service  he  was 
engaged.  But  he  was  required  to  be  a  perfect  master  of  his 
art  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  word.  He  was  not  only 
required  to  build  stone  churches  (damhliags)  and_  oratories, 
whether  of  wood  or  stone,  but  also  farm  steadings,  containing 
the  usual  five  buildings,  namely,  dwelling-house,  cow-house, 
calf- house,  pig-st}^  and  sheep-fold.  He  was  required  to  be  a 
millwright,  a  boat-maker,  a  cooper,  a  cart-maker,  and  a  road- 
maker.  He  should  be  skilful  in  yew  carving  and  plough- 
making,  and  was  even  expected  to  weave  wicker  shields  and 
build  wicker  houses.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  jack-of-all-trades, 
and  must  have  well  earned  his  salary  of  twenty-one  cows  in 
the  year. 

The  most  distinguished  of  this  fraternity  was  the  re- 
nowned Gobban  Saer,  or  Gobban  the  builder,  whose  fame  is 
still  traditionally  preserved  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 
He  was,  undoubtedly,  a  historical  personage,  and  seems  to 
have  flourished  during  the  first  half  of  the  sixth  century. 
His  father  is  said  to  have  been  Turvey  (Tuirbhi),  who  gave 
his  name  to  the  strand  of  Turvey,  on  the  northern  coast  of 
the  County  Dublin — Kilgobbin,  in  the  same  county,  is  said 
to  derive  its  name  from  the  renowned  builder  himself.  At 
this  early  date  the  Gaels  knew  little  of  church  building,  and 
hence  the  services  of  the  Gobban  were  in  great  request  with 
the  saints  for  building  their  churches  and  oratories.  As  he 
had  no  rivals  he  could  make  his  own  terms,  and  is  said  to 
have  charged  exorbitant  prices,  and,  moreover,  being  feeble, 
took  his  own  time  at  his  work.  He  agreed  to  build  a  wooden 
oratory  for  St.  Moling  of  Carlov/,  but  he  spent  a  whole  year 
in  idleness  before  he  began,  and  when  he  had  finished  his 
task,  at  the  instigation  of  his  wife,  he  asked  from  the  saint 
the  full  of  the  oratory  of  rye  as  his  wages.  The  saint  had 
agreed  to  give  him  his  own  demand,  but  not  having  nearly 


552  CELTIC  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN  MONASTERIES. 

this  quantity  of  rye,  he  was  forced  to  appeal  to  his  tribesmen 
to  help  him.  "Bring  me,'*  he  said,  "  whatever  you  have — 
corn,  nuts,  apples,  even  green  rushes."  They  did  so,  and 
filled  the  oratory,  which  the  Gobban  turned  upside  down  to 
receive  the  offerings  without  starting  a  plank.  It  was  all 
changed  into  rye  at  the  prayer  of  the  saint,  but  next  morning, 
when  the  Gobban  came  to  take  away  the  grain,  he  found  that 
it  had  turned  into  maggots  ! 

We  also  find  this  famous  architect  mentioned  in  the  Life 
of  St.  Abban,  for  whom  he  built  a  church.  It  was,  says  this 
Life,  his  constant  occupation  to  work  for  the  saints  wherever 
he  was,  but  he  charged  them  so  dear  that  he  lost  his  sight 
through,  the  displeasure  of  the  saints  at  the  greatness  of  his 
charges.  The  Gobban  was  probably  of  foreign  descent,  and 
tried  to  make  the  Scots  pay  well  for  their  buildings. 

It  is  certain  that  Clonmacnoise  reached  a  high  degree  of 
perfection  in  architecture,  and  the  Nuns'  Church,  Relig  na 
Cailleach,  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  types  of 
the  Celtic  Romanesque  in  Ireland.  It  was  situated  to  the 
north-east  of  the  monastic  buildings,  and  was  approached  by 
a  causeway  that  was  built  along  the  river,  which  frequently 
overflowed  the  surrounding  meadows. 

This  church  was  erected  at  the  expense  of  tlie  celebrated 
Dervorgilla,  wife  of  Tiernan  O'Eorke,  King  of  North 
Connaught.  It  appears  to  have  been  completed  in  a.d.  1167, 
and  probably  occupied  the  site  of  an  older  church  belonging 
to  the  nuns  of  Clonmacnoise,  for,  as  we  have  seen,  we  find 
reference  made  to  the  garden  of  the  abbess  so  early  as 
a.d  1026,  when  the  causeway  was  constructed  from  her 
garden  to  the  Three  Crosses,  near  the  great  Church  of  Clon- 
macnoise. a.d.  1082,  we  are  told  that  the  "  cemetery  of 
the  nuns  of  Clonmacnoise  was  burned  with  its  stone  church, 
and  with  the  eastern  third  of  the  entire  establishment." 
The  cemetery  here  means  the  enclosure  surrounded  by  the 
cashel,  portions  of  which  still  remain  ;  it  contained  not  only 
the  church,  but  also  the  cells  in  which  the  nuns  dwelt,  and 
the  other  buildings  necessary  for  their  accommodation.  The 
causeway,  too,  can  still  be  traced  from  the  nunnery  to  the 
Carn  of  the  Three  Crosses,  which  was  surmounted  by  a  stone 
bearing  the  following  Irish  inscription  : — 

OROIT  AR  THURCAIN  LASAN  DERNAD  IN      ' 

CHROSSA. 

(Pray  for  Turcan,  by  whom  this  Cross  was  made.) 
Ihe   striking   features   of   the   Nuns'    Church   are    the 


CELTIC    ART    AT    CLONMACNOISE.  553 

western  door-way  and  the  chancel  arch.  This  door- way  is  the 
principal  entrance  to  the  nave,  which  is  36  ft.  in  length,  and 
nearly  20  ft,  in  breadth  ;  the  walls  are  3  ft.  thick.  The 
chancel,  like  that  of  Tuam,  is  nearly  a  square — 14  ft.  6  in. 
by  13  ft.  in  breadth  ;  the  walls  are  3  ft.  3  in.  thick,  and  built 
of  hard  limestone,  hammer-dressed. 

Lord  Dunraven  thus  describes  the  door-way  and  chancel 
arch : — 

"  The  door-way  at  the  west  end  is  7  ft.  in  height,  to  the 
springing  of  the  arch ;  2  ft.  10  in.  wide  at  the  base,  and 
2  ft.  8J  in.  at  the  top  of  the  jambs.  It  is  deeply  recessed, 
and  of  four  orders;  the  two  inner  jambs  are  rectangular 
shafts,  the  outer  are  rounded  into  pillars,  with  shallow  bases 
and  imposts.  The  external  shafts  had  a  plain  chamfered 
abacus,  and  the  hood  moulding,  or  outer  arch,  terminates 
with  heads  of  the  same  character  as  those  in  the  small  church 
at  Rahan.  The  jambs  were  richly  ornamented  with  incised 
chevrons  and  other  designs.  The  outer  arch  was  enriched 
with  pellets,  the  inner  with  chevron  blocks,  incised  with  bold 
lines ;  the  third  with  heads  with  rolls  in  their  mouths,  or 
with  beak-head,  or  cat's-head  moulding,  deeply  undercut, 
and  the  front  face  enriched  with  incised  traceries  and  chev- 
rons, and  pellets  upon  the  soffit  of  the  arch.  The  door-way 
had  eel-heads  terminating  the  zig-zags,  but  they  are  not  so 
distinct  as  those  on  McCarthy's  Church  close  by,  where  they 
had  been  covered  with  accumulated  earth  until  lately. 

"  The  chancel  arch,  which  was  of  sandstone,  was  9  ft.  2  in. 
wide  at  the  base,  and  7  ft.  6  in.  in  height,  to  the  top  of  the 
impost,  making  the  arch  about  12  ft.  high.  It  was  15  ft.  6  in. 
wide  from  one  outer  pier  to  the  other."  The  ornamentation, 
mainly  consisting  of  zig-zag  and  chevron,  with  a  pear- 
shaped  ornament  in  the  inner  order,  is  very  striking,  and 
"  the  capitals  and  ornaments  of  the  piers,"  says  Lord 
Dunraven,  '*  are  totally  unlike  anything  in  England,  and,  if 
taken  by  themselves,  would  appear  to  be  of  much  earlier 
character  than  the  arch." 

This  church  was  built,  as  the  Four  Masters  tell  us,  by 
Dervorgilla  in  a.d.  1167.  The  abduction  or  flight  of  that 
false  fair  lady  took  place  in  a.d.  1152,  when  MacMurrough 
caused  her  to  be  carried  to  his  own  castle  of  Ferns.  But  next 
year  Turlough  O'Connor  led  an  army  against  MacMurrough, 
when  Dervorgilla  was  given  up,  and  restored  by  that  prince 
to  her  own  friends  in  Meath,  and  shortly  afterwards  was 
taken  back  again  by  her  injured  husband.  It  is  highly 
probab.'^  tl  \t  the  erring  dame  built  the  Church  of  the  is'un.s 


551  CELTrC  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN  MONASTERIES. 

at  Clonmacnolso,  the  foundation  of  her  own  royal  ancestors, 
as  a  penance  for  her  sins  ;  and  it  may  be  she  found  grace 
and  pardon  within  that  holy  shrine.  She  survived  her 
husband  several  years,  and  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  85  in 
the  monastery  of  Mellifont,  to  which  she  had  presented  many 
valuable  offerings  during  her  long  and  eventful  career. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  sculptured  crosses  in  the 
grave^^ard,  which  are  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of  ancient 
art  in  this  country.  But  besides  these  there  were  numerous 
other  objects  of  the  highest  antiquarian  interest,  which  were 
produced  or  preserved  at  Clonmacnoise,  to  which  we  shall 
presentl}'  refer. 

Under  the  head  of  Sculpture  we  include  sculptured 
gravestones,  high  crosses,  and  architectural  ornamentation 
in  relief.  Clonmacnoise  exhibits  in  its  churchyard  more 
sculptured  stones,  and  in  greater  variety,  than  all  the  rest  of 
Ireland  together.  The  first  volume  of  The  Christian 
Inscriptions  in  the  Irish  Language^  deals  exclusively,  and 
very  fully,  with  those  found  at  Clonmacnoise ;  but  as  we 
have  already  referred  to  this  part  of  our  subject,  we  shall 
pass  on  to  give  an  account  of  the  crosses  and  architectural 
ornaments  in  sculpture  at  Tuam  and  Cong,  which  belong  to 
the  artistic  School  of  Clonmacnoise. 

The  first  is  the  celebrated  high  Cross  of  Tuam,  now 
standing  in  the  market  place.  Of  this  Dr.  Petrie  remarks^ 
that  "  it  is  of  far  greater  magnificence  and  interest  (than  the 
Cros-'.  of  Cashel)  ;  and  may  justly  rank  as  the  finest  monu- 
ment of  its  class  and  age  remaining  in  Ireland."  It  is  made 
of  sandstone,  and  measures  in  its  pedestal  five  feet  three 
inches  in  breadth,  and  three  feet  eight  inches  in  height ;  but 
including  the  shaft,  which  is  ten  feet  long,  the  entire  cross  is 
thirteen  feet  eight  inches  high. 

On  the  base,  or  pedestal,  of  this  cross  there  are  two  highly 
interesting  inscriptions  in  the  Irish  language,  now  parti}' 
defaced,  but  still  decipherable.  One  is  : — 
OR  DO  U  OSSIJV;  DON  DAB  B  AID  LAS  AN  DERNAD 
"  A  prayer  for  O'Hossin  (Hessian)  for  the  abbot  by  whom  it 
was  made."  On  the  opposite  side  is  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : — 
OR  DO  THOIRDELBUCH  U  CONCHUBUIRDON  .     . 

lARLATH  LAS  IN  DERNAD  INSAE.    .    .    . 
That  is — "  A  prayer  for  Torlough  O'Conor;  for  the  (comarb) 
of  Jarlath  by  whom  was  made  this.  .   .   .'' 

'  Hound  Towtrs,  page  317. 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  555 

O'Hoisin,  or  O'Hessi.m,  referred  to  in  the  first  inscription, 
was,  as  we  have  said,  the  first  regular  Archbishop  of  Tuara. 
He  succeeded  Muireadhach  O'DufFy,  who  died  in  a.d.  1150, 
and  received  the  pallium  from  Cardinal  Paparo  at  the  Synod 
of  Kells  in  a.d,  1152.  It  is  singular,  however,  that  he  is 
not  described  on  the  Cross  as  either  bishop  or  archbish(  p, 
but  simply  as  abbot  in  the  one,  and  as  comarb  of  Jarlath  in 
the  other.  Hence  Petrie  conjectures  that  this  Cross  was 
sculptured  before  0' Hessian  became  archbishop,  and  whilst 
he  was  yet  merely  abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Tuara.  Theie 
is  evidence  that  he  was  abbot  so  early  as  a.d.  1134,  for, 
according  to  the  Annals  of  Innisf alien,  he  was  sent  on  an 
embassy  in  that  year  by  King  Turlough,  to  make  peace 
between  Connaught  and  Munster.  Therefore  Petrie  thinks  it 
probable  that  he  became  abbot  in  a.d.  1128,  on  the  death 
of  Muirges  O'Nioc,  who  filled  that  office  before  him  ;  and 
he  held  the  abbacy  during  the  entire  period  of  O'Dufiy's 
rule  as  Hi  oh- bishop  of  Connaught.  We  have  already 
seen  that  Muireadhach  succeeded  Dorahnall  O'Duffy  in 
A.D.  1136  or  1137,  and  ruled  over  Elphm,  Roscommon, 
Clonmacnoise,  and  probably  Tuam  also  until  a.d.  1150.  It 
appears  to  be  quite  clear,  therefore,  that  this  beautiful  Cross 
of  Tuam  was  made  whilst  O'Duffy  was  High-bishop,  and 
O'Hessian  abbot  of  Tuam.  The  prayer  for  Turlough  O'Conor 
seems  to  imply  that  the  work  was  constructed  at  his  expense. 
Petrie  thinks  that  the  Cross  was  erected  to  commemorate  the 
re-building  of  the  ancient  cathedral  of  Tuam,  which  was  also 
accomplished  at  the  expense  of  King  Turlough.  A  slab  of 
sandstone  was  found  within  the  present  cathedral,  near  the 
Communion  Table,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  designed 
to  commemorate  the  re-building  of  the  cathedral.  It  may, 
however,  have  been  a  portion  of  a  second  Cross,  and,  like  the 
other,  it  contains  two  inscriptions — one  asking  a  prayer  for 
the  Comarb  of  Jarlath,  that  is,  "  for  Aed  O'Hossin,  by  whom 
this  Cross  was  made,"  and  the  other  on  the  obverse  of  the 
slab  asking  a  prayer  for  King  Turlough  O'Conor,  and  a 
prayer  for  Gillachrist  O'Toole,  by  whom  the  work  was 
wrought.  There  were  no  O'Tooles  at  this  time  in  Connaught, 
although,  later  on,  a  branch  of  that  tribe  settled  in  Omey 
Island,  on  the  coast  of  Connemara.  Hence,  we  are  iuclinei  to 
think  that  this  eminent  artist  came  from  Clonmacnoise,  if  he 
were  not  one  of  the  itinerant  craftsmen  who  at  this  period 
migrated  from  place  to  place,  as  they  do  still,  ibr  a  job.  One 
thing  is  clear — he  was  a  native  Celt,  and  a  skilful  workman 
in  his  craft,  which   was  that  of  master   sculptor  or   stone- 


556  CELTiG  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN  MONASTERIES. 

cutter.  Tho  addition  of  his  name  shows  that  the  memory  of 
such  an  urtist  was  deemed  worthy  of  being  preserved.  And 
so,  in  truth,  it  was,  if  he  executed  both  these  crosses,  and  the 
beautiful  chancel  arch  of  the  cathedral,  which  ibrtunately 
still  survives  the  effect  of  time's  effacing  fingers.  The 
Crucifixion  is  sculptured  on  one  face  of  the  shaft  of  the 
Tuam  Cross.  The  figure  of  the  Saviour  is  archaic,  but  very 
striking.  The  figure  of  a  bishop  is  on  the  other,  and  what 
seems  to  be  a  funeral  procession  is  on  the  reverse.  There 
are  two  figures  standing  close  together,  above  the  inscription 
on  the  pedestal  of  this  Cross.  One  holds  in  his  left  hand  a 
pastoral  staff — which,  however,  mi^ht  designate  that  the 
holder  was  either  a  bishop  or  an  abbot.  Perhaps  they  are 
intended  to  represent  Turlough  O'Conor  and  the  comarb  of 
Jar  lath,  whose  names  were  inscribed  beneath. 

There  was  a  somewhat  similar  high  Cross  in  the  market 
place  of  Cong.  The  original  pedestal  is  there  still,  with  an 
inscription,  recording  the  names  of  the  artist  and  patron 
who  caused  the  Cross  to  be  sculptured.  The  ancient  shaft 
has  disappeared,  but  its  place  is  supplied  by  a  modern  one 
inserted  in  the  original  plinth  by  a  member  of  the  Elwood 
family,  in  the  year  1822.  The  inscription  is  in  Irish,  but 
the  lettering  is  of  a  later  type,  rather  resembling  the  black 
letter  than  that  of  the  Cross  of  Tuam.  It  asks  "  a  prayer 
for  Nichol,  and  for  Gilliberd  0' Duffy,  who  was  abbot  of 
Cong.''  So  far  as  we  know  there  is  no  mention  in  our  Annals 
either  of  Nichol,  the  artist,  or  of  Gilliberd  O'Duffy,  the 
abbot,  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  latter  was  a  member 
of  the  same  illustrious  family  that  produced  so  many  dis- 
tinguished ecclesiastics  during  the  twelfth  and  the  early  part 
of  the  thirteenth  century. 

Of  Cong  itself  we  know  nothing  from  the  time  of 
St.  Fechin  to  the  year  a.d.  1114,  w^hen  we  are  told  that, 
like  many  other  religious  houses,  it  was  burned  in  that  year. 
It  was  then  probably  rebuilt,  lor  mention  is  made  of  the 
death  of  Gillaciarain  O'Roda,  or  O'Roddy,  erenach  of  Cunga, 
in  that  year.  It  was  he  Avho  erected  with  the  help  of 
Turlough  O'Conor  and  the  O'Dutlys,  that  noble  monastery 
of  Cong,  whose  ruins,  so  picturesquely  situated  at  the  head 
of  Lough  Corrib,  lend  one  of  its  man}'  features  of  beauty  to 
that  enchanting  scene. 

There  are  still  to  be  seen  some  very  interesting  archi- 
tectural remains  of  the  buildings  erected  during  the  reign  of 
Turlough  in  the  west  of  Connaught.  Turlough's  reign  was 
red  with  the  blood  of  many  buttles,  and  not  altogether  free 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  557 

from  deeds  of  revolting  cruelt}^  yet  lie  seems  to  have  been  a 
prince  of  lofty  aims  and  generous  aspirations.  He  built  a 
bridge  over  the  Shannon  at  Athlone,  apparently  for  the  first 
time,  and  another  over  the  same  river  at  a  place  called  Ath 
Crioch,  near  Shannon  Harbour.  He  also  built  a  bridp^e  over 
the  river  Suck  at  Ballinasloe ;  it  was  then  called  the  Bridge 
of  Dunloe,  and  was  opposite  Dunloe  Street,  in  the  modern 
town  of  Ballinasloe. 

But  he  also  did  much  for  ecclesiastical  architecture. 
Cormac  McCarthy  had  just  built  a  very  beautiful  church  on 
the  Rock  of  Cashel,  which  still  bears  his  name;  and  it  seems 
that  Turlougheven  in  this  did  not  wish  to  be  excelled  by  his  rival 
and  hereditary  foe,  the  Prince  of  Munster.  His  first  work 
was  probably  the  re-building  of  the  Cathedral  uf  Tuam, 
where  he  had  fixed  his  principal  residence.  Only  a  portion 
of  the  chancel  and  chancel  arch  of  that  beautiful  church  now 
remains  ;  but  it  is  quite  enough  to  give  us  an  idea  of 
what  the  Irish  Romanesque  would  ultimately  become  in 
capable  hands.  "  This  chancel,''  says  Petrie,^  "  is  sufficient  to 
make  us  acquainted  with  its  general  style  of  architecture,  and 
to  show  that  it  was  not  only  a  larger,  but  a  more  splendid 
structure  than  Cormac's  Chapel  at  Cashel,  and  not  unworthy 
of  the  powerful  monarch  to  whom  it  chiefl}^  owed  its  erection. 
The  chancel  is  a  square  of  twenty-six  feet  in  external  measure- 
ment, and  the  walls  are  four  feet  in  thickness.  Its  east  end 
is  perforated  by  three  circular  headed  windows,  each  five  feet 
in  height,  and  eighteen  inches  in  width  externally,  but 
splaying  on  the  inside  to  the  width  of  five  feet."  These 
windows  are  richly  ornamented  with  zig-zag  and  other 
mouldings,  and  are  connected  together  by  strong  course- 
mouldings,  of  which  the  external  one  is  quaintly  enriched 
with  pateral,  or  cup-shaped  disks. 

The  most  striking  feature,  however,  of  this  chancel  was 
the  arch  opening  on  the  nave,  "  which  is  perhaps  the  most 
magnificent  specimen  of  its  kind  remaining  in  Ireland."  It 
is  composed  of  no  less  than  six  semicircular,  concentric, 
recessed  arches  of  which  the  innermost  is  sixteen  feet  wide 
and  fifteen  feet  high.  The  rectangular  capitals  are  richly 
sculptured  in  a  variety  of  interlaced  traceries,  and  those  sur- 
mounting the  two  jambs  are  adorned  with  curious  grotesque 
heads  with  broad  flat  faces.  The  imposts  too  are  richly  sculp- 
tured in  scrolls  and  other  striking  designs,  and  are  carried  along 
the  face  of  the  wall  as  tablets.  The  bases  consist  of  a  doubk 
plinth  and  torus  moulding,  but  are  otherwise  unornamented 

^  Hound  Towers,  ]^a.ge  317 .  * 


558  (CELTIC  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN  MONASTERIES. 

as  befits  the  solid  and  mn jostle  character  of  the  building'. 
The  arch  mouldings  display  many  varieties  of  ornament — the 
nebule,  diamond,  frette,  and  chevron — and  show  how  the 
Celtic  imaoination  loved  to  revel  in  a  great  variety  of  orua- 
tnontal  forms.  All  the  ornamental  parts  of  this  peerless 
/'hancel  arch  are  executed  in  red  sandstone,  which  has  with- 
stood wonderfully  well  the  wear  and  tear  of  time  and  moisture 
in  that  damp  atmosphere. 

Where  did  Turlough  get  the  workmen  whose  teeming 
brains  devised,  and  whose  cunning  hands  executed  this 
beautiful  arch  ?  It  has  been  said  that  the  workmen  who 
built  the  grand  Cistercian  monasteries  during  the  latter  part 
of  this  twelfth  century  were  imported  from  France  and 
England.  Well,  be  it  so.  But  no  one  can  deny  that  it  was 
Celtic  artists  who  built  and  adorned  Cormac's  Chapel  and 
Tuam  Cathedral ;  and  there  has  been  nothing  finer  executed 
in  any  Cistercian  monastery  in  Ireland  or  England  e'ither. 
These  great  monasteries  were  larger  and  grander  if  you  will, 
but  certainly  not  more  artistic  nor  more  beautiful. 

The  ruins  of  the  abbey  of  Cong  are  still  to  be  seen  and 
speak  for  themselves.  The  *  neck  '  of  land  on  which  it  was 
built  between  the  two  lakes.  Lough  Mask  and  Lough  Corrib 
gave  its  name  to  the  abbey.  It  was  rebuilt  by  the  Augus- 
tinians  under  the  patronage  of  Turlough  O'Conor,  in  all 
probability  between  the  years  a.d.  1120  and  1130.  The 
Cistercians  about  the  same  period,  a.d.  1128,  were  introduced 
into  England,  but  had  not  yet  come  to  Ireland  ;  so  that  Cong 
is  the  connecting  link  between  the  indigenous  monasteries  of 
the  past  that  grew  up  with  the  growth  of  the  Irish  Church, 
and  the  houses  of  the  foreign  orders  introduced  during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  Imar  of  Armagh  formally 
adopted  the  Rule  of  St.  Au^^ustine,  about  the  year  a  d.  1126, 
and  hence  these  ancient  Irish  monasteries  came  to  be  called 
Augustinian  houses  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  were  in  all 
respects  as  purely  Celtic  and  as  racy  of  the  soil  as  the  Irish 
race  and  the  Irish  tongue.  The  Cistercians  who  came  to 
Mellifont  about  the  year  a.d.  1142,  were  realty  the  first 
'  foreign '  order  that  came  to  Ireland,  and  were  followed  about 
a  century  later  by  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans.  The 
abbey  of  Cong  was  not  designed,  or  executed,  or  tenanted  by 
any  foreigners.  It  was  a  purely  Celtic  house.  It  was 
designed  most  probably  by  some  member  of  that  talented 
family — the  O'Dutiys — that  afterwards  ruled  over  it  for 
many  generations.  It  was  built  and  adorned  under  theii- 
superintendence  by  native  workmen  ;  and  Turlough  O'Conor 


JELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  559 

and  his  unhappy  son  Koderick,  both,  of  whom,  especially  the 
latter,  loved  Cong  much,  seem  to  have  contributed  the  greater 
part  of  the  expense  necessary  for  its  erection. 

It  was  built  on  a  scale  of  great  magnificence.  The  abbey 
church  was  140  feet  in  length.  The  east  window  consisted 
of  threa  long  narrow  lights,  not  lancet-headed,  but  semi- 
circular, for  the  Romanesque  had  no  lancets,  and  where  they 
appear  in  the  Romanesque  they  are  always  later  insertions. 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  pointed  door-arches  of  Cong 
show  a  departure  from  the  Irish  Romanesque  and  indicate 
foreign  origin  and  a  later  date  than  the  first  quarter  of  the 
twelfth  century.  Even  supposing  that  these  arches  are  coeval 
with  the  monastery,  a  glance  at  8ir  W.  Wilde's  illustration 
will  show  that  they  are  not  lancet-headed  like  the  pure  Gothic, 
but  rather  indicate  the  first  step  of  the  transition  from  the 
Romanesque  to  the  Gothic,  which  was  just  beginning  at  this 
time  to  take  place  in  Ireland.  The  most  characteristic 
features  of  the  existing  group  of  ruins  are  to  be  found  in  the 
western  facade,  which  appears  to  have  opened  on  the  cloister 
of  the  abbey.  "  It  is  80  feet  in  length  and  contains  a  door- 
way, and  two  windows  with  circular  arches ;  also  two  large 
and  most  elaborately  ornamented  lancet-headed  doors,  with 
undercut  chevrons  along  the  deep  mouldings  of  the  arches, 
that  spring  from  clustered  pillars,  the  floral  capitals  of  which 
— all  of  different  patterns — ^present  us  with  one  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  twelfth  century  stone-work  in  Ireland."^ 

With  this  beautiful  abbey  are  associated  many  interesting 
historic  memories.  It  was  to  this  lonely  but  sweet  retreat 
that  Ireland's  last  High-king  retired  to  die.  He  had  drawn 
a  sword  that  could  not  save  his  country  and  his  race  from  the 
hated  dominion  of  the  stranger;  he  had  seen  his  own  children 
rise  up  in  rebellion  against  him,  and  engage  in  the  very  lace 
of  their  country's  enemies  in  fratricidal  strife ;  he  had  seen 
his  best-beloved  son,  O'Conor  of  Moenmoy,  whose  bold  heart 
and  strong  arm  were  his  country's  only  hope,  slain  by  "  a 
party  of  his  own  people,  and  of  his  own  tribe  ;"  and  now 
there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  end  an  inglorious  life 
by  a  pious  and  penitential  death.  He  retired  to  Cong  in 
A.D.  1183.  After  the  death  of  his  eldest  and  bravest  son,  he 
sought  once  more  to  regain  his  authority  in  Connaught. 
But  he  soon  found  that 

**  Authority  forgets  a  dying  king, 
Laid  widow'd  of  the  power  in  his  eye 
That  bow'd  the  will." 

1  Wilde's  Lough  Corrib,  pages  179,  180. 


5()0  CELTIC  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN  MONASTERIES. 

lie  returned  once  more  to  his  monastic  retreat,  and  tliere 
in  the  year  a.d.  1198,  "  he  died  amongst  the  Canons  of  Cong, 
after  exemplary  penance,  victorious  over  the  world  and  the 
devil.     His  body  was  conveyed  to  Clonmacnoise,  and  interred 
at  the  north  side  of  the  altar  of  the  great  church," 

In  Metal- WORK  the  OM)ufFys  ot  Tuam  and  Cong  have 
left  us,  at  least,  one  memorial  that  will  never  perish.  The 
Processional  Cross  of  Cong,  the  Chalice  of  Ardagh,  and 
the  Tara  Brooch,  are  regarded  by  all  competent  judges  as  the 
highest  effort,  each  in  its  own  way,  of  the  Celtic  art  in  metal- 
work.  No  one  knows  anything  of  the  Tara  Brooch  except 
that  it  was  found  in  the  year  1850  on  the  sea  shore  near 
Drogheda.  Neither  does  the  Ardagh  Chalice  bear  the  name  of 
the  king  or  workman  by  whom  it  was  made,  nor  ask  a  prayer 
for  his  soul's  welfare.  We  can,  however,  with  tolerable 
certainty,  t»ace  its  history ;  and  we  shall  find  that  it  is  a 
product  of  the  same  school  of  art  which  produced  the 
remarkable  Cross  of  Cong,  to  which  we  now  invite  the 
reader's  attention. 

It  appears  that  this  beautiful  Cross  of  Cong  was  made 
originally  for  the  Church  of  Tuam.  It  is  very  probable  that 
some  western  prelate  was  present  at  the  first  General 
Council  of  Lateran,  held  in  a.d.  1123,  and  that  he  brought 
home  with  him  a  relic  of  the  true  Cross,  which,  as  we  are 
informed  in  the  Amials  of  Iniiisf alien ^  was  enshrined  in  that 
year  by  Turlough  O'Conor.  *'  A  portion  of  the  true  Cross 
^ame  into  Ireland  and  was  enshrined  at  Roscommon  by 
Turlough  O'Conor."  The  following  inscriptions  are  found  on 
the  Cross  itself,  and  corroborate  the  statement  in  the  Annals 
of  Innisfallen  : — 

+  HAC  CEUCE  TEGITUE  QUA  PASUS  CONDITOE 
ORBIS.  OR  DO  MUREDUCH  U  DUBTHAIG  DO 
SENIOR  EREND.  OR  DO  THERRDEL  F  CHONCHO 
DO  RIO  EREND  LAS  AN  DERNAD  IN  GRESSA. 

OR  DO  DOMNULL  McFLANNACAN  U  DUBD 
EPSKUP  CONNACHT  DO  CHOMARBA  CHOMMAN 
ACUS  CHIARAN  ICAN  ERRNAD  IN  GRESSA. 

OR  DO  MAELISU  McBRATDAN  UECHAN  DO 
RIGNI  IN  GRESSA. 

We  gather  from  these  insciiptions  that  the  Cross  was 
made  to  enshrine  a  particle  of  the  true  Cross,  on  which  the 
Creator  of  the  world  suffered.  Muireadhach  O'Duffy,  to 
whom  we  have  already  referred,  is  here  descrihed  as  senior  of 
Erin,  and  one  of  those  who  co-operated  in  this  work.  Hf» 
has  been  described  by  the  Four  Masters  as  "  chief  senior  of 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  561 

Ireland  in  wisdom  and  chastity,  and  the  bestowal  of  jewels 
and  food."  He  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  position  of 
High-bishop  of  Connaught,  but  at  this  period  we  cannot  say 
what  office  he  held,  if  he  were  not  abbot  of  the  monastery 
and  head  of  the  School  of  Tuam.  Of  King  Turlough,  "  for 
whom  this  shrine  was  made,"  we  have  already  spoken. 
Domhnall  MacFlanagan  O'Duflfy,  "  under  whose  superinten- 
dence this  shrine  was  made ''  at  Roscommon,  is  described  as 
successor  of  Coman  and  Ciaran,  and  Bishop  of  Connaught. 
We  know  from  the  Annals  of  Lough  Ce  that  he  was  then 
Bishop  of  Elphin. .  Perhaps  he  was  afterwards  translated  to 
Tuam,  and  then  took  the  title  of  Bishop  of  Connaught.  It 
is  highly  probable,  too,  that  he  brought  this  shrine  along 
with  him  from  Elphin  to  Tuam.  Of  this  translation,  how- 
ever, there  is.  no  record.  Lastly,  a  prayer  is  asked  for 
Maelisu  Mac  Bratdan  O'Echan  (or  Egan),  the  artist  who 
made  this  shrine.  He  was  comarb  of  St.  Finnen  of  Cloon- 
crafP,  County  Roscommon. 

It  will  hardly  be  contended  that  O'Echan  was  anything 
but  a  pure  Roscommon  Celt.  The  Mac  Egans  were  from 
time  immemorial  Brehons  in  various  parts  of  Connaught,  and 
afterwards  in  Ormond,  in  the  County  Tipperary.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  artist  who  made  the  "  Ci'oss  of  Cong  "  was 
a  member  of  this  most  distinguished  literary  family. 

The  shaft  of  the  cross  is  2  ft.  6  in.  high ;  the  breadth 
across  the  arms  is  1  ft.  6|  in.  It  was  made  of  oak,  covered 
with  eight  copper  plates,  and  one  plate  of  brass,  all  adorned 
with  a  richly  interwoven  tracery.  "  On  the  central  plate  on 
the  face,  at  the  junction  of  the  arms,  is  a  boss  surmounted  by 
a  convex  crystal.  Thirteen  jewels  remain  of  the  eighteen 
which  were  disposed  at  regular  intervals  along  the  edges, 
and  on  the  face  of  the  shaft  and  arms,  the  spaces  are  visible 
for  nine  others,  which  were  placed  at  intervals  down  the 
centre.  Two  beads  remain  of  four  settings  which  surrounded 
the  central  boss.  The  shaft  terminates  below  in  the  grotesque 
head  of  an  animal,  beneath  which  it  is  attached  to  a  spheri- 
cally ornamented  ball,  surmounting  the  socket,  in  which  was 
inserted  the  pole  or  shaft  for  carrying  the  cross. "^ 

Such  is  the  description  given  by  Miss  Stokes  of  the  Cross 
of  Cong.  But  no  description  can  convey  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  rare  beauty  of  this  peerless  cross.  It  must  be  seen  to 
l-e  appreciated.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  it  was  takon 
from   Tuam   to    Cong   either   by  Archbishop  Muireadhach 

■^  Early  Christicai  Art,  by  Miss  Stokes,  page  i09. 

2if 


5G2  CELTIC  ART  lis  THE  WESTERN   MONASTER!  KS. 

O'Duffy,  who  died  in  Cong  a.d.  1150,  as  we  have  alreadv 
seeu,  or,  perhaps,  by  King  Iloderick  O'Conor,  who  also  endt  (! 
his  chequered  life  in  the  same  holy  retreat,  nearly  forty  yeni' 
later.  It  was  found  by  Father  Prendergast,  P.P.,  the  last 
Abbot  of  Cong,  in  an  old  oaken  chest  in  Cong,  and  was  pur- 
chased from  his  successor  bv  Professor  M'Cullaofh,  who 
presented  it  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  in  1839. 

The  Chalice  of  Ardagh,  which  has  been  pronounced  to  be 
"  the  most  beautiful  example  of  Celtic  art  ever  yet  found," 
also  appears  to  have  been  a  product  of  the  School  of  Clon- 
macnoise^  during  the  abbacy  of  the  O'Duffys. 

It  is  a  two-handed  chalice,  probably  used  for  the 
Communion  of  the  laity  at  a  time  when  the  Eucharist  was 
still  administered  under  both  species  of  bread  and  wine.  It 
is  s-^ven  inches  high,  and  nine  one-halt'  inches  in  diameter 
across  the  mouth  ;  the  bowl  is  four  inches  dee^^,  and  wa^ 
capable  of  containing  about  three  pints.  The  cup  is  com- 
posed of  gold,  silver,  brass,  bronze,  copper,  and  lead.  The 
upper  rim  is  of  brass,  much  decayed  and  split fiom  some  local 
action  on  that  particular  alloy  ;  but  the  bowl  itself  is  of 
silver,  the  standard  value  of  which  is  four  shillings  per 
ounce.  There  is  a  beautiful  band  running  round  the  bowl, 
which  contains  the  names  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  engraved 
in  uncial  letters  of  the  eleventh  century.  No  description 
can  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  exquisite  beauty  of  this 
chalice.  It  comprised  no  less  than  354  different  pieces,  put 
together  with  the  nicest  ingenuity,  and  exhibiting  almost 
every  variety  of  Celtic  ornamentation.  Yet  the  leading 
impression  produced  by  the  view  of  this  beautiful  cup  is 
chaste  and  classic  elegance  of  design,  combined  with  admir- 
able beauty  of  form,  and  delicacy  of  execution. 

The  history  of  this  wonderful  chalice,  now  preserved  in 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  is  very  curious,  and  points  to 
Roscommon  or  Clonmacnoise  as  the  place  where  it  was 
wrought. 

We  are  informed  in  the  Chronicon  Scotoruin  that 
"  Turlough  O'Conor  presented  three  precious  things  to  Ciaran 
at  Cluain,  viz.,  a  drinking  horn  inlaid  with  gold,  a  silver  cup 
with  gold,  and  a  patena  of  copper  with  gold  and  silver." 
This  cup,  with  its  viullocc  or  patena,  was,  of  course,  a  chalice  ; 
and  it  was  kept  for  use  on  the  high  altar  of  Clonmacnoise 
until  A.u.  1125  ;  ''when  the  altar  of  the  great  stone  church 
of  Clonmacnoise  was  opened,  and  precious  things  were  takeu 


''(See  Christian  Inscriptions^  Vol.  ii..  tuigo  129. 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONM.\CNOISE.  563 

out  of  it,  that  is — tlie  carraclian,  or  moclel  of  Solomon's 
Temple — it  was  probably  a  tabprnicle — which  was  oriven  by 
Maelsechlainn,  son  of  Domhnall,  and  the  cuidin  of  Donn- 
chadh,  son  of  Flann,  and  the  three  articles  which  Turlough 
0' Conor  gave,  that  is — a  silver  goblet  and  a  silver  cup, 
with  a  golden  cross  over  it,  and  a  drinking  horn  with  gold — 
and  the  drinking  horn  of  Ua  E-iata,  King  of  Aradh,  and  a 
silver  chalice  with  a  burnishing  of  gold,  and  an  engravings 
and  the  silver  cup  of  Ceallach,  Comarb  of  Patrick." 

But  shortly  after  all  these  precious  articles  were  *  revealed 
against  the  Foreigners  of  Luimnech,'  after  having  been  stolen 
by  Gillacomghain;and  he  was  hanged  for  stealing  them,  at 
Dun  Cluana  Ithair,  having  been  given  up  for  that  purpose 
by  Conor  O'Brian,  King  of  Munster.  The  thief  thought  to 
make  his  escape  from  Cork,  Lismore,  and  Waterford  ;  but 
Ciaran  always  stopped  the  vessel  in  which  he  embarked  to 
cross  the  sea,  so  that  she  could  get  no  wind  to  fill  her  sails  ; 
and  the  wretch  made  a  dying  declaration  at  the  gallows  that 
he  had  seen  Ciaran  with  his  crozier  stopping  every  ship  in 
which  he  attempted  to  escape. 

Now  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  Chalice  of  Ardagh  was 
dug  up  from  the  edge  of  a  rath  called  Reerasta,  close  to  the 
village  of  Ardagh,  in  the  County  Limerick,  and  other  smaller 
golden  cups,  with  five  fibulae,  were  found  on  the  same 
occasion.  Were  they  secreted  there  by  Gillacomghain,  or 
some  of  his  accomplices,  the  Danes  of  Limerick,  for  we  are 
not  told  that  the  family  of  Clonmacnoise  recovered  all  the 
plunder  ?  There  is  a  local  tradition  that  Reerasta  was 
occupied  by  the  Danes  of  Luimnech  ;  and  also  that  in  later 
times  Mass  was  often  celebrated  there.  It  may  be  then,  if 
not  secreted  by  the  Danes,  that  the  chalice  was  given  by  the 
family  of  Cluain  to  some  of  the  clergy  in  the  neighbourhood 
when  the  thieves  were  discovered,  and  that  they  used  it  for 
celebrating  Mass  in  this  place  during  the  times  of  persecu- 
tion, and  secreted  the  chalice  on  some  occasion  when  forced 
to  fly  for  their  lives. 

It  is  highly  probable,  therefore,  that  this  beautiful  cup 
was  stolen  from  Clonmacnoise,  was  secreted  at  Heerasta, 
and  was  accidentally  found,  as  already  described,  by  a  young 
man,  who  was  digging  a  portion  of  the  old  fort  which  had 
been  levelled  for  the  purpose  of  tillage.^  The  artist  who 
made  the  Cross  of  Cong  for  King  Turlough,  was  equallv 
well  qualified  to  make  the  Ardagh  chalice.     He  was,  as  we 

^  See  Christian  Inscriptions,  Vol.  ii.,  page  129. 


,')t)4  CELTIC  ART  IN  THE  WESTERN   MONASTERIES. 

^lave  seen,  a  native  of  the  County  Roscomuion,  iio  wrought 
the  Crofl8  for  King  Turlough  O' Conor,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  J)oinhnall  Mac  Flanagan  O'Duffy,  Bishop  of 
Connaught  or  Elpbiu,  and  Abbot  of  Iloscomrnon  and  Clon- 
macnoise.  It  is  clear  that  the  chalice  was  made  before  Mac 
Egan  made  the  Cross  of  Cong,  yet  in  all  probability  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  in  all  Ireland  a  second  artist  who  would 
be  capable  of  executing  metal- work  with  such  marvellous 
fertility  of  design  and  delicacy  of  execution.  We  think  that, 
on  the  whole,  the  evidence  justifies  us  in  concluding  that 
it  was  owing  to  the  munificence  of  Turlough  O'Conor,  and 
the  intelligent  patronage  of  the  O'DufPys,  that  this  great 
Western  School  of  Art  was  created  and  fostered,  which  has 
left  so  many  memorials  of  its  artistic  genius  at  Clonmacnoise 
Tuam,  Boyle,  and  Cong. 

Another  most  interesting  piece  of  metal- work  is  the  shrine 
of  St.  Manchan  of  Lemanaghan,  which  seems  to  have  been  also 
a  product  of  the  (Clonmacnoise  School  of  Art.  St.  Manchan 
himself  died  of  the  plague  in  a.d.  664,  most  likely  at  his  own 
cell  in  Lemanaghan  which  takes  its  name  from  the  saint — 
**  the  grey  land  of  Manchan."  Not  inappropriately  either, 
for  it  was  built  on  a  gravelly  ridge  surrounded  by  a  waste  of 
brown  bog,  so  that  the  contrast  between  the  colouring  of  the 
ridge  and  the  bog  is  very  striking.  It  is  situated  about 
three  miles  north-east  of  Ferbane,  in  the  King's  County,  on 
the  riffht  of  the  road  to  Chira.  The  remains  of  Manchan's 
cell  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  three  blessed  wells  are  also  close 
at  hand. 

In  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  Manchan  is  set  down  as  the 
author  of  a  Latin  Treatise,  De  Mirabilibus  Sacrae  Scripturae, 
which  ha^  been  printed  amongst  the  works  of  St.  Augustine. 
But  Dr.  Reeves  bas  shown^  that  this  treatise  on  the  Wonders 
of  Holy  Scripture  must  rather  be  assigned  to  an  Irish  monk 
of  the  seventh  century  named  Augustine,  of  whom  hardly 
anything  else  is  known. 

St.  Manchan  is  much  better  known  to  moderns  on  account 
of  the  famous  shrine  or  reliquary,  which  appears  to  contain 
some  fragments  of  the  bones  of  the  saint,  and  is,  undoubtedly, 
tine  of  the  most  beautiful  productions  of  Celtic  art,  as  it  has 
always  been  considered — opus  pulcherriinum  quod  fecit  opifex 
in  Hibernia.^  The  Four  Maj»ters  bear  emphatic  tesiimony 
to  the  same  effect,     a.d.  1166. — ''  The  shrine  of  Manchan  of 


*  See  I'yo.  Hoy.  I.  Ac.^  vii.,  p.  514. 
'  Se«  Dr.  Mona^lmii's  Records,  p.  364. 


CELTIC  ART  AT  CLONMACNOISE.  565 

Maothail  (Mohill)  was  covered  by  Eory  O'Conor,  and  an 
embroidering  of  gold  was  carried  over  it  by  liim,  in  as  good 
a  style  as  a  relic  was  ever  covered  in  Ireland."  St.  Manchan 
bad  another  oratory  at  Mobill,  County  Leitrim. 

Ttiis  sbrine  is  at  present  preserved  in  the  Catholic  Cburcb 
of  Bober,  near  tbe  Prospect  Railway  Station,  on  the  Atblone 
and  Portarlington  line  ;  and  d,  fac- simile  may  be  seen  in  the 
Ro3^al  Irisb  Academy.  We  need  not  describe  it  at  length 
here.  It  is  in  the  usual  form  of  such  Celtic  shrines,  some 
what  like  tbe  roof  of  a  bouse — 24  inches  long,  15  broad,  and 
19  inches  hio:b.  On  each  side  there  is  a  lar^e  and  beautifu) 
cross  composed  of  five  bosses,  at  tbe  extremities  elaborately 
ornamented,  and  united  by  tbe  arms  of  the  cross  wbich 
were  covered  with  plates  of  enamel,  fixed  in  a  yellow  ground 
with  red  border  lines.  Above  and  below  the  crosses  there 
must  have  been  originally  as  many  as  iifty  human  figures, 
but  at  present  only  ten  remain.  The  metal  work  throughout 
was  richly  gilt,  and  ornamented  with  the  usual  interlaced 
figures,  characteristic  of  our  Celtic  ornamentation. 

When  the  shrine  was  opened  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
few  small  fragments  of  bones,  and  some  pieces  of  the  original 
box  of  yew  in  which  they  were  enclosed,  with  a  few  of  the 
silver  plates  which  adorned  the  original  reliquary.  As 
Lemanaghan  was  originally  given  to  Clonmacnoise  as  ajQ' 
"Altar-sod,"  about  the  year  a.d.  645,  there  can  hardly  be 
any  doubt  that  St.  Manchan  was  sent  from  Clonmacnoise  t«« 
occupy  it,  and  that  it  always  continued  to  be  a  daughter  oi 
Clonmacnoise.  Hence  we  are  justified  in  concluding  tb£4 
Rory  O'Conor  had  this  beautiful  work  of  art  executed  by  som. 
of  the  cerds  of  that  famous  monastery. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 
IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

''  O,  piljarim,  if  you  brinof  me  from  some  far-off  land  a  si»n, 
Let  it  be  some  token  still  of  the  green  Old  Land  once  mine; 
A  shell  from  the  shores  of  Ireland  would  be  dearer  far  to  nie, 
Than  all  the  wines  of  the  Rhine-land,  or  the  art  of  Italic." 

—M'Oee. 

We  do  not,  b}"  any  means,  propose  at  present  to  give  an 
account  of  the  Irish  Saints  and  Scholars,  who  founded  so 
many  monasteries  and  schools  in  forei<?n  countries,  from  the 
seventh  to  the  eleventh  century.  The  subject  is  too  wide 
and  too  important  to  be  discussed  in  this  volume.  It  will  be 
necessary,  however,  to  give  a  brief  account  of  a  few  of  those 
celebrated  men,  in  order  to  show  the  character  of  the  scientific 
and  theological  training  which  they  received  in  the  Schools 
of  their  native  land. 

I. — St.  ViRGiLius,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg. 

St.  Virgilius,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  is  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  those  learned  men,  whom  our  Irish  schools  sent 
forth  in  swarms  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries.  And 
he  was  not  merely  a  learned  prelate,  and  a  successful 
champion  of  orthodox  doctrine  ;  he  was  also  a  great 
astronomer,  far  in  advance  of  his  own  age,  for  he  taught 
the  sphericity  of  the  earth,  and  the  existence  of  antipodes, 
long  before  Copernicus  or  his  system  was  known  to  the 
scholars  of  Europe. 

The  exact  place  and  date  of  his  birth  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained, but  that  he  was  an  Irishman  may  not  for  a  moment 
be  questioned.  In  the  first  place  we  have  the  express 
testimony  of  the  celebrated  Alcuin,  an  almost  contemporary 
writer,  who  declares  that  Virgilius  was  born,  reared,  and 
educated  in  Ireland.^  Then  the  author  of  the  poeticaJ 
epitaph  over  Virgilius,  in  his  own  church  of  Salzburg,  bears 
the  same  testimony, ^  affirming  that  it  was  the   *  Hibernian 


^  "Protulit  in  lucem  quem  mater  Hiternia  primum,  instituit,  docuit, 
nutrivit  .  .   .  amavit." — Poemata. 

-•'Hie  pater  et  pastor,    humilis  doctusque  sacerdos  corpora  Virgilius 
pausat,  quem  Hibernia  tellus,  Dib».onente  Deo,  partes  direxit  inistas,"  etc. 


ST.   VTTIGTLIUS,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SALZBURG.  567 

land*  that  sent  him.,  under  God's  guidance,  to  Salzburfr. 
His  Life,  too,  written  about  the  year  a.d.  1190,  by  a  disciple 
of  Ebenbard,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  expressly  affirms  the 
Irish  birth  of  Virgilius  ;  and  such,  we  may  add,  has  been 
the  unvarying  tradition  of  the  church  and  city  of  Salzburg. 

In  our  domestic  Annals  we  have  first  the  testimony  of 
the  Four  Masters,  who,  a.d.  784,  record  that  "  Ferghil,  i.e., 
the  Geometer,  abbot  of  Achadh-bo,  died  in  Germany  in  the 
thirteenth  year  of  his  bishopric  ;  "  and  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  this  was  the  date  of  the  death  of  Virgil,  the  Archbishop 
of  Salzburg,  and  thirteen  years  was  the  duration  of  his 
episcopacy.  In  the  Annals  of  Ulster^  under  date  of  a.d.  788, 
we  find  that : — *'  Fergil,  abbot  of  Achadh-bo,  died  " — the 
year  corresponds  to  a.d.  784  of  the  Four  Masters,  and  that 
appears  to  be  the  true  date. 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  therefore,  that 
Virgilius  of  the  Latin  is  equivalent  to  Fergil  ot  the  Irish, 
as  tne  root- words  sufficiently  imply  ;  and  that  Ferghil  the 
Geometer,  who  died  in  Germany  as  a  bishop,  having  been 
previously  abbot  of  Aghaboe,  is  the  celebrated  Virgilius, 
Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  so  widely  known  to  fame  as  an 
astronomer  and  theologian. 

Virgil,  with  a  few  companions  from  Ireland,  one  of 
whom  was  a  priest — Sidonius  or  Sedna — arrived  in  France 
about  the  year  a.d.  741 — the  year  in  which  Charles  Martel 
died,  and  was  succeeded  in  his  office  of  mayor  of  the  palace 
by  the  famous  Pepin  le  Bref,  father  of  the  still  more  renowned 
Charlemagne.  Virgil  spent  some  two  or  three  years  in  the 
Court  of  Pepin,  who  sent  him,  about  a.d.  743,  with  strong 
letters  of  recommendation  to  the  Court  of  Ottilo,  Duke  of 
Bavaria.  At  this  period  Bavaria  had  been  partially  con- 
verted to  the  faith,  by  the  zealous  labours  of  St.  Boniface, 
the  apostle  of  Germany,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Mentz 
and  Legate  of  the  Apostolic  See.  Much,  however,  still 
remained  to  be  done  ;  and  it  was  the  wish  of  Pepin  that 
Duke  Ottilo  should  avail  himself  of  the  services  of  the  two 
Irish  priests,  of  whose  zeal  and  learning  he  had  ample  proofs 
in  the  conversion  of  his  own  half- Christian  subjects.  The 
duke  received  the  friends  of  Pepin  with  much  consideration ; 
for  he  seems  to  have  kept  them  near  himself,  and  entrusted 
them  with  his  confidence,  as  we  may  fairly  infer  from  sub- 
sequent events. 

The  zeal  of  the  Irishmen,  however,  soon  got  them  into 
trouble  ;  but  what  was  a  source  of  trouble  to  them  has  since 
proved  a  useful  lesson  to  all  theologians  of  the  Church. 


568  IKISU  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

Many  of  the  priests  of  the  period  in  Germany  were  by 
no  means  learned  ;  so  it  happened  that  one  of  them  when 
baptizing  a  catechumen  made  use  of  this  form  : — *'  Ego  te 
baptize  in  nomine  Patria  et  Filia  et  Spiritua  Sancta  " — which 
even  a  boy  learning  the  Latin  Grammar  can  perceive  is  very 
different  from  the  orthodox  form.  The  case  was  referred  to 
Boniface,  who  declared  that  the  baptism  was  invalid,  and 
ordered  those  so  baptized  to  be  baptized  again.  Virgil  and 
his  friend,  Sidonius,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Bavaria,  knew 
how  jealous  the  Church  has  always  been  about  re-baptizing 
those  once  validly  baptized  ;  and  they  declared  that  in  their 
opinion  the  baptism  in  question  was  valid.  Boniface, 
however,  persisted  in  his  opinion.  He  was,  as  he  himself 
s  jys,  an  Englishman  from  Saxonia  transmarina — and  though 
it  is  highly  probable  that  he  was  of  Irish  origin,  he  did  not 
wish  to  accept  the  teaching  of  the  Irish  theologians  on  this 
occasion.  So  the  matter  was  referred  to  Rome  ;  and  it  so 
happened  that  Pope  Zachary,  a  Calabrian  Greek,  and  a  man, 
too,  of  great  learning  and  holiness,  then  filled  the  Chair  of 
St.  Peter.  His  decision,  sent  by  letter  to  Boniface,  declares 
distincth'  that  if  the  minister  of  the  sacrament,  through 
ignorance  of  Latin,  and  not  from  any  heretical  purpose  ot 
introducing  a  new  form,  pronounced  the  words  as  given 
above,  the  baptism  must  be  held  to  be  valid.^ 

This  clear  and  emphatic  expression  of  Catholic  doctrine, 
as  every  theological  student  knows,  we  owe  to  Virgil  and 
Sidonius.  They  rightly  deemed  that  this  error  in  the  form 
was  not  substantial  but  accidental ;  it  was  not  introduced 
from  malice,  with  a  view  to  pervert  the  form  of  the  sacra- 
ment, but  from  ignorance  ;  the  priest  evidently  had  the 
intention  of  doing  what  the  Church  does ;  he  corrupted  the 
integrity  of  the  form,  but  it  remained  perfectly  intelligible 
to  any  bystander  acquainted  with  the  Latin  language,  and 
hence  the  baptism  itself  was  valid. 

Boniface  yielded  prompt  obedience  to  the  Apostolic  See, 
but,  although  a  saint  and  martyr,  he  felt  sore  at  the  victory 
gained  over  him  by  the  Irish  strangers,^  who  intruded  into 


*  Virgilius  et  Sidonius  religiosi  viri  apud  Bojourium  provinciam 
degentes,  suis  apud  nos  litteris  usi  sunt,  per  quas  intimaverunt  quod  tua 
reverenda  paternitae  eis  injungeret  Christianos  denuo  baptizare.  Sanotissme 
frater,  si  is  qui  baptizavit,  non  errorem  introducens  aut  heresim  aed  pro 
sola  ignorautia  Homanae  locutionis  iufringendo  linguam  baptizans  dixisset 
ut  supra  fati  sumus,  non  possumus  consentire  ut  denuo  baptizeutur. 

^  There  is  very  good  reason  to  believe  that  Boniface  though  born  in 
England,  was himielf  of  Irish  origin.  See /mA  Ecclts.  RecordioT  18S4,  pages 
115,  190. 


ST.  VIRGILIUS,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SALZBURG.  569 

his  spiritual  domain,  and  seemed  to  supplant  him  in  favour 
with  the  Duke  Otillo.  And,  no  doubt,  there  were  not  want- 
ing interested  parties  who  strove  to  fo^^ent  dissensions 
between  these  two  saints  and  servants  ol  God.  No  one, 
indeed,  who  knows  the  history  of  Boniface,  will  endorse  the 
spiteful  remark  of  Basnage  that  he  was — "  Vir  si  quis  unquani 
superbus  sive  zelotes."  But  he  was  human  like  others,  and 
his  own  letters  clearly  showed  that  he  felt  keenly  the  victory 
of  Virgil.  He  waited,  however,  for  a  while,  and  then  sent  a 
friend  of  hi«,  Buchardus  of  Wirzburg,  to  Rome  with  letters 
for  the  Pope,  in  which  he  brought  four  serious  charges 
against  Yirgil.  He  accused  him,  as  we  know  from  the  Pope's 
answer,  first,  that  this  Yirgil  was  making  malicious  accusations 
against  him,  Boniface,  because  he  had  been  convicted  by 
Boniface  of  teaching  erroneous  doctrine  ;^  secondly,  Boniface 
charged  him  with  whispering  false  things  to  the  Duke,  with 
a  view  of  sowing  dissension  between  him,  Boniface,  and  the 
Duke;^  thirdly,  he  accused  Yirgil  of  givingout  that  he  was  dis- 
missed by  the  Pope  from  Rome,^  in  order  to  fjet  one  of  the  four 
bishoprics  of  Bavaria  just  then  vacant.  Lastly,  he  brings 
against  him  the  most  formidable  charge  of  all,  that  Virgil 
taught  that  there  was  another  world,  and  other  men  under 
the  earth,  and  another  sun  and  moon.*  And,  in  the  same 
letter,  Boniface  complains  that  a  certain  Samson,  an  Irishman 
— "  genere  Scottus" — erred  from  the  way  of  truth,  teaching 
that  a  man  could  become  a  Christian  merely  by  the  imposition 
of  hands,  without  baptism.  Clearly  Boniface  was  hard  on 
the  Irishmen  then  in  Bavaria  ;  and  the  whole  tone  of  the 
letter  shows  that  he  had  not  forgotten  his  previous  contest 
with  Yirgil  and  Sidonius. 

The  Pope  in  his  answer  deals  with  these  charges  with  the 
greatest  prudence.  He  had  very  great  respect  for  Boniface, 
but  it  is  clear  he  is  not  prepared  to  accept  all  his  statements 
without  proof.  He  makes  no  special  remark  on  the  two  first 
charges,  for  they  could  be  easily  explained.  But,  as  to  the 
third,  he  declares  that  the  alleged  statement  of  Yirgil  is  false, 
that  he  was  not  iabsolutus)  dismissed,  or  sent  home  by  the 
Pope  in  order  to  get  a  bishopric  in  Bavaria.      Indeed,  as  to 


1  "  Malignatur  adversum  te  pro  eo  quod  confundebatur  a  te,  erroneum  se 
esse  a  Catholica  doctrina." 

2  "  Immissiones  faciens  Ottiloni  duci  Bojoariorum  ut  odium  inter  te  e 
ilium  serainaret. " 

*  *'  Quod  a  nobis  esset  absolutus.'* 

*  "  Quod  aliuo  mundus  et  alii  homines  sub  terra  sint  et  sol  et  luna."    Se« 
Epittola  xi.  Zachariae  ad  Bonifacium.  Migne's  edition,  page  94^. 


570  IRlStl  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

this  char<>o,  tlioro  is  no  evidence  that  Virgil  was  ever  in  Home 
at  all ;  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  both  Pepin  and  Ottilo 
were  anxious  for  his  advancement  to  a  See  in  Bavaria,  and 
that  their  zeal  was  attributed  to  the  time-serving  ambition  of 
Virgil  himself.  The  charge  is  entirely  incoijsistent  with  his 
character  ;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  it  is  no 
proof  of  its  truth,  that  it  was  made  in  these  letters  sent  to 
Kome  by  Boniface.  Too  many  unfounded  charges  of  the 
kind  have  been  made  in  Kome  both  since  and  before. 

As  regards  the  fourth  charge,  that  of  teaching  that  there 
was  another  world,  and  other  men,  and  another  sun  and 
moon,  it  deserves  fuller  notice  at  our  hands. 

It  is  clear  that  Virgil  held  the  doctrine  of  the  Antipodes, 
and  that  Boniface,  not  unwilling  to  find  him  errino:  in 
doctrine,  formulated  his  teaching  as  above.  The  words  of  the 
Pope  thereupon  are  noteworthy.^  "  Concerning  this  charge 
of  false  doctrine,  if  it  shall  be  established,"  says  the  Pope, 
"  that  Virgil  taught  this  perverse  and  wicked  doctrine  against 
God  and  his  own  soul,  do  you  then  convoke  a  council,  degrade 
him  from  the  priesthood,  and  drive  him  from  the  Church. '* 
But  what  is  this  doctrine  as  represented  to  the  Pope  ? 
Certainly  not  that  taught  by  Virgil,  and  which  he  learned  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  land.  The  doctrine  censured  by  the 
Pope,  was  that  there  is  another  world,  and  another  race  of 
men  quite  different  from  us,  not  children  of  Adam ^  and  hence 
not  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  the 
sense  in  which  the  Pope  understood  the  doctrine  of  the 
Antipodes,  this  was  the  sense  in  which  it  was  understood  by 
St.  Augustine,  and  for  that  reason  reprobated  by  him  as  well 
as  by  the  Pope.  And  the  very  words,  in  which  the  accusa- 
tion against  Virgilius  is  formulated,  clearly  point  to  this 
"  perverse  and  wicked  '^  teaching.  The  truth  of  the  matter 
was,  that  neither  Boniface  nor  the  Pope  knew  astronomy  a? 
well  as  Virgil,  and  hence  they  imagined  he  taught  doctrines 
which  were  quite  diflierent  from  his  real  opinions. 

It  is  well  to  observe  that  great  diversity  of  opinion 
prevailed  concerning  the  existence  of  Antipodes,  both  amongst 
the  ancient  philosophers  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church. 

Plato  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  held  the  existence  ^ 
of  Antipodes,  and  used  the  word  in  its  present  signification. 

^  **  De  perversa  autein  et  iniqua  doctrina  ejus,  qui  contra  Deum  et 
auimam  suaru  locutus  est ;  si  clarijicatxim  fxierit  ita  euro  confiteri  quod  alius 
nmiidus  et  alii  homines  sub  terra  sint,  seu  soletluua,  huuc,  babitu  ooncilio, 
ab  ecclesia  pelle  sacerdotii  bonore  privatum."* 

*  See  Zachary's  letter  to  Boniface  loco  citato. 


ST.  VIRGILIUS,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SALZBURG.  571 

But  there  is  no  evidence  that  lie  himself  believed  in  their 
actual  existence,  even  though  he  invented  the  term  which  so 
accurately  describes  them. 

Lactantius,  however,  in  his  treatise  "  De  falsa  Sapientia 
Philosophorum/'  ridicules  the  notion  of  Antipodes,  and,  as 
he  clearly  regards  it  as  a  philosophical  error,  we  may  fairly 
conclude  that  some  of  the  ancient  philosophers  taught  their 
existence. 

It  would  be  easy  enough  to  show  how  unpalatable  the 
doctrine  of  the  x4.ntipodes  was  to  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
of  the  eighth  century  ;  and  in  what  sense  the  Pope  must  have 
understood  the  alleged  teaching  of  St.  Yirgilius.  What  the 
Pope  declared  to  be  perverse  and  wicked  doctrine — not 
heretical — was  that  there  is  another  world,  and  another  race 
of  men — alii  homines — and  therefore  not  Sons  of  Adam,  and 
another  sun  and  moon  to  shine  upon  them.  But  this  certainly 
was  not  the  teaching  of  Yirgilius,  for  according  to  him  it  was 
the  same  world,  and  the  same  sun  and  moon,  and  the  same 
race  of  men  who  dwelt  in  the  opposite  regions  of  the  world. 

Virgil  must  have,  in  his  own  defence,  explained  the  real 
meaning  of  his  words  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Pope,  for  we 
find  no  further  mention  of  the  controversy  ;  and  we  know, 
too,  that  in  a  short  time  afterwards  he  was  promoted  to  the 
See  of  Salzburof,  which  would  certainly  not  be  sanctioned  in 
Pome  if  they  had  any  suspicion  of  his  doctrine. 

Pagi,  indeed,  holds  that  there  must  have  been  two  different 
Virgils,  one  who  had  the  dispute  with  St.  Boniface,  and 
another  who  was  Bishop  of  Salzburg ;  and  yet  he  admits 
that  both  were  in  Bavaria  in  a.d.  74ti.  This  hypothesis  is 
intrinsically  improbable,  and  altogether  unsupported  by  evi- 
dence. Indeed,  the  only  reason  given  by  Pagi  is  the  silence 
of  the  writer  of  Virgil's  Life,  published  by  Canisius,  regard- 
ing the  disputes  with  Boniface.  But  the  answer  is  quite 
simple :  the  writer  of  the  Life  gives  very  few  facts,  althougli 
Le  narrates  many  miracles ;  und  hence  from  his  silence  we 
can  infer  nothing  against  the  generally  received  opinion. 

Pagi  also  alleges  that  Virgil  was  the  fifth  Bishop  of 
Salzburg.  Here,  again,  however,  he  is  mistaken,  at  least  if 
we  are  to  credit  tiie  author  of  the  second  Life  given  by 
Canisius,  who  makes  him  the  eighth  bishop  after  St.  Eudbert. 
Other  writers,  however,  make  him  fifth  after  the  founder  of 
the  See,  following  the  anonymous  author  of  an  old  poem  on 
the  Bishops  of  Salzburg,  who  describes  them  as  : — 

"  Ad  vena  Virgilius  statuens  quam  plurima  quintuSy 
Multo  plura  quaerens  Arno  vsuper  omnia  sextus^^ 


572  IRISH  SC'HOI.AKS  AHKOAD. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  fix  tho  exact  year  in  which 
Vir^ilius  became  l^ishop  of  Salzburg.  The  metrical  epitaph 
on  his  tomb  declares  that  for  nearly  forty  years  he  ruled  the 
church  of  Salzburg  ;  and  as  the  latest  year  assigned  for  his 
death  is  a.d.  785,  this  would  bring  the  beginning  of  his 
episcopacy  before  a.d.  750.  Another  account  represents  him 
as  consecrated  by  St.  Stephen,  successor  of  Zachary  ;  and  as 
the  former,  did  not  begin  his  reign  until  a.d.  752,  we  must 
place  the  beginning  of  Virgil's  episcopacy  after  that  event. 
As  he  spent  some  years  abbot  of  St.  Peter's  Monastery  in 
Salzburg  before  he  became  bishop,  the  date  given  in  his  Life, 
written  by  the  disciple  of  St.  Ebenhard,  towards  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century,  is  much  more  probable — that  he  was 
consecrated  bishop  in  succession  to  John  in  a.d.  766  or  767. 
Tie  same  writer  tells  us  that  for  two  years  after  his  nomina- 
tion to  the  See,  li^  continued  to  refuse  the  appointment;  and 
that  during  this  lime  the  duties  of  the  episcopal  office  were 
performed  by  a  bishop  called  Dowd,  Dob  da,  a  countryman  of 
the  saint,  who  seems  to  have  come  with  him  from  Ireland. 
At  last  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  allow  himself  to  be  conse- 
crated, but  he  yielded  only  to  the  earnest  entreaties  of  all 
the  neighbouring  prelates. 

His  life  was  spent  in  unceasing  labour,  not  only  for  his 
own  flock,  but  for  the  conversion  of  the  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces, especially  Carinthia,  which  was  still  pagan.  He  not 
only  sent  missionaries  to  preach  the  Gospel  amongst  these 
half-civilized  people,  but  towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  him- 
self paid  frequent  visits  to  the  newly- established  churches, 
and  did  much  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith.  Hence  Virgilius 
is  venerated  to  this  day  as  the  Apostle  of  Carinthia. 

He  rebuilt  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter  in  a  style  of  great 
magnificence,  for  he  always  loved  the  good  monks  of  St. 
Benedict,  who  had  chosen  the  Irish  stranger  to  be  their 
abbot  and  father ;  and  when  he  died,  he  left  his  bones 
amongst  them.  He  also  built  a  stately  church  in  honour  of 
St.  Stephen,  and  a  splendid  basilica  dedicated  to  St,  Rudbert, 
which  he  made  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese,  and  to  which  he 
translated  the  relics  of  that  saint,  the  founder  and  first  bishop 
of  the  church  of  Salzburg.^  When  he  had  these  great  works 
completed,  he  set  out  on  a  missionary  journey  amongst  the 
neighbouring  tribes  ;  but  finding  his  end  approaching,  "  he 
quickly  returned,"  says  the  writer  of  his  life  : — 

^  It  was  while  building  thia  church  that  the  saint  so  paid  his  men,  that 
none  of  them  could  take  out  of  the  money-bag  (pelle)  more  than  lu8  labours 
entitled  him  to.     See  the  Lessons  on  the  saint's  Feast. 


ST.  VIRGILIUS,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  SALZBURG.  573 

**  And  when  he  came  in  view  of  his  beloved  Salzburg,  and 
its  encircling  hills,  he  began  to  weep  copious  tears,  and  he 
cried  out — Haec  requies  mea,  hie  habitabo  quoniam  elegi  earn 
— and  having  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice,  he  died  without 
pain — leni  correptus  morbo — on  the  fifth  day  before  the 
Kalends  of  December,  a.d.  784;  or  according  to  another, 
but  less  probable  account,  in  a.d.  780.  His  body  was  buried 
in  the  southern  wing  of  the  monastery  which  he  himself  had 
spent  twelve  years  in  building.  There  he  was  honourably 
buried  as  became  a  great  High  Priest,  and  his  soul  went  up 
to  enjoy  the  fellowship  of  heavenly  citizens  for  endless  ages.'' 

We  hear  no  more  of  St.  Virgil  for  four  hundred  years, 
until  near  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  his  Life  was 
written  by  one  who  was  himself  a  witness  of  many  of  the 
facts  wbich  he  relates.  "  In  the  year  of  our  Lord's  Incarna- 
tion, A.D.  1171,'*  he  says  in  the  opening  paragraph  : — 

"  On  the  fourteenth  day  before  the  Kalends  of  March,  in 
the  twenty-first  year  of  the  Pontificate  of  our  Lord  Pope 
Alexander  III.,  the  most  Serene  Prince  Frederic  being 
august  Emperor  of  the  Pom  an  s,  and  Otto  of  Witelenspach, 
most  renowned  Duke  of  Bavaria;  when  the  edifice  of  the 
aforesaid  monastery  of  St.  Peter,  which  had  some  years  be- 
fore been  destroyed  by  fire,  was  being  rebuilt  at  the  expense 
and  by  the  command  of  the  illustrious  Pastor  Chunrad, 
Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  Legate  of  the  Apostolic  See  in 
Germany,  and  Cardinal  Priest  of  St.  Marcellus,  through  the 
co-operating  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  sufi*ragant 
clemency  of  the  Divine  Majesty,  it  came  to  pass  that  the  body 
of  the  blessed  Yirgilius,  which  had  been  hidden  from  all  per- 
sons for  many  centuries,  was  wonderfully  brought  to  light." 

"  It  happened  on  a  certain  day  that  some  stones  having 
fallen  from  the  wall,  gave  an  opportunity  to  the  passers-by 
to  look  into  the  opening,  in  which  they  noticed  signs  of  a 
hollow  space,  and  the  outlines  of  an  ancient  picture  were 
observed  drawn  in  gold.  Thereupon  the  canons  of  the  church 
made  an  investigation  ;  and  upon  further  opening  the  wall, 
the  tomb  and  image  (depicta  imago)  of  St.  Yirgilius,  eighth 
Bishop  of  Salzburg  after  St.  Pudbert,  was  discovered,  with 
the  following  inscription : — '  Virgilius  templum  construxit 
schemate  pulchro.'  And  moreover  the  day  of  his  death  was 
marked,  the  fifth  before  the  Kalends  of  December  (27th  Nov.) 
Anno  781." 

Then  the  writer  goes  on  to  narrate  how  the  archbishop 
and  the  clergy,  and  all  citizens,  crowded  to  the  tomb  to 
venerate  the  sacred  r<?lic«;  and  he  gives  a  long  list  of  most 


574  IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

extraordinary  miracles   which   were  daily  performed  at  the 
tornh,  but  which  we  cannot  stay  to  transcribe. 

The  name  of  St.  Virgilius  is  not  found  in  the  Roman 
Martyrology,  says  Basnage,  but  he  is  always  spoken  of  as  a 
saint  in  the  Afifials  of  the  Benedictines  ;  and  in  the  Canons 
of  a  Council  of  Salzburg,  held  in  a.d.  1274,  the  assembled 
prelates  declare  that  they  recognise  Eudbert,  Virgil,  and 
Augustine,  as  the  patrons  of  that  church,  and  command, 
under  penalty  of  excommunication,  their  feast  days  to  be  kept 
as  holidays.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  festival  or 
Virgilius,  Bishop  and  Confessor,  is  celebrated  by  the  Irish 
Church  on  the  27th  November.^ 

II. — Sedulius,  Commentator  on  Sciupture. 

Another  eminent  Irish  scholar  of  the  Dispersion  wa^^ 
Sedulius,  the  Commentator  on  Scripture.  Sedulius  the  Elder, 
of  whom  we  have  already  spoken  at  length,  is  known  as  the 
Poet ;  the  preisent  Sedulius  is,  for  the  sake  of  distinction, 
commonly  called  Sedulius  the  Younger,  or  the  Commentator. 

Of  his  personal  history  unfortunately  we  know  only  two 
facts — first,  that  he  was  an  Irishman  ;  and  secondly,  that  he 
was,  as  his  writings  abundantly  prove,  a  most  distinguished 
scholar.  We  cannot  even  identify  him  for  certain  amongst 
the  many  Irish  scholars,  who  are  known  to  have  borne  this 
name  during  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries. 

There  was  a  Sedulius,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Bishop  of  Strathclyde  in  Scotland,  and  who  was  certainly 
present  at  a  Council  held  in  Rome,  a.d.  721. ^  He  describes 
himself  under  his  own  hand  as  a  British  Bishop  of  Irish 
birth  f  and  he  was  accompanied  by  another  prelate  who  calls 
himself  Fergustus  Episcopus  Scotiae  Pictus — that  is  a  Pictish 
Bishop  of  Scotia,  which  at  that  time  must  mean  a  Bishop  of 

^  The  epitaph  on  the  saint's  tomb  in  St.  Peter's  Abbey  is  worth  tran 
scribing : — 

"Hie  pater  et  pastor  hnmilis  doctusque  sacerdos 
Corpore  Virgilius  paiisat,  quern  Hiberuia  tellus 
Disponente  Deo  partes  direxit  in  istas, 
Quique  regebat  ovans  praeseutis  oiihnina  sedis 
Fenue  quater  denos,  caris  cum  fratribus  annos 
A  quibus  ille  et  amatus  erat,  pie  quos  et  amavit. 
lutcrim  et  extruxit  pulchro  moliuiine  multa 
Templa,  loco  quaedam  nunc  cernuntur  in  isto 
Insuper  et  miseris  largus,  simul  omnibus  aptus, 
Pro  quo,  quisquis  legis  versus  oraro  memento." 

'  See  Haddan  and  Stubbs,  Vol.  ii.,  part  i.,  page  7. 

^  '*  Sedulius  Knisoopus  Rritanni.'P  do  goiiere  Scotorum,  huio  constitute  h 
nobis  promuigato  aubscripsi." — Labb,  vi.,  1468. 


SEDULIUS,  COMMENTATOR  ON  SCRIPTURE.  575 

the  Irish  PIcts.  Both  happened  to  be  in  Eome  together, 
and  were  invited  to  assist  at  this  Council  and  subscribe  their 
names.  It  is  another  of  the  manj^  proofs  that  indicate  the 
close  union  between  Eome  and  the  Celtic  Churches  at  this 
period. 

The  Four  Masters,  a.d.  785  {recte  789),  make  mention  of 
the  death  of  Siadhal,  or  Sedulius, '  Abbot  of  Dublin.'  The 
same  entry  (a.d.  789)  is  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster^  but  in  the 
Martyrology  of  Donegal  he  is  described  as  Bishop  of  Dublin, 
and  in  the  Tallaght  Martyrology  on  the  same  day  (12th 
Feb.)  he  is  simply  called  '■  Siadal  Bishop  ;'  but  nothing  more 
is  known  about  him.  If  there  was  a  Bishop  in  Dublin,  there 
certainly  was  no  See  of  Dublin  at  this  period  ;  for  the  See 
was  certainly  of  Danish  origin. 

There  was  also  a  Siadhail,  abbot  and  Bishop  of  Eoscommon, 
who  died  in  a.d.  813.^  Another  Siadhail,  or  Sedulius,  who 
died  in  a.d.  828,  was  abbot  of  Kildare  ;  and  according  to 
Lanigan  he  was  'unquestionably'  the  author  of  the 
Commentaries,  which  are  ascribed  by  all  the  learned  to  some 
Irishman  of  that  name,  who  flourished  about  this  period. 
Lanigan,  however,  has  given  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  this 
'unquestionable^  fact;  and  although  it  is  quite  possible  that 
Sedulius  of  Kildare  may  have  been  the  author  of  the 
Commentaries  on  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  it  is  just  quite  as 
possible  that  he  was  Sedulius,  the  Bishop-abbot  of  Eoscoramon, 
or  some  Hibernian  exile  of  the  same  period,  who  flourished 
in  the  Schools  of  France  or  Italy. 

Whoever    he    was,   he    was    certainly  a   learned  man. 
Montfaucon  has  preserved  a  Greek  psalter,^  written  by  this 
Sedulius,  which  is  of  itself  quite  satisfactory  evidence  of  his 
Greek  scholarship.     He  was  besides  an  accomplished  Latin 
poet,  and  his  patristic  lore  is  simply  marvellous.     JS^o  doubt 
his  work  as  a  commentator  consists,  to  a  very  large  extent,  of 
extracts  from  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  both   Gret^k  and 
Latin ;  but  so  does  every  commentary    of  the  kind  worth 
reading.       Where  commentators  begin  to  be  original,  they 
generally  cease  to  be  orthodox.     At  best  their  learning  can 
only  succc  ed  in  putting  the  old  truths  in  a  new  way.     It  has 
been  insinuated  ^   that   Sedulius   in   his    Commentaries  on 
St.  /*««/ adopted  what  are  now  called  Calvinistic  views  about 
grace  and  predestination.     There  is  not  a  shadow  of  founda- 
tion for  the  charge,  except  that  Sedulius  quotes  and  approves 

^  Four  Masters.  ^  Palaeographia  GraecOf  iii. 

*  S«e  Professor  Stokes'  Celtic  Church,  page  226. 


576  IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

of  the  teaclnn£»  of  St.  Augustine.  But  how  far  St.  Augustine 
was  from  holding  such  views,  it  is  quite  unnecessary  tq  show 
in  this  place.  These  Commentaries  on  St.  Paul  are  really  very 
valuable,  and  even  at  this  day  are  worthy  of  careful  study. 

Besides  the  Commentaries  on  St.  Paid,  Sedulius  also 
wrote  a  Commentary  on  St.  Matthew,  the  proper  title  of 
which  is — Collectaneum  Sedulii  in  Mattheum,  ex  diver  sis 
Patribus  excerptum.  He  is  also  said  to  have  written  a 
grammatical  commentary  on  Priscian,  and  on  the  Secunda 
Editio  of  J)v)natus,  works  which  were  both  in  common  use  in 
the  ancient  schools  of  Ireland.  He  was  somewhat  of  a 
politician  also,  and  wrote  a  treatise  on  Politics  in  Aristotle's 
sense,  not  referred  to  by  Lanigan,  for  it  was  only  discoA'ered 
in  comparatively  recent  times  by  Cardinal  Mai  in  the 
Vatican,  and  has  been  published  by  him  in  the  ninth  tome  of 
his  Nova  Collectio  Scriptorum.  Everything  goes  to  show 
that  he  was  a  man  of  the  very  widest  culture  attainable  in 
that  age,  and  that  he,  like  Yirgilius  and  John  Scotus  Erigena, 
of  whom  we  are  now  about  to  speak,  acquired  that  culture  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  land. 

III. — John  Scotus  Erigena. 

John  Scotus  Erigena,  a  man  of  Irish  birth  and  education, 
was  by  far  the  most  distinguished  scholar  of  the  ninth 
century  in  Western  Europe.  He  was  at  once  theologian, 
philosopher,  and  poet ;  he  could  write  Greek  verses  and  ex- 
pound the  Scriptures  in  the  Hebrew  and  the  Septuagint ;  he 
was  familiar  with  Aristotle  and  Plato,  as  well  as  with  St. 
Basil  and  St.  Augustine,  and  was  not  only  rector  of  the  Royal 
School  of  Paris,  but  is  also  said  to  have  been  professor  of 
dialectics  and  mathematics.  He  was  known  as  the  "Master" 
by  excellence,  and  was  spoken  of  as  a  "miracle  of  knowledge. '' 
Even  in  our  own  time  critics  of  great  name  have  ranked 
Scotus  with  Chrysostom,  Dante,  and  Thomas  of  Aquin,  partly 
from  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of  his  thoughts,  partly  from 
the  originality,  depth,  and  subtlety  of  his  philosophical  spe- 
culations. No  doubt  he  erred  serioush%  and  was  censured 
justly.  He  erred,  however,  not  in  the  spirit  of  Luther  and 
Calvin,  but  of  Origen  and  St.  Cyprian ;  for  one  who  ought  to 
know,  and  was  no  great  friend  to  the  Irish  stranger,  has 
attested  that  he  was  in  all  things  a  holy  and  bumble  man, 
filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  he  sailed  through  unknown 
seas  where  there  was  no  chart  to  guide  him.  His  daring 
spirit,  soaring  on  strong  pinions,  essayed  untra veiled  realms 
of  thought,  and  in  the  quest  of  truth  ho  often  followed  wan- 


JOHN  SCOTUS  ERIGENA.  577 

dering  fires ;  yet,  as  lie  himself  tells  us,  in  tlie  light  of  God's 
revelation  and  the  strength  of  His  grace,  the  wearied  spirit 
always  found  its  homeward  way  again.  He  was  in  reality 
the  first  of  the  schoolmen,  and  his  very  errors,  like  the  wan- 
derings of  every  explorer  of  a  new  country,  served  to  guide 
those  who  came  after  him.  Moreover,  he  has  been  censured 
not  only  for  his  real  errors,  but  for  doctrines  which  he  never 
held,  although  condemned  under  his  name ;  and  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  he  was  unduly  blamed  by  those  who  knew  little 
of  his  history  and  less  of  his  teaching,  and  unduly  praised, 
we  think,  by  those  who  are  much  more  ready  to  eulogise  him 
for  his  errors  than  for  his  virtues. 

Like  many  other  good  things  which  Ireland  has  produced, 
both  England  and  Scotland  have  striven  to  make  Scotus  their 
own.  Thomas  Dempster,  the  saint-stealer,  in  his  Menologiuni 
Scotorum,  published  in  a.d.  1621,  and  dedicated  to  Cardinal 
Barberini,  has  endeavoured  to  prove  that  Scotus  Erigena  was 
a  native  of  North  Britain ;  as,  however,  his  arguments  are 
founded  on  the  similarity  in  sound  between  Ayr  and  Erigena 
and  between  Scotus  and  Scot,  we  need  not  now  refute  them 
at  length.  Thomas  Gale,  an  Englishman,  who  was  the  first 
to  publish  at  Oxford,  in  a.d.  1681,  Scotus*  treatise,  De 
Divisione  Naturae,  maintains  that  he  was  of  English  birth, 
and  was  born  at  a  place  called  Eringen  or  Ergerne,  in  Here- 
fordshire, as  that  name  is  very  like  Erigena — for  he  gives  no 
other  shadow  of  positive  proof !  It  is  now  superfluous 
to  show  at  length,  what  all  modern  scholars  admit,  that 
*'  Scotus,"  in  the  ninth  century,  and  even  down  to  the 
eleventh  centurj^,  was  exactly  equivalent  to  ** Irishman"  now, 
although  of  course  even  then  they  sometimes  spoke  of  the 
"  Scoti  of  Alba"  as  we  speak  of  the  "  Irish  of  Glasgow  "  at 
present.  But  when  used  alone  in  those  early  centuries  the 
terms  "  Scoti  "  and  "  Scotia  "  were  applied  exclusively  to  the 
primitive  race  and  their  dwelling-place — the  Milesian  Scots 
of  Ireland,  of  whom  the  Albanian  Scots  were  a  colony.  In 
A.D.  812,  before  the  birth  of  Scotus,  Eginhard,  the  secretary 
of  Charlemagne,  says  that  a  fleet  of  Normans  invaded  Ireland, 
"the  island  of  the  Scots;"  and,  after  the  death  of  Scotus, 
Alfred  the  Great,  in  his  translation  of  Orosius,  speaks  of 
Ireland  as  "  Hibernia,  which  we  call  Scotland."  So  the  very 
name  John  Scotus  is  the  same  as  John  the  Irishman,  and  this 
name  was  given  to  him  by  all  his  contemporaries.  Pope 
Nicholas  I.  calls  him,  in  a  letter  to  King  Charles,  "  Joannes 
genere  Scotus,"  and  Hincmar,  Archbishop  of  Rheiras,  who 
knew  him  intimately,  calls  him  "Scotus"  and  "Scotigena," 

2o 


578  IRISH  SCIIOhAKS  AHROAl). 

or  Irieh-born.  But  what  settles  the  question  is  the  way  in 
which  Prudentius,  in  his  treatise  on  Predestination,  speaks  of 
Scotus,  for  Prudentius  says  he  was  himself  the  friend  of 
Scotus — quasi  frater — he  lived  some  time  with  him  in  the 
palace  of  the  king,  and  no  one  could  know  better  whence 
Scotus  came.  **  Te  Solum,"  says  Prudentius,  "  omnium  acu- 
tissimum  Galliae  transmissit  Hibernia."  So  it  was  Ireland, 
then,  and  not  England  or  Scotland,  sent  him  over  to  France. 
Later  on  in  the  eleventh  century  when,  after  the  fusion  of 
the  Picts  and  Scots  into  one  nation,  Scotia  came  to  signify 
Scotland,  the  cognomen  Erigena  was  given  to  Scotus  to  sig- 
nify that  he  was  not  an  Albanian  but  an  Irish  Scot.  We  do 
not  find,  however,  that  any  of  his  contemporaries  gave  him 
that  name,  and  the  form  Erigena,  from  which  Dempster 
infers  his  Caledonian  origin,  is  not  found  in  any  existing 
MS.  copy  of  his  works.  In  most  of  them  it  is  written 
Ieru«^ena,  which  Dr.  Floss,  the  learned  editor  of  the  works 
of  Scotus,  published  in  Migne's  Patrology,  thinks  is  derived 
from  the  Greek,  and' signifies  "  native  of  the  sacred  isle '' — 
insula  sanctorum.  But  although  Scotus  himself  was  certainly 
fond  of  Greek  compounds,  very  few  scholars  of  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries  were  able  to  make  them.  For  our  own 
part  we  should  prefer  to  adopt  the  reading  Eirugena,  which 
is  found  in  the  Florentine  and  Darmstad  manuscripts  as  being 
a  far  simpler  and  more  natural  form.  Eriu  is  the  older 
nominative,  and  its  vowel  termination  would  render  it  better 
adapted  to  Ibrm  a  compound  than  the  genitive  form  Erin, 
and  thus  we  get  Eriugena,  which  no  doubt  would  very  soon 
be  contracted  into  Erigena. 

Unfortunately  we  know  neither  the  exact  date  of 
Erigena's  birth,  nor  where  he  was  born  and  educated.  We 
find  him  an  inmate  of  the  palace  of  Charles  the  Bald  in 
A.D.  851,  when  he  published  his  book  on  Predestination.  He 
must  have  been  at  that  time  some  time  in  France,  for  he 
was  then  well  known  as  a  distinguished  scholar,  so  that  if  we 
assume  that  he  was  born  about  a.d.  820,  and  came  to  France 
about  A.D.  850,  we  cannot  be  very  far  astray.  We  know 
from  a  letter  of  Eric  of  Auxerre  to  Charles  the  Bald,  that  a 
crowd  of  Hibernian  philosophers  came  to  France,  attracted 
by  the  liberality  of  that  prince,  and  driven  out  of  their  own 
country  by  the    invasion    of    the    Danes.^     All   the  Irish 


^**Quid  Hibemiam  memorem,  contempto  pclagi  discrimine,  pene  toto 
cum  grege  philoKophorum  ad  littera  nostra  migrantem,"  *'  ooncrepaBtibus, " 
Days  William  ot  Malmesbunr-  *'  uudique  belli  fragoribus." 


JOHN  SCOTUS  ERIGENA.  579 

annalists  tell  us  that  from  a.d.  815  to  845  the  Danes  under 
Turgesius  plundered,  desolated,  and  burned  the  whole 
country,  but  especially  the  churches,  monasteries,  and 
schools.  In  A.D.  843  "  Turgesius  plundered  Connaught, 
Meath,  and  Clonmacnoise  with  its  oratories  ;"  in  the  same 
year  "  Forannen,  the  Primate  of  Armagh,  was  taken  prisoner, 
with  his  relics  and  people"  (to  the  number  of  3,000), 
"and  they  were  carried  by  the  Danes  to  their  ships  ai 
Limerick."  It  is  easy  to  see  how  young  Scotus  might  be 
captured  by  the  foreigners,  and  succeed  in  making  his  escape 
to  France,  or  seek  an  asylum  there,  most  probably  either  in 
this  or  the  next  year. 

Charles  the  Bald,  son  of  Louis  le  Debonaire,  and  grandson 
of  Charlemagne,  was  at  this  time  king  of  Northern  France 
and  Burgundy.  He  had  few  of  the  kingly  virtues  of  his 
great  grand  sire,  but  he  was  a  zealous  patron  of  literature, 
very  fond  of  theological  discussions,  was  present  at  many 
French  Councils,  and  on  the  whole,  was  far  better  fitted  by 
nature  to  be  a  monk  than  a  monarch.  He  received  the 
young  Irish  scholar  with  great  kindness,  and  treated  him 
with  marked  distinction.  Scotus  had  apartments  in  the 
palace,  was  made  Capital,  or  head,  of  the  kScholae  Palatiuse, 
and  frequently  admitted  to  the  royal  table.  He  was  a  great 
Greek  scholar,  and  the  king  wanted  him  to  translate  into 
Latin  the  works  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  a  task  which 
none  of  his  subjects  was  able  to  accomplish.  Moreover,  the 
Irishman  was  witty  as  well  as  wise,  and  the  king  loved  a 
joke  quite  as  much  as  he  loved  learning.  William  of 
Malmesbury,  has  preserved  two  of  the  witticisms  of  Scotus. 
On  one  occasion,  when  the  wine  was  going  round  the  table, 
the  Irishman  by  some  word  or  act  offended  against  the 
etiquette  due  to  royalty.  The  king,  who  was  sitting  opposite 
to  Scotus,  good-humouredly  rebuked  him  by  asking — "  Quid 
interest  inter  Scottum  et  Sottum  ?"  '*  Tabula  tantum,"  says 
the  witty  Hibernian,  and  the  monarch  greatly  enjoyed  this 
turning  of  the  tables  against  himself.  On  another  occasion, 
Scotus  was  dining  at  the  table  of  the  king  with  two  other 
clerics.  We  cannot,  indeed,  ascertain  for  certain  whether 
Scotus  himself  was  a  cleric  or  not ;  he  certainly  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  a  priest.  These  two  clerics  were  very 
big  men,  and  Scotus  was,  like  some  other  great  men,  very 
small.  Three  fishes  were  brought  in  by  an  attendant — one 
small  and  two  large  ones.  The  king  beckoned  Scotus  to 
divide  the  fish  with  his  companions.  Scotus  did  so,  giving 
them  the  small  one,  and   keeping   for  himself   the  two  big 


580  IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

ones.  The  king  protested  against  the  unfair  division.  "  It 
is  perfectly  fair,  my  Lord  the  King,"  said  Scotus,  "  for 
here,"  pointing  to  himself  and  his  plate,  "we  have  one 
small  and  two  bijr,  and  there,"  pointing  to  his  companions, 
"  they  have  two  big  and  one  small."  The  king  laughed,  and 
probably  a  fairer  division  was  afterwards  made  by  Scotus. 

He  might  have  long  enjoyed  his  honours  and  emoluments 
in  the  palace  in  peace  if  he  were  prudent.  But  just  at  this 
period  two  fierce  theological  disputes  arose  in  France,  and 
eitlier  his  friends  at  court,  or  his  Irish  blood,  prompted  him 
to  in  ingle  in  the  melee. 

Just  about  the  time  when  Erigena  arrived  in  France, 
began  the  first  and  the  warmest  controversy  of  the  ninth 
century  concerning  the  abstruse  question  of  Predestination. 
Most  of  the  French  bishops  and  theologians  took  part  in  this 
discussion,  which  was  hotly  debated  for  twelve  years.  Its 
author  was  a  Benedictine  monk,  of  the  famous  abbey  of 
Fulda,  who  was  called  Gotteschalk,  or  Servant  of  God. 
Raban  Maur,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  own  time, 
and  for  many  years  head  of  the  great  School  of  Fulda,  who 
was  now  Archbishop  of  Mayence,  cited  Gotteschalk  to  appear 
before  a  Synod  and  account  for  his  doctrinal  novelties.  The 
Council  was  held  on  the  Ist  of  October,  a.d.  848.  Gotteschalk 
did  appear  in  person,  and  handed  in  a  profession  of  faith, 
which,  according  to  Hincmar,  was  undoubtedly  erroneous. 

He  was  accordingly  condemned  by  the  Council,  and 
Raban  wrote  a  letter  to  Hincmar  to  inform  him  that  a  vaga- 
bond monk  (gyrovagus),  of  the  diocese  of  Soissons,  held 
heretical  doctrine,  and  was  condemned  by  the  Synod  with  tho 
approbation  of  King  Louis.  He  also  requests  Hincmar  to 
convene  a  Synod  in  his  own  diocese,  and  condemn  his 
doctrines  in  like  manner.  Hincmar  was  not  slow  in  following 
this  advice.  That  great  bishop,  for  more  than  thirty  years 
the  central  figure  of  the  French  Church,  was  in  every  way 
qualified  to  fill  the  high  place  which  he  occupied  as  the  first 
prelate  and  peer  in  France.  He  was  learned,  eloquent,  and 
resolute,  a  lasting  friend,  and,  to  those  whom  he  considered 
in  the  wrong,  an  unrelenting  foe.  In  his  youth  he  had  been 
a  monk  of  the  great  Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  so  that  between 
Raban  Maur,  a  Benedictine  monk  of  Fulda,  and  Hincmar,  » 
Benedictine  of  St.  Denis,  the  former  now  the  most  powerful 
prince-bishop  in  Germany,  and  the  latter  the  first  prelate  in 
France,  the  unfortunate  Gotteschalk,  a  runaway  monk  of 
their  order,  could  hope  for  little  mercy.  A  great  Synod  of 
his  province    was  convoked  by  Hincmar  in  the  palace   of 


JOHN  SCOTUS  ERIGENA.  581 

Quiercy.  The  king  was  there,  and  a  great  number  of  his 
bishops  and  abbots.  Gotteschalk  was  introduced  and  inter- 
rogated, but  persisted  in  his  opinions,  and,  if  we  may  credit 
Hincmar,  was  very  insolent  in  his  demeanour.  So  the 
bishops  ordered  him  to  be  degraded,  and  the  abbots  ordered 
him  to  be  flogged  according  to  the  rule  of  St.  Benedict,  and 
after  that  to  be  imprisoned  in  an  ergastulum.  A  great  fire 
was  kijidled,  Gotteschalk  was  ordered  to  take  his  MS.  on 
Predestination  in  his  hand,  and  the  lash  was  then  applied 
until  he  should  himself  fling  the  book  into  the  flames,  which 
he  was  glad  to  do  very  soon.  He  was  afterwards  imprisoned 
in  the  Convent  of  Hautvilliers,  where  he  remained  contuma- 
cious for  nine  years,  and  died,  it  is  said,  in  the  same  spirit. 

But  the  severity  of  Hincmar  defeated  his  purpose.     He 
was  so  severely  attacked  by  several  French  theologians  that 
he  found  it  necessary  to  ask  his  friend,  Scotus,  to  come  to  his 
assistance,  and  the    "  Master "  promptly  responded  to  the 
call.     In  A.D.  851  he  published  his  Liber  de  Prcedestinatione, 
a    short  treatise  in  nineteen   chapters,  on  a  very   burning 
question.     This  book  at  once  raised  a  tremendous  storm  on 
all  sides.     He  adopted  a  new  system  of  discussion,  arguing 
rather  from  reason  than   authority,  and  dealing  his  blows 
indiscriminately  on  friend  and  foe.     He  ranges   through  all 
metaphysics,  discusses  the  nature  of  sin,  the  origin  of  evil, 
the  eternal  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  the  qualities  of  the 
bodies  that  will  be  hereafter  united  to  the  glorified  and  con- 
demned souls.     He  somewhat  contemptuously  speaks  of  his 
opponents,  and  acts  on  those  independent  principles  which  he 
elsewhere  so  eloquently  proclaims  in  a  sentence  that   has 
something  of  the  sonorous   ring   of    a  Ciceronian   period.^ 
Wenilo,  Archbishop  of  Sens,  at  once  sent  this  treatise  of 
Scotus  to  Prudentius,  and  he  was  not  very  long  in  pronounc- 
ing what  he  thought  of  it.     The  next  year  he  published  his 
great  treatise  De  Prcsdestinatione  contra  Joannem  Scotum^ 
with  an  introduction  addressed  to  Archbishop  Wenilo.     We 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  this  introduction  is  written 
in  language  rather  vulgar,  and  by  no  means  charitable.     He 
heaps  all  manner  of  abusive  epithets  on  the  head  of  the 
redoubtable  Scotus,  and   although   he  declares   that   he   is 


*  "Non  ita  sum  territua  auctoritate,  aut  minus  capacium  animorum 
expavesco  impetum,  ut  ea  quae  vera  ratio  clare  coUigit  indubitanterque 
definit  aperta  fronte  pronuntiare  confundar,  praesertim  cum  de  talibus  non 
niei  inter  sapientes  tractandvmi  sit,  quibus  ml  Buavius  est  ad  audiendum  vera 
ratione,  nil  delectabilius  ad  invest igandum,  quando  quseritur,  nil  pulchrius 
ad  contemplandum  quando  invenitur." 


582  IRISH  SCHOLARS  AHROAI). 

animated  only  by  zeal  for  the  Catholic  faith,  and  the  affec- 
tion of  true  charity,  we  think  he  would  have  given  bdier 
proof  of  both  by  greater  moderation  in  his  language.  He 
declares  that  be  found  in  the  book  of  Scotu8  the  poison  of 
Pelagianisni,  the  madness  of  Origen,  and  the  wild  fury 
(furiositatcm)  of  the  Collyrian  heretics.  He  speaks  of  the 
impudence  of  Scotus  in  barking  at  (oblatrantem)  the  orthodox 
faith  and  the  Catholic  h^itbery,  and  be  hints  pretty  clearly 
that  it  was  the  devil  himself  who  vomited  so  many  bias- 
ubemies  by  the  mouth  of  John  and  Julian,  and  so  on  to  the 
end  of  the  chapter.  In  the  same  spirit,  but  in  more  moderate 
language,  Florus  attacked  the  book  of  Scotus,  w^hom  he  calls 
a  **  vaniloquus  et  garrulus  homo,"  and  speaks  of  his  writings 
as  "  plena  mendacii  et  erroris."  For  the  present  we  shall 
not  discuss  in  what  or  how  far  Scotus  erred  in  his  book,  but 
he  was  certainly  on  the  right  side  in  supporting  Hincmar, 
and  although  neither  Florus  nor  Prudentius  held  all  the 
opinions  of  Gotteschalk,  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  extract 
irom  their  writings  many  propositions,  which  would  need  to 
be  interpreted  in  a  very  charitable  spirit,  indeed,  before  they 
could  be  reconciled  with  the  commonly  received  doctrines  of 
our  Catholic  theologians. 

But  Hincmar  was  not  the  man  to  yield  to  the  noisy 
declamation  of  the  theologians  of  the  South.  In  a.d.  858  he 
convened  another  Synod  at  Quiercy,  in  which  he  formulated 
with  great  accuracy  his  own  doctrine  on  grace  and  predesti- 
nation.    They  are  well  known  as  the  Capitula  Carisiaca.^ 

It  is  said  that  Prudentius  signed  them,  but  he  certainly 
in  a  short  time  afterwards  formulated  four  counter-proposi- 
tions,  which  it  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  with  Catholic  doctrine, 
and  in  this  proceeding  he  was  countenanced  by  Hemigius  of 
Lyons.  Later  on,  in  the  Council  of  Valence  in  a.d.  855,  and 
in  that  of  Langres  in  a.d.  859,  the  southern  theologians  and 
bishops  attacked  the  capitula  of  Hincmar,  at  least  by  impli- 
cation, and  denounced  the  book  written  by  Scotus  as  a  devil's 
commentary  rather  than  an  argument  of  faith,  and  said  it 
contained  nothing  but  old  women's  stories,  and  Irish  porridge 
nauseous  to  the  purity  of  faith.  They  did  not  expressly 
mention  his  name,   but  there  can  be  no  doubt  about   the 


^We  can  only  quote  the  headiugfs  : — 

1.  Quod  una  tan  turn  isit  prsedefitinatio  Dei. 

2.  Quod  li^'tTum  honiinis  arbitrium  per  gratiam  sanetiir. 

3.  Quod  Dcus  omnes  homines  velit  salvos  fieri. 

4.  Quod  Christus  pro  omnibus  hominibus  passus  sit. 
The  opponents  of  these  propositions  could  not  be  orthodox. 


JOHN  SCOTUS  ERIGENA.  o83 

reference  in  tlie  words — "  Scotorumqiie  pultes  puritati  fidei 
nauseam  inferentes/*  But  in  the  end  Hincmar  prevailed, 
and  his  doctrine  was  sanctioned  in  the  Synod  of  Tousi,  in  the 
year  a.d.  860,  where  a  great  many  prelates  of  both  parties 
were  assembled  from  fourteen  provinces,  with  twelve  metro- 
politans, and  the  three  kings  at  their  head — Charles  the 
Bald,  Lothaire  of  Lorraine,  and  Charles  of  Provence.  So 
the  censures  of  Florus  and  Prudentius,  and  the  condemnation 
of  Valence  and  Langres  cannot  have  much  weight  in 
blackening  the  theological  character  of  Scotus  Erigena. 

The  next  discussion  in  which  Scotus  is  said  to  have  taken 
part  occurred  shortly  afterwards.  It  has  been  stated  by 
many  writers  that  he  was  the  first  who  denied  the  doctriDe 
of  the  Real  Presence  in  the  Western  Church.  Certainly, 
Berengarius,  in  the  eleventh  century,  claimed  Scotus  as  his 
teacher  on  the  new  doctrine  which  he  introduced ;  and  the 
Sacramentarians  regarded  him  as  a  great  apostle  of  what 
they  called  the  truth.  A  book  on  the  Eucharist,  attributed 
to  Scotus  by  Berengarius,  was  condemned  in  three  synods, 
and  committed  to  the  flames  as  impious  and  heretical. 

But  there  is  no  contemporary  evidence  to  show  that 
Scotus  wrote  a  treatise  on  the  Eucharist,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  positive  evidence  which  goes  to  show  the 
identity  of  the  work  attributed  to  Scotus  with  the  treatise 
that  has  certainly  been  written  by  Ratiamnus.  The  very 
words,  on  account  of  which  Berengarius  says  the  book  was 
ordered  to  be  burnt  at  the  Council  of  Koine  in  a.d.  1059, 
namely — ''ea  quae  in  altare  consecrantur  esse  figuram,  pignus, 
et  siguum  Corporis  et  Sanguinis  Christi,"  and  which  were  used 
in  a  heretical  sense  by  Berengarius  but  not  by  their  author, 
are  found  in  the  Book  of  Ratramnus,  the  MS.  of  which  still 
bears  his  name  in  uncial  letters  of  the  tenth  century. 
Another  expression  attributed  by  Ascelinus  to  the  unfortu- 
nate Irishman — "specie  geruntur  ista,  non  veritate  " — are 
nowhere  to  be  found  in  the  existing  writings  of  Scotus,  but 
are  found  exactly  in  the  same  MS.  of  Ratramnus.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Scotus,  in  bis  commentary  on  St.  John, 
did  use  inaccurate  language,  but  certainly  not  in  a  heretical 
sense.^  Yet,  his  language  displeased  some  of  his  best  friends, 
so  that  Hincmar  in  his  second  book  on  Predestination  seems 

^  As,  for  instance,  when  he  eays — "Spiritualiter  enim  Christum  immola- 
muB,  et  intellectualiter  earn  mente,  non  dente,  comedimus."  Scotus  meant 
spiritualiter  et  realiter  in  the  same  sense  precisely  as  St.  Augustin  used 
similar  words  to  the  exclusion  of  the  carnal  revolting  meaning  of  the 
Capharnaites. 


584  riUSH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

to  attribute  to  Scotus — for  he  does  not  mention  his  name — 
the  error  of  teaching  that  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  was 
not  the  real  body  and  blood,  but  only  a  memorial  of  them, 
whereas  Scotus  taught  in  reality,  or  certainly  meant  to  teach, 
that  it  was  both — namely,  a  memorial,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  reality.  Adrevaldus,  too,  wrote  a  treatise — "  De  Corpore 
et  Sanguine  Domini  contra  ineptias  J.  Scoti."  This  is  the 
only  contemporary  evidence  we  have  concerning  the  alleged 
errors  of  Scotus  on  the  Eucharist.  Just  200  years  later, 
however,  in  consequence  of  the  fame  of  Scotus,  and  the 
similarity  of  their  style,  the  Book  of  Ratramnus  was  attributed 
to  Scotus  both  by  Berengarius  and  most  of  his  contemporaries. 
So  it  shared  the  fate  of  Berengarius  himself,  it  was  con- 
demned by  the  Council  of  Paris  in  a.d.  1050,  and  in  the 
same  year  it  was  anathematised  by  the  Councils  of  Rome  and 
Yercelli.  Nine  years  later  Pope  Nicholas  II.  made  Beren- 
garius himself  throw  the  book  into  the  fire  in  presence  of  an 
immense  crowd  of  people  at  Pome.  And  so  it  came  to  pass 
that  Scotus  was  censured  ibr  opinions  which  he  never  held, 
and  for  a.  book  which  he  never  wrote. 

Almost  from  his  first  arrival  in  France,  Scotus  had  been 
engaged  in  translating  from  the  Greek  into  Latin  the 
writings  of  Pseudo-Dionysius.  In  the  year  a.d.  828  the 
Greek  Emperor,  Michael  Balbus — the  stammerer — had  sent, 
as  a  present  to  Louis  le  Debonaire,  a  copy  in  Greek  of  the 
writings  attributed  to  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite.  Dionysius, 
mentioned  in  the  17th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
was  said  to  have  been  at  first  bishop  of  Athens,  and  to  have 
been  afterwards  sent  into  France  by  St.  Clement,  where  he 
preached  the  Gospel  for  many  years,  and  died  a  martyr's 
death.  The  works  attributed  to  St.  Dionysius,  although 
really  written  by  some  forger  of  the  end  of  the  fifth  or 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  were  at  this  time  regarded 
as  genuine.  Hence,  the  Greek  Emperor's  gift  was  very 
highly  prized  in  France,  and  preserved  with  the  greatest 
care  and  veneration  as  the  undoubted  work  of  the  apostle  of 
the  French  people,  and  especially  of  Paris,  where  the  great 
Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  for  many  ages  the  cemetery  of  the  kings 
of  France,  was  built  in  his  honour.  But  these  writings  in 
Greek  were  a  sealed  fountain  to  most  of  the  French  scholars 
at  the  time.  Hilduin,  a  monk  of  St.  Denis,  was  charged 
with  their  custody,  and  commissioned  to  translate  them,  but 
failed  in  the  attempt.  When,  however,  the  exiled  Irish 
scholar  came  to  Paris,  the  kinj?,  to  his  great  joy,  soon  dis- 
covered that  he  was  a  perfect  mufiter  of  the  Greek  tongue,  and 


JOHN  SCd^US  ERIGENA.  585 

asked  him  to  undertake  the  translation  of  the  writings  of  the 
Areopagite.  Scotus  gladly  undertook  the  task  imposed  upon 
him  by  his  royal  patron,  and  executed  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
please  the  man  of  all  others  best  qualified  to  pronounce  a 
critical  opinion — Anastasius,  the  Roman  Librarian.  In  a 
letter  written  to  the  king,  in  a.d.  875,  he  declares  it  to  be 
a  wonderful  thing  that  a  man  like  Scotus,  a  barbarian,  living 
at  the  end  of  the  world — vir  ille  barbarus  in  finibus  mundi 
positus — could  understand  and  translate  into  another  tongue 
the  writings  of  the  Areopagite.  But  the  Holy  Spirit,  he 
says,  was  tne  chief  agent  who  filled  him  at  once  with  fire  and 
eloquence — qui  hunc  ardentem  et  loquentern  *  fecit — and 
charity  was  the  mistress  who  taught  him  for  the  instruction 
and  edification  of  many.  He  adds  that  his  only  fault  was  to 
translate  too  literally,  and  the  cause  of  that  was  his  great 
humility,  which  did  not  permit  him  to  change  the  exact 
order  and  meaning  of  the  words  of  so  great  a  writer. 

We  cannot  ascertain  for  certain  the  year  of  its  appearance  ; 
it  was  probably  about  a.d.  855,  but  in  this  case,  too,  Scotus 
was  unfortunate.  Whether  it  was  that  the  French  theolo- 
gians had  given  him  a  bad  character  in  Rome  on  account  of 
the  book  on  Predestination,  or,  as  others  think,  that  the 
Greek  scholar  was  considered  to  be  a  supporter  of  Greek 
influences  in  the  Court  of  Charles  during  the  Photian  in- 
trigues, it  is  certain  that  at  this  time  he  was  no  favourite  at 
Kome.  Accordingly,  when  his  work  appeared,  Pope  Nicholas 
wrote  a  letter  to  Charles  the  Bald,  in  which  he  complains  of 
the  publication  of  this  translation  without  the  usual  apostolic 
sanction — quod  juxta  morem  ecclesiae  nobis  mitti  debet — 
especially  as  John  the  Scot,  who  translated  it,  although  said 
to  be  a  man  of  much  learning,  was  by  many  persons  regarded 
as  not  altogether  sound  in  his  doctrine — non  sapere  in  qui- 
busdam  frequenti  rumore  dicitur.  Therefore  the  Pope  orders 
Charles  either  to  send  the  aforesaid  John  to  E/Ome  to  give  an 
account  of  himself,  or  at  least  not  to  permit  him  to  remain  any 
longer  at  Paris  as  the  head  of  the  University — aut  certo 
Parisiis  in  studio,  cujus  capital  jam  olim  fuisse  perhibetur, 
morari  non  sinatis.  This  letter  was  written  in  the  third  year 
of  Nicholas's  pontificate,  either  a.d.  861  or  862.  We  do  not 
know  what  efi'ect  the  letter  produced,  whether  the  king  dis- 
missed Scotus  from  his  high  position  or  not.  It  is  very 
improbable  that  he  did  dismiss  him,  seeing  the  way  in  which 
Anastasius,  himself  a  Roman,  spoke  of  Scotus  twelve  yeau 
later  as  a  holy,  learned,  and  humble  man.  Most  probably  by 
that  time  they  had  got  better  information  concerning  Scotus 


586  IRISH  SCHOLAUS  ABKOAD. 

in  Home,  and  found  out  that  he  was  neither  so  unsound  in 
doctrine,  nor  so  Photian  in  his  tendencies  as  }iis  enemies 
made  him  out  to  be.  At  this  time,  however,  when  the  Pope 
wrote  to  Charles,  Scotus  took  very  good  care  not  to  go  to 
Rome,  where  he  might  have  met  the  fate  of  Gotteschalk  ; 
nor  does  it  appear  that  Charles  dismissed  his  favourite  from 
the  palace,  although  requested  to  do  so  by  the  Pope  himself. 
Scotus  not  only  translated  and  wrote  extensive  commen- 
taries on  the  writings  of  the  Pseudo-Dionysius,  but  about  the 
same  period  composed  a  profound,  original,  and  eloquent 
work  in  five  books,  which  he  entitles  Hepl  ^varea^?  Meptor/xoi), 
seu  l)e  Divisione  Naturae.  This  work  has  been  greatly 
praised,  and  greatly  and  justly  censured.  We  shall,  however, 
for  the  present  reserve  our  judgment  on  its  undoubted  merits, 
as  well  as  on  its  demerits,  and  confine  ourselves  to  sketching 
its  eventful  history.  It  is  a  dialogue  between  a  master  and 
his  pupil  after  the  Platonic  fashion,  not  indeed  with  Plato's 
unrivalled  beauty  of  form,  but  with  much  of  the  eloquence 
and  subtlety  of  the  Greek  mind.  ISio  other  scholar  of  the 
Western  Church  in  any  age  was  so  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the 
philosophy  and  theology  of  the  Greeks,  and  whose  mind  was 
so  closely  akin  to  the  mind  of  Greece.  The  Irish,  like  the 
Greek  mind,  has  a  natural  love  for  speculation,  is  quick, 
subtle,  and  far-seeing,  has  greater  power  of  abstraction  and 
generalisation — that  is  to  say,  greater  metaphysical  power 
than  the  phlegmatic  Anglo-Saxon.  Scotus  was  a  typical 
Celt,  strongly  developing  all  the  intellectual  peculiarities  of 
the  race.  Moreover,  he  was  familiar  with  Plato,  and  Aristotle, 
and  the  Greek  Fathers,  far  more  than  with  the  Latin  FatherSo 
He  had,  by  close  study,  imbibed  the  spirit  of  Neo-Platonic 
philosophy  from  the  writings  of  Dionysius,  whom  he  not 
unnaturally  regarded  with  the  reverence  due  to  an  apostle, 
and  so  his  whole  soul  was  made  by  nature,  study,  and  duty, 
intensely  Greek.  No  doubt  this  was  in  itself  one  great  source 
of  his  errors,  both  real  and  imaginary,  because  his  critics 
seeing  how  he  erred  in  some  things  where  they  could  fathom 
his  philosophy,  imagined  he  erred  in  many  more  where  they 
oould  scarcely  guess  at  the  meaning  of  his  words.  Hence 
William  of  Malmesbury  very  justly  says  of  this  work  of 
Scotus,  "  De  Divisione  Naturae,"  that  it  was  very  useful  for 
the  solution  of  some  difficult  questions,  *'  Si  tamen  ignoscatur 
ei  in  quibusdum,  quibus  a  Latinorum  tramite  deviavit  dum 
in  Giaecos  acriter  oculos  intendit."  His  eyes  were  on  the 
Greeks,  and  his  spirit  was  with  the  Greeks,  and  so  his  teach- 
inir  and  his  lanffua^e  in  manv  reMnftp.ts  .seemed  atranffe  and 


JOHN  SCOTUS  ERIGKNA.  587 

erroneous  to  the  Latins  It  has  been  said  that  this  book  of 
Scotus  was  corrupted  by  his  enemies  the  more  easily  to  refute 
him,  and  by  heretics  the  more  easily  to  defend  their  own 
errors.  But  the  supposition  is  quite  gratuitous,  unsupported 
by  evidence,  and  unnecessary  as  an  explanation  of  facts.  His 
doctrine  in  many  points  was  attacked  in  his  own  time,  his 
errors  were  palliated  by  friends  and  amplified  by  enemies.  In 
later  ages  erratic  sectaries,  who  vexed  the  Church  of  France 
in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  appealed  to  the 
writings  of  Scotus  in  deience  of  their  errors,  and  thus  he  was 
made  a  third  time  a  scape-goat  to  carry  the  sins  of  others. 
We  learn  from  the  Chronicon  of  the  monk  Alberic,  but  from 
no  other  source,  that  in  the  year  a.d.  1225,  Honorius  III. 
sent  a  Brief  to  the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  France,  in 
which  he  passed  a  severe  judgmc  nt  on  the  book  of  Scotus, 
entitled  "  Periphysis,"  for  so  the  monk  writes  it.  The  Bishop 
of  Paris  had  inlormed  the  Pope  that  this  work  was  full  of 
heretical  depravity,  and  had  been  condemned  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens  and  his  suffragans,  that  it  was  hid  in  many 
monasteries,  where  cloistered  and  scholastic  men,  thinking  it 
a  great  thing  to  propound  new  opinions,  spent  much  time  in 
the  study  of  the  book.  So  the  Pope  ordered  it  to  be  carefully 
sought  ai'ter,  whenever  it  was  found  to  be  solemnly  burned, 
and  inflicted  excorumunication,  ipsofacto^  on  those  who  should 
knowingly  presume  to  keep  it  in  their  possession.  This 
severe  prohibition  was  effective.  The  MS.  copies  were  every- 
where sought  out;,  and  nearly  all  destroyed,  and  no  Catholic 
dared  to  publish  it.  But  in  the  year  a.d.  1681,  Thomas  Gale, 
of  Oxford,  printed  it  at  that  city.  A  few  years  later,  in  a.d. 
1685,  the  old  prohibition  was  renewed,  and  the  work  placed 
on  the  Index,  where  it  still  remains,  although  reprinted  in 
Migne's  Patrology. 

Scotus  also  wrote  several  Greek  and  Latin  poems  on 
various  subjects,  thirteen  of  which,  mostly  Latin,  are  printed 
in  Migne's  edition  of  his  works.  Like  moj^t  poems  in  foreign, 
and  especially  in  dead  languages,  they  are  merely  artificial 
flowers  of  poesy — stiff,  scentless,  and  lifeless  ;  but  they  serve 
to  show  the  familiarity  of  the  writer  even  in  that  rude  age 
with  the  languages  ot  Greece  and  Home. 

How  Scotus  ended  his  life  we  know  not.  William  of 
Malmesbury,  whom  many  other  authorities  blindly  follow, 
states  that  it  was  a  common  report — ut  fertur — that  he  was 
invited  to  England  by  King  Alfred,  that  he  lectured  ut 
Oxford,  and  afterwards  retired  to  Malmesbury,  where  he  wu3 
stabbed  to  death  by  his  pupils  with  their  pens,  or  perhaps 


588  IRISH  SCHOLARS  ABROAD. 

penknives  (grapliils).  His  body  was  at  first  secretly  buried 
in  the  Church  of  8t.  Laurence,  where  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted, but  a  bright  light  shining  nightly  on  the  spot  warned 
the  monks  to  transfer  the  holy  remains  of  the  martyred 
scholar  to  the  left  corner  of  the  high  altar  in  the  great  Church 
of  Malmesbury,  where  they  reposed  in  peace  and  honour  until 
another  abbot,  Warinus  de  Lira,  exhumed  the  bodies  of 
Scotus  and  other  saints,  and  buried  them  without  honour  or 
ceremony  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  Church  of  St.  Michael. 
But  his  memory  was  long  venerated  as  a  holy  martyr,  and 
his  feast  celebrated  on  the  10th  of  November,  on  which  day 
his  name  was  inserted  in  the  Antwerp  edition  of  the  Roman 
Martyrology,  until  Cardinal  Baronius  had  it  expunged.  The 
story  of  William  of  Malmesbury  is  altogether  improbable, 
and  we  have  no  contemporary  evidence  in  its  support.  It  arose 
in  the  beginning  from  confounding  Scotus  Erigena,  or,  as  he 
was  sometimes  called,  Joannes,  with  another  John,  abbot  of 
Etheling,  who  was  invited  to  England  by  Alfred,  about  the 
year  a.d.  880.  In  the  letter  written  by  Anastasius  in  a.d.  875, 
he  not  obscurely  speaks  of  John  Scotus  as  already  dead,  at 
least  he  uses  the  past  tense  throughout.  It  is  not  improbable, 
therefore,  that  shortly  after  the  Pope's  letter  in  a.d.  862, 
Scotus  may  have  deemed  it  prudent  to  retire  from  Paris,  and, 
with  an  Irishman's  love  of  home,  returned  to  his  native 
country,  where  he  is  said  to  have  died  in  peace  and  holiness 
in  the  year  a.d.  874. 

It  has  been  said,  too,  that  he  travelled  to  Athens,  and 
visited  various  parts  of  the  East,  and  that  he  was  skilled  in 
most  of  the  Oriental  languages.  But  these  statements  appenr 
unfounded  ;  they  are  certainly  destitute  of  any  reliable 
authority.  What  we  know^  for  certain  is  that  Scotus  was 
an  Irishman,  that  he  was  the  first  scholar  of  his  time,  that  he 
acquired  his  knowledge  even  of  the  Greek  language,  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  country.  He  was  loved  and  honoured 
by  friends  who  knew  him,  and  misjudged  both  during  his  life 
and  after  his  death  by  many  who  knew  neither  the  man  him- 
self nor  his  writings.  His  career  was  short  and  brilliant ; 
comet-like  he  blazed  for  a  while  in  the  sunshine  of  royal 
favour ;  he  appeared  and  disappeared  in  a  strangely  eccentric 
orbit.  For  ages  he  was  lost  to  view,  but  in  our  own  time  is 
seen  again  shining  in  the  literary  heavens  with  even  more 
than  his  ancient  splendour.  We  are  not  inclined  to  extol 
him  unduly,  neither  does  it  become  us  to  judge  him  harshly  ; 
but  whatever  may  be  said  of  his  errors,  all  must  admit  that 
John  Scotus  Erigena  was  a  man  of  saintly  lite,  a  prodigy  of 


BOREIGN  SCHOLARS  IN  IRELAND.  589 

learning,  and  an  honour  to  the  country  which  gave  him  his 
name  and  his  knowledge. 

IV. — Foreign  Scholars  in  Ireland. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  several  foreign  scholars,  who 
came  to  our  Irish  Schools ;  hut  there  are  a  few  others  to 
whom  it  is  necessary  to  make  more  explicit  reference. 

The  hill  of  Slane,  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne,  near 
Drogheda,  is  one  of  the  historic  sites  of  Ireland.  It  com- 
mands a  noble  prospect  of  all  the  swelling  plains  of  Meath 
and  Louth,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  distant  Mourne 
Mountains  rising  from  the  sea,  and  on  the  south  beyond  the 
smoky  pall  of  Dublin,  by  the  many  topped  summits  of  the 
Wicklow  Hills.  There,  close  at  hand  on  this  same  left  bank 
of  the  river  towards  Drogheda  are  Brugh  and  Dowth  and 
New  Grange,  the  cemeteries  of  pre-historic  kings  ;  while  just 
in  front  beyond  the  river  is  Rosnaree,  where  the  great  King 
Cormac  sleeps  with  his  face  to  the  rising  sun,  the  daily  herald 
of  his  immortal  hopes.  Further  off  in  the  distance  to  the 
south  and  west,  may  be  seen  Royal  Tara,  and  Skreen  of 
Columcille,  and  Kells  of  the  Crosses,  and  the  towers  of  Trim 
and  all  the  other  storied  ruins  that  once  guarded  the  passes 
of  the  Boyne  from  Newtown  of  the  Normans,  by  Bective, 
Navan,  and  Donore,  whence  fled  the  chicken-hearted  James, 
down  to  the  obelisk  by  yonder  bridge  that  marks  the  spot 
where  the  gallant  Schomberg  fell. 

It  was  on  this  hill  of  Slane  that  St.  Patrick  lit  his  Paschal 
fire  for  the  first  time  in  Erin,  within  view  of  King  Laeghaire 
and  his  Druids  from  Tara.  And  it  was  here  too  that  Ere, 
"  the  sweet  spoken  judge  of  Patrick,"  built  his  orator}^  and 
little  cell,  wliich  in  after  ages  grew  to  be  a  great  monastery 
and  a  great  college.  There  is  now  no  trace  of  the  oratory  of 
St.  Ere  at  Slane.  The  ivy-clad  ruins  that  still  remain  on  the 
hill  seem  to  be  of  Norman  origin,  dating  probably  from  the 
twelfth  century.  The  history  of  the  ancient  monastery  has 
likewise  disappeared,  almost  as  completely  as  its  buildings. 
One  interesting  fact,  however,  is  still  preserved  by  local 
tradition,^  and  that  tradition  has  been  amply  confirmed  by  the 
researches  of  scholars  in  our  times.  It  is  said  that  a  king  of 
France  was  educated  long  ago  at  the  great  College  of  Slane, 
but  his  name  and  date  are  forgotten.  We  are,  however, 
enabled  to  supply  these,  particulars.      St.  Sigebert  III.  was 


*  fee  Dean  (Jogau's  Diocese  of  Meath,  Vol.  i.,  pHg^e  68. 


590  FOREIGN  SCHOLAKS  IN   IRELAND. 

king  of  the  Aiistrasiun  Franks  from  a.d.  632  to  656.  This 
pious  king  was  more  given  to  prayer  than  to  warlike  enter- 
prise ;  and  so  Grimoald,  Mayor  of  the  Palace,  became  virtually 
ruler  of  Austrasia.  When  Sigcbcrt  died  in  a.d.  656,  Grim- 
oald, wishing  to  have  the  name  as  well  as  the  power  of  a  king, 
■paused  the  late  king's  son,  Dagobert,  to  be  tonsured,  and  then 
sent  Dido,  Bishop  of  Poitiers,  to  carry  off  the  boy  secretly  to 
Ireland,  to  be  educated  there  as  a  monk  in  one  of  its  famous 
monastic  schools.  Tradition  tells  us  that  the  school  was 
Slane,  and  that  Dagobert  spent  eighteen  or  twenty  years  in 
its  halls,  and  acquired  during  that  long  period  all  the  learn- 
ing of  the  Scots.  Meanwhile  Grimoald  received  the  fitting 
reward  of  his  treason.  He  was  captured  by  Clovis  of 
Neustria,  and  put  to  death  with  torture,  not  long  after  he  had 
sent  the  young  prince  to  Ireland.  When  Dagobert  was 
grown  to  man's  estate  he  returned  home  to  Austrasia,  and 
mounted  his  father's  throne  as  Dagobert  II.,  by  which  name 
the  student  of  Slane  College  is  known  in  French  history.^  It 
is  obvious  that  Slane  was  selected,  not  because  it  was  the  most 
celebrated  school  at  the  time,  but  because  it  was  in  Meatb, 
where  the  High-kings  mostly  dwelt ;  and  it  was  only  natural 
to  bring  the  royal  boy  to  some  college  near  the  royal  court. 
It  was  through  the  agency  of  Wilfrid,  Archbishop  of  York, 
that  Dagobert  was  restored  to  his  friends  and  his  kingdom 
about  the  year  a.d.  674,  after  the  deposition  and  death  of 
King  Childeric  II. 

Another  eminent  saint  and  scholar  of  foreign  origin, 
contemporary  with  Dagobert  in  Ireland,  was  Egbert  of 
JS'orthumbria.  Bede  gives  a  very  interesting  account  of 
this  eminent  man.^  He  was  sprung  from  the  nobility  of 
Northumbria,  and  appears  to  have  been  born  in  a.d.  639. 

With  another  young  noble  named  Ethelun,  Egbert  went 
over  to  Ireland,  like  the  crowds  of  his  countrymen,  '  to  pur- 
sue divine  studies,  and  lead  a  continent  life.'  They  sojourned 
in  the  monastery,  called  in  Irish  Rathmelsigi,  which  Bede's 
editor  and  translator^  foolishly  calls  *  Melfont.'  He  meant 
Mellifont,  near  Drogheda ;  but  there  was  no  monastery  at 
Mellifont  for  nearly  five  hundred  years  afterwards.  As  the 
same  learned  editor  makes  Columba's  noble  monastery  of 
Dair-magh  to  be  Derry,  instead  of  Durrow,  we  need  not 


*  ^ae  Dictionary  of  Christian  Biography,  Arts.  'Sigebert '  and  'Dagobert,' 
and  the  authorities  there  cited. 

-  Book  iii. ,  chapters  ir.  and  xxvii. 

*  See  Bohn'a  Edition,  pa^e  163. 


FOREIGN  SCHOLARS  IN  IRELAND.  591 

attacli  mucli  importance  to   his  notes  on  Bede  concerning 
Irish  matters.     Colgan  says  that  this  monastery  of  Rath- 
melsi^i  was  in  Connaught ;  but  he  does  not  specify,  and 
probably  did  not  know,  the  exact  locality.     In  the  Martyr- 
ology   of  Donegal,    we   find,   reference  to   "  Colman^  Rath- 
Maoilsidhe  '*  (at  Dec.  14th),  which  is  in  all  probability  the 
monastery  referred  to  by  Colgan.     This  Colman  is  different 
from  Colman  of   Innisbofiin,  whose  festival  day  is  the  8th  of 
August.      It   is   not   improbable   that   his   monastery   was 
situated  at  the  place  called  Rath-maoil,  or  Rath-Maoilcath, 
both  of  which  were  situated  near  Ballina,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Moy.     Everything  points  to  the  fact  taat'most  of  the 
young  Northumbrian  nobles  and  ceorls,   who  came  to  the 
West   of  Ireland  in  crowds  at  this  period,   landed  in  the 
estuary  of  the  Moy,  and  then  going  southward,  took  up  their 
abode,  or  founded  their  religious  houses  wherever  they  could 
obtain  suitable  accommodation.     St.  Gerald's  Abbey  of  Mayo 
was  not  then  established  (in  a.d.  664) ;  and  so  Egbert  and 
his  companions  put  themselves  under  the  guidance  of  St. 
Colman,  or  some  of  his  successors,  in  this  monastery  of  Rath- 
Maoilsidhe. 

Just  then  the  terrible  Yellow  Plague  made  its  appearance 
in  Ireland,  and  carried  off  one-half  of  its  population.     All  the 
companions  of  Egbert   and   Ethelun   were  cut  off  by  the 
plague ;  and  now  they  themselves  were  attacked,  and  became 
grievously    ill.     Then   Egbert,    whilst   he  had  yet  a  little 
strength  remaining,  rose  up  in  the  morning,  and  going  out 
of  the  chamber  of  the  sick,  he  sat  down  alone,  and  bef>an  to 
think  of  his  past  sins  ;  and  he  asked  God's  pardon  for  them 
with  many  tears.     He  prayed,  too,  earnestly  that  God  would 
not  yet  take  him  out  of  the  world,  but  would  give  him  time 
to  atone  by  his  good  works  for  the  sins  of  his  youth.     And 
if  God  deigned  to    hear   his    prayer,   he    vowed  never  to 
return  again  to  his  native  Britain,  but  to  live  as  a  pilgrim  in 
some  strange  land ;  and,  moreover,  to  recite  the  Psalter  daily, 
and  to  fast  continuously  for  twenty-four  hours  once  a  week. 
When  he  returned  to  the  sick  chamber,  Ethelun,  his  com- 
panion, was  asleep  ;  but  presently  awaking,  he  told  Egbert 
that  his  prayer  was  heard  by  God  ;  then  he  gently  rebuked 
him,   for  he  had  hoped  that  together  they  would  go  into 
life  everlasting.     Next  day  Ethelun  died ;  but  Egbert  re- 
covered from  his  sore  sickness,  and  lived  to  be  ninety  years 
of  age,  when  he  departed  from  this  life. 

^  Was  this  the  *'  Colman  of  the  Britons  "  mentioned  in  the  Additions  to 
Tireehanf    See  Stokes'  Tripartite,  Vol.  ii.,  page  341. 


592 


FOREIGN  SCHOLARS  IN  IRT?I,AND. 


Ue  was  ordained  a  priest;  "and  bis  life,"  says  Bede. 
"adorned  the  priesthood,  for  he  lived  in  the  practice  of 
humility,  meekness,  continence,  justice,  and  all  other  vir- 
tues." He  loved  the  Irish  greatly,  and  lived  amongst  them 
for  fifty  years  (a.d.  664-7 IT*),  preaching  the  Gospel,  teaching 
in  his  monastery,  reproving  the  bad,  and  encouraging  the 
good  by  the  bright  example  of  his  blameless  life.  He  not 
only  kept  his  vow,  but  he  added  to  it,  says  Bede  ;  for  during 
the  whole  Lent  he  took  but  one  meal  in  the  day,  and  that 
was  nothing  but  bread  in  limited  quantity,  and  thin  milk 
from  which  the  cream  had  been  skimmed  otf.  Whatever  he 
got  from  others — and  he  got  much — he  gave  to  the  poor. 

For  many  years  he  had  been  resolving  in  his  mind  to  sail 
round  Britain,  and  go  to  Grermany  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  pagan  tribes  who  dwelt  there,  and  who  were  kindred  to 
his  own  nation  of  the  Angles.  But  God  had  willed  other- 
wise. There  was  in  Egbert's  monastery  an  old  monk  who 
had  many  years  before  been  minister  to  Boisil,  Abbot  of 
Melrose,  an  Irish  foundation  in  Scotland.  Now  one  morning 
after  matins,  Boisil  appeared  to  this  aged  monk,  who  at  once 
recognised  his  old  master,  and  commanded  him  to  tell  Egbert 
that  it  was  God's  will  that  he  should  give  up  his  proposed 
journey  to  Germany,  and  go  rather  to  instruct  the  Columbian 
monasteries  in  the  right  method  of  keeping  Easter,  and  of 
tonsuring  the  head. 

Egbert  fearing  that  this  vision  might  be  a  delusion,  still 
continued  his  preparations  for  Germany,  and  d'd  not  obey 
the  direction  given  by  Boisil.  Then  that  saint  appeared  1 
second  time  to  his  minister,  and  commanded  him  to  make 
known  to  Egbert,  in  a  more  imperative  way,  what  it  was  God 
willed  him  to  do.  "  Let  him  go  at  once,"  he  said,  "  to 
Columba's  monastery  of  Hy,  because  their  ploughs  do  not  go 
straight^  and  he  will  bring  them  into  the  right  way."  More- 
over,  the  ship  in  which  he  was  preparing  to  set  out  foi 
Germany  was  wrecked  in  a  storm,  and  thrown  upon  the 
shore,  leaving,  however,  his  effects  intact.  Egbert,  taking 
this  as  a  further  manifestation  of  the  Divine  will,  gave  up 
his  project  of  going  to  Germany,  and  set  sail  for  lona. 
Wictbert,  however,  one  of  his  associates  in  religion  in  Ire- 
land, went  in  his  stead,  and  for  two  years  preached  the  Gospel 
in  Friesland,  but  reaped  no  harvest  of  success  amongst  the 
pagans.  iSo  he  returned  once  again  to  Ireland,  and  gave 
himself  up  to  serve  God  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  as  he  was 
wont  to  do  before  his  departure,  in  great  purity  and  austerity; 
"  80  that  if  he  could  not  be  profitable  to  others  by  teaching 


FOREIGN  SCHOLARS  IN  IRELAND.  593 

% 

them  the  faitli,  lie  took  care  to  be  useful  to  tiis  own  beloved 
(Irish)  people  by  the  example  of  his  virtues." 

Now  when  this  holy  father  and  priest,  Egbert,  beloved 
of  God,  and  worthy  to  be  named  with  all  honour,  came  to  the 
monastery  of  lona,  he  was  honourably  and  joyfully  received 
by  the  community.  He  was  also  a  diligent  teacher,  and 
carried  out  his  precepts  by  his  example,  so  that  he  was  wil- 
lingly listened  to  by  all  the  members  of  the  community.  The 
effect  of  his  frequent  instructions  and  pious  exhortations, 
was  that  at  length  the  community  of  Hy  consented  to  give 
up  the  inveterate  tradition  of  their  ancestors  in  religion,  and 
adopt  the  new  discipline,  which  by  this  time  had  been  re- 
ceived everywhere  else  throughout  the  Irish  Church.  Now 
surely,  this  was,  as  Bede  observes,  a  wonderful  dispensation 
of  Providence,  that  these  very  monks  of  lona,  who  were  the 
first  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Northumbria,  should  afterwards 
be  persuaded  by  this  Northumbrian  priest  to  accept  the  correci 
discipline  and  true  rule  of  spiritual  life.  And  stran^rer  still,  it 
was  on  Easter  Day,  the  24th  of  A  pril,  a.d.  729,  that  this  man 
of  God  went  to  his  eternal  rest ;  whereas,  but  for  his  exer- 
tions, that  Easter  festival  would  not  have  been  duly  cele- 
brated on  that  da}^  but,  in  accordance  with  the  unreformed 
system,  would  have  been  celebrated  in  that  year  towards  the 
end  of  March,  whilst  the  rest  of  the  Church  was  observing 
the  fast  of  Lent. 

With  Egbert  also  dwelt  in  the  same  monastery  the  cele- ' 
celebrated  St.  Chad,  or  Cedd,  Bishop  of  Lichfield.  Chad  is  justly 
regarded,  on  account  of  his  learning  and  holiness,  as  one  of 
the  Fathers  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Church.  He  was  oae  of 
four  brothers,  like  Egbert  himself,  of  Northumbrian  origin, 
two  of  whom  became  bishops,  and  two  were  holy  priests. 
Chad  was  one  of  that  crowd  of  Northumbrian  nobles,  who, 
in  the  days  of  Bishops  Finan  and  Colinan,  flocked  to  Ireland 
for  instruction  in  theology  and  religious  discipline.  Bede  says 
expressly  that  he  with  the  most  reverend  Father  Egbert,  when 
both  were  youths,  led  for  a  long  time  a  monastic  life  together 
in  Ireland — praying,  observing  continency,  and  meditating 
on  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Chad,  however,  returned  after  a  time 
to  his  own  country  ;  but  Egbert  continued  in  Ireland  until  he 
set  sail  for  lona. 

Chad  was,  as  we  have  already  seen,  present  at  the  Con- 
ference of  Whitby  in  a.d.  664,  and  having  been  educated  in 
Ireland,  he  naturally  sj^mpathised  with  Bishop  Colman  and 
the  Irish,  party.  He  was  subsequently  appointed  to  the  see 
of  York,  but  still   sympathising  with  the  Irish  party,  he 

2p 


594 


FORF.IGN  SCHOLARS  TN  IRELAND. 


was  dcposofl  through  the  influence  of  Wilfrid.  Yet  he  was 
sometinio  after  appointed  to  the  See  of  Lichfield.  lie  was 
a  man  of  great  holiness  of  life  ;  but  his  episcopacy  at  Lich- 
field only  continued  for  two  years  and  a  half.  He  died 
probably  in  a.d.  671  or  672,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Mary's 
Church  ;  but  his  bones  were  afterwards  translated  to  the 
present  Cathedral  of  Lichfield. 

A  little  later  in  the  same  seventh  century,  the  celebrated 
St.  Willibrord,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Utrecht,  was  a 
students  in  our  Irish  schools,  and  most  probably,  we  should  say, 
at  Mayo  of  the  Saxons.  His  father  Wilo^ils,  was  also  of  the 
English  nobility,  but  after  the  birth  of  his  son  he  retired 
from  the  world,  and  built  himself  a  cell  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Humber,  where  he  led  a  life  of  the  most  austere  virtue. 
Willibrord  in  his  youth  was  trained  in  the  great  school  of 
St  Wilfrid  at  York  ;  but  about  the  age  of  twenty,  in  order 
to  finish  his  education,  like  most  of  his  countrymen  at  the 
time,  he  passed  over  to  Ireland.  This  much  we  know  from 
Bede,  who  also  adds  that  whilst  yet  only  a  priest  in  Ireland, 
he  led  therein  the  life  of  .a  pilgrim — forsaking  his  earthly 
countrj^  through  love  of  his  heavenly  country  Willibrord 
also  testified  to  Bishop  Acca  and  Bishop  Wilfrid,  that  once 
on  a  time,  when  he  was  in  Ireland,  the  plague  overtook  a 
certain  student  of  the  Scottish,  that  is  the  Irish,  race.  This 
young  man,  though  well  skilled  in  literature,  had  been  rather 
heedless  about  the  welfare  of  his  soul.  When  he  fell  sick  he 
at  once  sent  for  Willibrord,  and  telling  him  how  much  he 
feared  to  die  on  account  of  his  sins,  he  besought  him,  if  he 
had  any  relics  of  the  good  King  Oswald,  to  apply  them  for 
his  benefit. 

Then  Willibrord  said  that  he  had  a  portion  of  the  stake  on 
which  the  pagans  fixed  the  head  of  the  martyred  king;  and 
"  blessing  some  water  he  put  into  it  a  chip  of  the  aforesaid 
oaken  stake,  and  gave  it  to  the  sick  man  to  drink.  He  pre- 
senth'  found  ease,  and  recovering  from  his  sickness  he  lived 
a  long  time  after  ;  and  being  entirely  converted  to  God 
in  heart  and  actions,  wherever  he  came,  he  spoke  of  the 
goodness  of  his  merciful  Creator,  and  the  honour  of  bis  faithful 
servant."^ 

It  was  the  holy  Egbert,  who  sent  Willibrord  with  twelve 
companions  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Frisians.  And 
shortly  after  two  other  priests  of  the  English  nation,  who 
had  long  lived  as  pilgrims  in  Ireland,  following  their  example, 


'  Bede,  Book  iii.,  o.  13. 


FOREIGN  SCPIOLARS  IN  IRELAND.  595 

went  to  preach  in  Saxony,  where  they  gained  the  crown  of 
iriartvidom  within  a  few  years.  This  is  not  the  pi  ;ce  to 
narrate  at  length  the  apostolic  labours  of  Willibrord  and  his 
associates — how  he  was  consecrated  by  Pope  Sergius  in 
Rome,  and  was  commissioned  to  preach  to  the  Frisians  ;  how 
completely  he  succeeded  where  others  had  failed;  how  he 
laboured  there  for  fifty  years  in  all — during  thirty-six  of 
which  he  was  Archbishop  of  Utrecht.  These  things  are 
told  at  length  by  Alcuin  in  his  beautiful  Life  of  St. 
Willibrord^  which  also  describes  the  saintly  end  of  the  long 
and  laborious  career  of  this  venerable  servant  of  God. 

It  is  surely  a  credit  to  our  Irish  schools  to  have  trained 
up  so  many  learned  and  apostolic  men,  like  Egbert  and 
Willibrord.  It  was  in  Ireland  they  were  trained  in  divine 
studies,  as  Bede  testifies  ;  it  was  in  Ireland  they  learned  the 
continent  and  self-denying  life  of  all  true  apostles  ;  and  it 
was  from  Ireland  they  went  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  fierce  pagan  tribes  of  Germany,  where  so  many  of  them 
were  privileged  to  meet  a  martyr's  death. 

Another  Irish  student  at  this  period  was  A  gilbert,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Paris.  He  was,  says  Bede,  a  Frank  by  birth, 
who  came  from  that  country  to  Ireland,  "  and  lived  a  hmg 
time  there  for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  Scriptures." 
Bede  seems  to  imply  that  he  was  a  bishop  before  became  to 
Ireland,^  for  he  describes  him  as  a  *  Pontifex  natione  Gallus.' 
This  shows  in  what  high  esteem  our  Irish  schools  must  have 
been  held  at  this  period,  when  even  bishops  came  from 
France  to  study  divinity  in  their  halls.  Agilbert  afterwards 
passed  over  to  England,  and  for  a  time  held  the  See  of 
Dorchester  or  Winchester.  He  was  present  at  the  Cotifer- 
ence  of  Whitby,  and  took  the  side  of  Wilfrid,  but  finally 
returning  to  his  native  country  lie  was  made  Bishop  of  Paris. 
The  vear  of  his  death  is  not  known.  It  was  probably  about 
A.D.  680. 

^  Agilbert  may  have  been  consecrated  bishop  in  Ireland.  The  following 
are  the  words  of  Bede : — 

•*  Venit  in  provinciam  de  Hibernia  pontifex  quidam  nomine  Ag-ilberctus, 
natione  quidem  Gallus,  sed  tunc  legendarum  gratia  Scriptuiarum  in 
Hibernia  non  parvo  tempore  deraoratus  .  .  .  cujus  eruditionem  atque  indus- 
triara  videns  rex  rogavit  eum,  accepta  ibi  (in  Weesex)  sede  episcopali,  suae 
genti  m:jnere  pontificem." — liaddun  and  Stubbs,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  yi. 


CHAPTEE     XXIV. 

GAEDHLTC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT 

ERIN. 

"  The  Gaedhlic  tongue  !  the  Gaedhlic  tongue !   why  should  its  voice 

be  still, 
When  all  its  magic  tones  with  old  and  golden  glories  thrill — 
When,  like  an  aged  bard,  it  sings  departed  warriors'  might — 
When  it  was  heard  in  kingly  halls,  where  thronged  the  brave  and 

bright  ; 
When  oft  its  glowing  tales  of  war  made  dauntless  hearts  beat  high  — 
When  oft  its  tales  of  hapless  love  drew  tears  from  beauty's  eye  ?" 

— Anonymous. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken  cbiefly  of  the  monastic  schools,  and 
the  clerical  scholars  of  ancient  Erin.  We  are  not  to  assume, 
however,  that  the  Gaedhlic  tongue  was  not  cultivated  in  those 
schools,  and  that  the  eminent  saints  of  ancient  Erin  were 
not  excellent  (iaedhlic  scholars.  We  know  for  certain  that 
the  contrary  was  the  fact.  Several  of  them,  like  Columcille, 
were  eminent  Gaedhlic  poets ;  many  of  them,  like  St. 
Carthach  of  Lismore,  even  wrote  their  monastic  Rules  in 
Gaedhlic  ;  and,  of  course,  even  scholars,  like  Adamnan,  who 
wrote  learned  treatises  in  the  Latin  tongue,  must  have 
preached  the  Gospel,  and  taught  the  people  in  the  vernacular 
language.  St.  Patrick  himself,  who  was  a  Briton,  found  it 
necessary  to  do  so,  and,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  he  must 
have  been  an  accomplished  speaker  in  the  ancient  Gaedhlic 
tongue. 

Still  the  monastic  schools  were  more  given  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  classical  languages  than  to  the  study  of  theGaedhlic  ; 
and  when  their  great  scholars  wished  to  deal  with  theological 
or  scientific  subjects,  they  wrote  in  the  Latin  language. 
Even  some  of  our  Annalists,  when  they  wished  to  give  special 
prominence  to  their  entries,  wrote  in  the  Latin  rather  than 
in  the  Gaedhlic. 

At  the  same  time,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  during  this 
period  there  were  no  Gaedhlic  schools  in  the  sense  in  which 
we  now  speak  of  English  as  opposed  to  Classical  schools — 
that  is,  academies  in  which  the  Gaedhlic  language,  and 
literature,   and   history    were   the    subjects   chiefly,    if  not 


ORG/kNlZATlON  OF  THE  GAEDHLIC  FKOFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS.   597 

exclusively,  taught.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  abundant 
evidence  that  there  were  several  schools  of  this  character,  in 
which  the  vernacular  language  was  cultivated  with  great 
success,  and  not  merely  the  language,  but  also  the  history, 
the  antiquities,  the  laws,  and  the  literature  of  the  nation. 

We  are  even  inclined  to  think  that  in  Celtic  Ireland  the 
vernacular  language  was  more  carefully  cultivated  during 
this  period,  and  that  laymen  generally  had  better  oppor- 
tunities of  obtaining  what  would  now  be  called  a  university 
education,  than  they  had  in  any  other  country  of  western 
Europe.  This  statement  is,  in  our  opinion,  capable  of  clear 
proof  from  existing  monuments  ;  but  for  the  present  we  need 
not  go  beyond  the  admitted  facts  that  both  clerics  and  lay- 
men from  the  Continent  came  to  the  schools  of  Erin  in  large 
numbers,  to  acquire  the  culture  of  our  Celtic  schools ;  whilst 
on  the  other  hand,  when  our  Irish  scholars  went  abroad 
during  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  they  were  at  once 
entrusted  with  the  highest  offices  in  the  Continental  uchools, 
and  proved  themselves  to  be,  not  only  amongst  the  ablest 
theologians  of  the  time,  but  also  the  first  men  of  that  age  in 
Greek  and  Latin  Literature.  The  history  of  men  like 
Virgiiius,  and  Dungal,  and  John  Scotus  Erigena,  proves  the 
truth  of  this  statement  beyond  denial  or  controversy. 

The  Lives  of  the  Saints  furnish  materials  for  the  history 
of  our  monastic  schools  ;  but  our  lay  scholars,  having  no  such 
records  of  their  lives  and  learning,  are  forgotten,  except  in 
so  far  as  some  treatise,  or  fragment  of  a  treatise,  of  their 
composition  may  have  survived  the  wreck  of  time. 

We  find,  however,  from  references  in  the  Brehon  Laws, 
that  lay  Schools  and  lay  Professors  occupied  a  recognised 
and  honourable  position  in  the  social  polity  of  the  time. 

I. — Organization  of  the  Gaedhlic  Professional  Schools. 

In  the  Sequel,  or  Second  Part,  of  the  CrM  Gabhlach  the 
legal  rights  and  social  position  of  the  Professors  of  the 
Liberal  Arts  are  set  down  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
fulness  and  accuracy.  We  are  aware  that  it  has  been  said^ 
that  these,  and  some  other  portions  of  the  Crith  Gabhlach  *'are 
the  fantastic  production  of  an  antiquarian  lawyer  of  a  strong 
ecclesiastical  bias.''  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  question  the 
competency  of  this  writer  to  pronounce  such  an  opinion.  He 
appears  to  have  been  wholly  unacquainted  with  the  Irish 

1  By  A,  G.  Richey  in  \ki&  Introduction,  for  which  he  declares  himself 
alone  responsible.     Vol.  iv.,  c.  vii. 


598       GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIKNT  ERIN. 

languafj^e,  and  obviously  l>as  only  a  lawyer's  knowledge  of 
our  ancient  Annals.  For  those  very  things,  regarding  the 
orders,  rights,  and  privileges  of  the  Church,  which  he  so 
coolly  describes  as  the  fantastic  ])roductioi)  of  a  lawyer  with 
an  ecclesiastic  al  bias,  are  shown  in  every  page  of  cur  Annals 
to  be  amongst  the  recognised  institutions  of  the  Celtic  tribes 
in  Erin.  It  is,  in  fact,  quite  clear  that  he  admits  only  as 
authentic  laws  those  which  seem  to  harmonise  with  his  own 
pre-(.onceived  notion?*  of  ecclesiastical  polity ;  but  those  which 
do  not  fit  in  with  these  pre-conceived  views,*  he  rejects  as 
fantastic !  Such  is  the  critical  faculty  of  some  of  those  to 
whom  the  publication  of  the  Brehon  Laws  has  been  en- 
trusted. 

In  this  Sequel  to  the  Crith  Gabhlach^  '  profession '  is  set 
dowA  as  one  of  the  things  which  give  social  status  in  Erin. 
And,  as  in  the  Church,  and  amongst  the  land-owning  classes, 
there  were  several  grades,  so  there  were  also  amongst  the  pro- 
fessional classes.  These  grades  are  set  down  as  seven  ;  but 
it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  realise  the  degrees  of  gradation 
between  them,  since  that  state  of  society  has  totally  passed 
away  ;  as  surely  it  would  be  difficult  in  similar  circumstances 
to  discriminate  between  the  various  grades  in  the  learned 
professions  that  exist  amongst  ourselves  to-day.  It  would 
not  be  easy  for  us  to  explain  for  the  Maoris  how  those  entitled 
to  write  after  their  names  A.B.,  or  M.A.,  or  LL.D.  differ 
amongst  themselves ;  or  in  what  the  Q.C.  is  superior  to  the 
Stuff' Gown ;  and  the  same  difficulty  will  be  found  to  exist  in 
all  the  degrees,  whether  academical  or  professional,  on  which 
men  set  so  much  value  at  present. 

In  like  manner,  in  ancient  Erin,  the  *  seven  grades  of 
wisdom '  are  carefully  distinguished  by  law,  although  it  is 
not  easy  for  us  in  every  case  to  perceive  the  point  of  the  dis- 
tinction. 

There   was  a  High-professor  {rosai),  and  a  simple  Pro- 
fessor  {sat) ;  there  was  an  anruth  and  a  sruth^  that  is,  a 

*  noble  stream  '  and  a  '  stream,'  which,  in  our  opinion,  have 
not  been  at  all  explained  ;  there  was  an  *  illustrator/  and  an 

*  interrogator,'  and  a  *  pupil ' — or,  as  we  should  now  call 
them,  a  grinder,  and  a  tutor,  and  an  undergraduate.  The 
High-professor  was  also  called  an  ollarnh  and  a  saiiitre,  that 
is  in  modern  parlance  a  LL.D.  (speaking  of  laymen),  and  a 
Doctor  of  Literature.  The  most  important  point  is  that  the 
OUave  was  entitled  to  sit  at  the  king's  table  as  an  honoured 

*  Vol.  iv.,  page  365. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  GAEDHLIC  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS.      599 

guest.  In  point  of  knowledge  he  was  qualified  to  answer  all 
questions  in  the  four  great  departments  of  learning — that  is, 
in  poetry,  literature,  history,  and,  like  a  LL.D.,  in  canon 
and  civil  law. 

He  was  entitled  to  bring  four- and- twenty  persons  in  his 
retinue,  or  peripatetic  school ;  and  neither  he  nor  they 
could  be  denied  food  without  incurring  a  severe  penalty — 
one-seventh  of  his  death-eric.  One  of  his  functioDS  and 
rights  was  to  be  'in  the  bosom  of  his  disciples,'  always 
imparting  knowledge  to  them  on  all  suitable  occasions. 

The  anruth,  or  '  noble  stream,'  was  only  entitled  to  half 
this  company,  but  in  other  respects  he  was  supposed  to  be  a 
junior  Ollave  or  Fellow — in  the  number  of  his  intellectual 
gifts,  in  the  eloquence  of  his  language,  the  greatness  of  his 
knowledge,  and  the  nobility  of  his  teaching — but  he  had  not 
yet  reached  the  *  pinnacle'  of  knowledge,  like  the  full-blown 
Ollave. 

We  cannot  now  discuss  at  greater  length  the  various  other 
sub-divisions,  both  amongst  masters  and  pupils,  which 
were  almost  as  numerous  as  in  the  Intermediate  Schools  and 
Royal  University — all  put  together,  including  the  Senators, 
Fellows,  Teaching-Examiners,  and  Graduates. 

The  learned  professions  were,  in  like  manner,  carefully 
discriminated  and  sub-divided.  Leaving  out  the  Church,  it 
seems  that  there  were  at  this  period  three  great  lay  profes- 
sions— Poetry,  Law,  and  History.  Poetry  {filidecht),  gene- 
rally gets  precedence  ;  and  the  Ollave-poet  seems  to  have 
been  at  the  very  top  of  the  learned  professions.  The  *  bard ' 
at  this  period  is  distinguished  from  the  '  poet.'  The  former 
is  described  as  a  man  "  without  lawful  learning  but  his  own 
intellect ;  "^  that  is  a  man  who  had  from  nature  the  gift  of 
music  and  of  song,  but  who  was  never  regularly  trained,  and 
never  graduated  in  the  School  of  Poetry.  Not  so  the  file  or 
poet.  He  was  trained  in  all  the  mysteries  of  the  various 
kinds  of  Gaedhlic  verse  ;  he  could  compose  extempore  or  in 
writing  ;  he  knew  the  legal  number  of  recognised  poems  and 
tales,  and  was  pronounced  qualified  to  recite  them  before 
kings  and  chieftains,  whether  in  the  banquet  hall,  or  on  the 
battle-march.  He  could  eulogise,  too,  and  satirise ;  and 
he  and  all  his  company  were  entitled  both  to  fees  and 
refection. 

The  course  in  poetry  extended  over  *  twelve  years  of  hard 
work ;  '^  and  besides  the  knowledge  of  the  seven  kinds  of 

*  Vol.  iv.,  page  361.         2  gg^  O'Curry.     Lectures^  page  240. 


600      GAEDIILIC  SCUOOJ.S  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

verse,  in  each  of  which  the  Ollave-poet  was  supposed  to  be 
able  to  composts  extemporaneously,  he  was  also  required  to 
know  seven  times  iil'ty  tales  by  heart  foi*  public  recittition. 
These  tales  were  of  a  wild  and  romantic  character,  but  for 
that  very  reason  were  highly  popular  with  all  classes  in 
ancient  Erin.  They  included  tales  of  Battles,  Voyages, 
Cattle-spoils,  Sieges,  Sorrows,  Slaughters,  and  so  on,  through 
the  lost  list  of  the  legendary  poems  of  Erin.  Fortunately 
many  of  them  still  survive  in  manuscript,  and  a  few  have 
been  published ;  which  even  in  iaulty  translations  are  found  to 
be  exceedingly  interesting  and  amusing.  It  was,  doubtless, 
the  popular  and  entertaining  character  of  these  romantic 
stories  that  placed  the  Ollave-poet  at  the  head  of  the  learned 
professions,  even  on  an  equality  with  kings  and  bishops  in 
point  of  social  dignity.  There  were  seven  grades  or  degrees 
in  this  great  fraternity,  from  the  fochloc,  or  scholar-poet,  up 
to  the  great  Ollave  himself,  who  was  the  head  of  the  school, 
or  band  of  twenty-four  that  formed  his  train. 

In  like  manner  with  the  Brehons,  there  was  an  Ollave- 
Brehon  who  corresponded  with  a  judge  of  the  High  Court  in 
our  own  times  ;  and  then  there  were  seven  grades  of  inferior 
brehonship,  descending  from  this  high  official  to  the  raw  law 
student,  who  was  just  beginning  to  take  out  his  lectures  and 
eat  his  dinners — for,  in  ancient,  as  in  modern  Erin,  the 
lawyers  made  eating  an  essential  part  of  their  professional 
career.  The  fees  of  the  Brehon  were  fixed  by  law,  and  to 
withhold  them  was  a  grave  ofience,  for  which  a  distress  might 
be  levied  after  an  interval  of  three  days.^ 

Whoever  looks  over,  even  in  a  cursory  way,  the  four 
large  volumes  of  the  ancient  Brehon  code  already  published, 
will  readily  admit  that  to  be  an  accomplished  lawyer  in 
ancient  Erin  required  long  and  careful  study  under  com- 
petent masters.  At  length  the  system  grew  so  intricate  and 
complicated  that  the  Brehonship  was  confined  to  a  few 
iamilies,  who  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation  the 
key  to  the  interpretation  both  of  the  written  and  customary 
law.  Every  rigJi  was  entitled  to  have  his  own  Brehon,  who 
sat  on  stated  daj^s,  generally  in  the  open  air,  for  the  adjudicti- 
tion  of  all  the  causes  arising  in  the  tribe.  The  litigants 
might,  of  course,  have  their  own  advocates,  but  they  were 
generally  young  Brehons  of  inferior  degree  belonging  to  the 
school  of  the  chief  Brehon.  Amongst  these  legal  families 
the  MacEgans  of  Duniry  inGalway,and  Ormond  in  Tipperary, 


^  See  iSeHchus  Mor,  p.  231. 


ORGANIZATION   OP^  THE  GAEDHLIC  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS.  601 

became  the  most  celebrated,  so  that  members  of  that  family 
were  employed  as  judges  by  most  of  the  kinglets  beyond,  the 
Shannon. 

The  Historical  Poets  or  Chroniclers  seem  to  have  consti- 
tuted a  separate  professional  class  in  Ireland  during  this 
period.  O'Donneil,  in  a  passage  from  the  Irish  Life  of 
St.  Coluraba,  clearly  defines  their  duties,  and  he  must  have 
known  them  well,  for  the  O'Clerys,  his  own  hereditary 
Chroniclers,  were  the  most  illustrious  members  of  that  pro- 
fession that  ever  appeared  in  Erin.  It  was  their  duty  to 
record — (a)  the  achievements,  wars,  and  triumphs  of  the 
kings,  princes,  and  chiefs ;  (d)  to  preserve  the  genealogies 
and  define  the  rights  of  noble  families ;  (c)  to  ascertain  and 
set  forth  the  limits  and  extent  of  the  sub-kingdoms  and 
territories  ruled  over  by  the  princes  and  chiefs.  There  is  no 
statement  in  the  Brehon  Code  as  to  the  duties  of  the 
Chronicler  so  definite  as  this,  because  the  code  supposes  that 
these  things  were  perfectly  well  known  to  all  the  Feni,  from 
their  own  daily  experience. 

In  the  earlier  periods  of  our  history  these  important 
duties  were  discharged  by  the  Bards  ;  but  by  degrees  it  was 
found  more  convenient  to  confine  them  to  a  separate  class, 
which  afterwards,  like  the  Brehons,  came  to  be  hereditary. 
As  the  rz£^/i  was  entitled  to  have  his  Bard  and  Brehon,  so 
also  he  was  entitled  to  have  his  Chronicler  to  discharge  those 
duties  to  which  we  have  referred  above.  Up  to  the  eleventh 
century  the  Chronicles  were  written  in  verse,  but  after  that 
period  they  began  to  be  written  in  prose ;  and  in  many  cases 
they  are  written  both  in  prose  and  verse — the  verse  being 
nearly  always  the  older  form  of  the  Chronicle. 

Many  of  these  Rhyming  Chroniclers  record  merely  the 
local  history  of  their  own  chieftains  ;  but  in  other  cases  the 
poet-historian  took  a  wider  scope,  and  gave  a  narrative  not 
only  of  Irish  history,  but  of  universal  history,  in  a  brief  way, 
down  to  the  time  of  St.  Patrick.  Most  of  these  Chroniclers 
were  laymen,  although  several  of  the  most  distinguished 
amongst  them  were  monks  or  priests  in  some  of  the  great 
monastic  schools. 

It  is  quite  clear  from  various  references  both  in  our 
Annals,  and  in  the  Brehon  Code,  that  these  three  professions 
were  kept  quite  distinct  from  the  sixth  to  the  twelfth 
century,  that  they  were  taught  by  different  professors,  and  in 
difierent  schools — these  professors  being  generally  but  not 
always  laymen. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  school  of  this  character  to  which 


602      GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLAKS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

we  find  any  definite  reference  is  the  School  of  Tuaiin 
Drecain.  It  is  doubtless  only  one  of  many  similar  institu- 
tions that  flourished  in  ancient  IreUmd,  but  as  we  have  more 
accurate  information,  although  incidental,  concerning  this 
establishment,  we  propose  to  give  an  account  of  this  typical 
seminary  in  a  separate  section. 

II. — The  School  of  Tuaim  Drecain. 

St.  Bricin's  School  of  Tuaim  Drecain  is  one  of  those 
mentioned  in  O'Curry's  catalogue  of  celebrated  schools  in 
ancient  Ireland.  Moreover,  although  its  founder  and  rector 
WMS  a  saint,  whose  festival  is  found  marked  in  our 
martyrologies,  it  seems  to  have  been  a  lay  school  of  general 
literature,  or,  as  we  should  say,  a  school  of  arts  rather  than 
of  scripture  or  theology.  It  has  besides  produced  one  very 
distinguished  Irish  poet,  some  scraps  of  whose  writings 
have  come  down  to  us,  and  therefore  deserves  a  special  notice 
at  our  hands. 

Its  founder  is  described  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal 
(5th  Sept.)  as  **Bricin  of  Tuaim  Drecain,  in  Breifne  of 
Con  naught ;  but  it  is  in  Breifne  Ui  Haghallaigh  it  is,  and 
he  was  of  the  race  of  Tadhg,  son  of  Cian,  son  of  Ollioll 
Olum."  We  find  ofi-shoots  of  that  race  of  Tadhg,  son  of 
Cian,  in  Bregia,  and  in  Leyney,  county  Sligo,  and  elsewhere 
also,  but  to  which  branch  of  the  race  he  belonged  we  are  not 
informed. 

Tuaim  Drecain  is  now  called  Tomregan,  which  very 
nearly  represents  the  pronunciation  of  the  Irish  word.  It  is 
a  parish  situated  partly  in  three  baronies  and  in  the  two 
counties  of  Cavan  and  Fermanagh,  where  the  Woodford 
river,  after  draining  several  of  the  Leitrim  lakes,  flows  on  to 
join  the  river  Erne,  near  Belturbet.  The  name  signifies  the 
tomb  or  graA^e  of  Drecan,  some  ancient  warrior  of  w^hom 
nothing  is  known.  It  would,  however,  be  interesting  to 
know  if  there  is  any  tumulus,  or  stone  circle,  in  the  parish 
which  might  help  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  name.  We 
know  from  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  that  Eochaidh 
Faebhar-glas,  King  of  Ireland,  from  a.m.  3707  to  3727, 
fought  a  battle  at  Tuaim  Drecon  ;  and  it  was  probably  from 
the  tumulus  raised  over  Drecon  on  this  occasion  that  the  place 
got  its  name. 

St.  Bricin  flourished  during  the  early  years  of  the 
seventh  century,  and,  besides  his  other  scholarly  acquire- 
ments, it  seems  he  had  also  some  knowledge  of  inedii'ino. 
Amongst   his  pupils  the  most  celebrated    was  Cennfueladh 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  TUAlM  DRECAIN.  603 

the  'learned/  who  in  his  youth  had  been  a  distinguished 
soldier,  and  took  part  in  the  great  battle  of  Magh  Rath 
(now  Moira,  co.  Down),  which  was  fought  in  the  year 
A.D.  634.  On  that  fatal  field  be  received  a  very  dangerous 
wound  in  the  head,  which  was  very  near  bringing  his  learned 
career  to  a  premature  close.  He  was,  however,  carried  off 
from  the  battle  field,  and  taken  to  Armagh,  whence  Senach 
the  Primate,  sent  him  to  Tomregan,  that  he  might  have  the 
benefit  of  the  surgical  skill  of  Bricin.  The  saint  succeeded 
in  healing  the  wound  in  the  poet's  head,  although  he  had 
actually  lost  through  the  wound  a  small  portion  of  the  brain. 
This,  however,  in  his  case  only  added  to  his  powers  of 
memory  and  general  intelligence,  which  goes  to  show  that  in 
some  cases  the  skull  is  really  too  thick,  and  is  the  better  of 
being  trepanned. 

At  this  time  St.  Bricin  was  the  head  of  a  great  lay 
college  at  Tuaim  Drecain,  which  consisted  of  three  distinct 
schools  carried  on  in  difierent  buildings,  each  having  its  own 
professor —  one  a  School  of  the  Brehon  Law  (Feinechas),  an- 
other a  School  of  Poetry  and  History,  and  the  third  a  School 
of  Classical  Learning.  These  schools  were,  it  appears  for 
convenience  sake,  located  at  the  junction  of  three  streets,  so 
that  the  pupils  could,  when  necessary,  easil}'^  pass  from  one 
to  another. 

Now,  as  soon  as  Cennfaeladh's  wound  began  to  heal,  he 
employed  his  leisure  in  attending  the  lectures  delivered  in 
these  various  schools ;  and  his  head  having  been  specially 
opened,  he  acquired,  and  what  is  more,  he  retained  all  the 
lectures  delivered  in  the  difierent  schools,  so  that  he  after- 
wards opened  a  similar  academy  himself,  and  was  able  to 
instruct  his  pupils  in  all  these  various  branches  of  knowledge. 
Poetry,  it  seems,  he  made  the  vehicle  of  communicating  his 
information,  which  was  quite  the  usual  practice  in  those  early 
days ;  and  it  had  this  one  great  advantage  when  books  were 
so  scarce— it  greatly  helped  the  memory,  thus  rendering  it 
much  easier  for  the  master  to  teach,  and  for  the  pupil  to  learn. 

Some  of  the  treatises  thus  composed  by  Cennfaeladh  for 
the  use  of  his  schools  have  fortunately  survived  the  ravages 
of  time.  O'Curry  thinks  it  probable  that  he  was  the  author 
of  an  entire  Grammatical  Tract  which  has  been  preserved  in 
the  Book  of  Leacan  and  the  Book  of  Bally  mote. 

This  Tract,  O' Curry  tells  us,  is  divided  into  four  books. 
The  authorship  of  the  First  Book  is  ascribed  to  Fenius 
Farsaidh,  or  Fenius  the  Antiquarian,  an  ancestor  of  Milesius, 
who  may  be  regarded  as  a  mythical  personage,  his   name 


()04    GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCKOLAKS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

being  introduced  to  lend  an  air  of  antiquity  to  the  work. 
The  Second  Book  is,  for  a  similur  reason,  ascribed  to  Amergin, 
a  son  of  Milesius.  The  Third  Book  is  attributed  to  Ferceirtiie 
the  Poet,  who  flourished  in  the  time  of  Conor  Mac  Nessa ; 
but  the  Fourth  Book  is  clearly  the  work  of  Cennfaeladh  him- 
self, who,  if  he  did  not  compose,  certainly  revised  the  entire 
treatise.  Cennfaeladh  died  about  a.d.  678 ;  and  O'Ciirry 
thinks  the  work  was  retouched  after  his  death  by  later 
scholars — most  likely  by  Cormac  Mac  CuUinan,  or  some  of 
his  pupils,  towards  the  close  of  the  ninth  century. 

This  most  interesting  work  is  unfortunately  hitherto  un- 
published, for  few  scholars  are  qualified  to  undertake  the 
task  of  its  publication.  It  not  only  deals  with  the  principles 
of  the  Irish  grammatical  construction,  but  compares  the 
Gaedhlic  forms  with  the  Latin  of  Priscian,  Donatus,  and 
other  authors  thni  familiar  to  Irish  scholars;  and  even  to 
some  extent  it  compares  the  Irish  inflections  with  those  of 
the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages. 

Cennfaeladh  also  compiled  a  Law  Tract  which  has  been 
published  by  the  Brehon  Law  Commissioners  ;  and  moreover, 
he  was  the  author  of  several  historical  poems,  fragments  of 
which  are  still  extant.  Plis  poem  on  the  Migrations  of 
Milesius  from  Scythia  to  Spain  is  complete ;  but  we  possess 
only  a  fragment  of  another  equally  interesting  one  on  the 
Death  of  the  Ultonian  Heroes  of  the  Red  Branch.  To  him 
also  O'Peilly  attributes  the  authorship  of  the  poem  on  the 
Teach  Midhchuarta,  which  describes  all  the  furniture  and 
arrangements  of  the  great  Mead-Circling  House  of  Tara.  So 
that  it  may  be  truly  said  that  few  schools  in  Ireland  produced 
a  more  distinguished  scholar  than  Bricin's  Academy  at  Tom- 
regan  in  Breifne.^ 

III. — Cormac  Mac  Cullinan. 

This  is,  perhaps,  the  most  fitting  place  to  give  an  account 
of  the  life  and  writings  of  the  celebrated  Cormac  Mac  Cul- 
linan, the  Bishop-king  of  Cashel.  It  is  as  a  Gaedhlic  scholar 
he  is  best  known  to  posterity,  although  his  high  position,  his 
valour,  his  piety,  as  well  as  his  tragical  end,  have  all  combined  to 
render  his  career  singularly  interesting  to  his  fellow  country- 
men. 

Cormac  was  born  so  early  as  the  year  a.d.  835,  at  the 
very  time  when  almost  all  Ireland  was  writhing  under  the 
oppression  of  the  Danes.     He  was  sprung  from  the  chief 


*  See  O' Curry,  Lecture  iii..  Vol.  ii.,  p.  53. 


CCJRISIAC  MAC  CHLl^lNAN.  605 

royal  farriilv  of  Desmond,  that  is,  the  Eoghanaclits  of  Cash  el. 
*)  It  is  well  known  that  the  entire  province  of  Munster  was 
divided  between  two  sons  of  OllioU  Glum — Eoghan,  the  elder 
taking  Desmond,  and  Cormac  Cas  the  younger  getting  Tho- 
mond  for  his  principality,  with  alternate  right  for  both 
brothers  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  entire  province.  The 
Eugenian  line,  however,  contrived  to  keep  the  sovereignty  of 
the  province  for  the  most  part  in  their  family ;  and,  as  these 
kings  lived  generally  at  Cashel,  the  royal  family  of  South 
Munster  came  to  be  called  the  Eoghanachts  of  Cashel. 

No  mention  of  Cormac  is  made  in  our  Annals  until  he 
was  called  to  the  throne  of  Cashel  by  his  fellow  tribesmen, 
A.D.  900,  when  he  had  attained  the  mature  age  of  sixty -five. 
The  Four  Masters,  however,  tell  us  that  Sneidgius,  the  wise 
man  of  Disert-Diarmada,  was  his  tutor  ;  the  latter  died  a.d. 
885  {recte  888),  as  we  find  it  in  the  more  accurate  Chronicon 
Scoiorum.  Disert-Diarmada,  now  called  Castle-Dermott,  is 
a  place  of  ancient  fame  in  the  south  of  the  County  Kildare. 
It  took  its  old  name  from  a  hermitage  founded  there  by  St. 
Diarmaid,  otherwise  called  Ainle,  because  he  was  a  '  fresh- 
complexioned  youngling,'  as  the  Gfloss  on  ^ngus  tells  us, 
when  he  retired  to  the  hermitage  that  has  borne  his  name 
ever  since.  The  ancient  round  tower  still  standing,  as  well 
as  the  old  stone  cross,  and  the  broken  shaft  of  a  second  cross, 
show  that  the  old  abbey,  on  whose  site  the  Protestant  Church 
now  stands,  was  a  place  of  great  ecclesiastical  importance. 
The  Crouched  Friars  were  established  there  by  Walter  de 
Riddles  ford,  and  Thomas,  Lord  of  Ofialey,  founded  a  convent 
for  Franciscans  in  the  same  place.  It  was  called  Castle- 
Dermott  from  the  castle  erected  by  de  Hiddlesford  in  the 
reign  of  King  John.  It  was  a  place  of  much  strength,  sur- 
rounded by  walls,  and  defended  by  this  strong  castle ;  and 
hence  we  find  that  two  Parliaments  of  the  Pale  were  held 
here — one  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  and  the  other  in 
A.D.  1499.  Its  chief  glory,  however,  will  always  be  that  it 
was  there  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan  was  educated,  and  there 
he  was  buried.  It  gave  him  knowledge,  and  when  his 
brief  and  stormy  reign  was  over,  it  gave  him  the  rest  of  the 
grave. 

It  seems  that  during  the  ninth  century  at  least,  the 
abbots  of  Disert-Diarmada  enjoyed  quasi-episcopal  jurisdic- 
tion. Some  of  them  were  certainly  bishops ;  and,  no  doubt, 
had  a  territory  which  owned  their  spiritual  sway.  In  a.d.  842, 
we  are  told  that  "  Cumsudb,  son  of  Derero  and  Maenach,  son  of 
Sadchadach,  who  were  both  bishops  and  anchorites,  died  in 


60(5     GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 


one  night  at  DIscrt-Diarmada."  a.d.  895  died  Muirgliaes, 
Bishop  and  Abbot  of  Disert-l^armuda ;  and  again  in 
A.D.  1038,  we  hoar  of  the  death  of  a  *  distinguished  bishop  ' 
of  Disert-Diarmada. 

The  learning  of  Oormac  Mac  Cullinan  was,  no  doubt, 
acquired  within  the  walls  of  this  ancient  monastic  school. 
Sneidgius,  the  sage  {egnai)  of  Disert-Diarmada,  was  his 
tutor,  and  from  the  acquirements  of  the  pupil,  it  is  not 
diiHcult  to  infer  Xh^  learning  of  the  master.  We  have  now 
no  moans,  however,  of  knowing  how  long  Cormac  remained 
at  Disert-Diarmada. 

He  was  certainly  a  bishop  before  he  became  King  of 
Cashel,  but  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  See  he  was  placed  over, 
or  whether  he  ever  bad  charge  of  anj'^  See  at  all.  We  do  not 
read  in  any  of  our  Annalists  that  he  was  Bishop  of  Cashel 
before  he  became  King  of  Munster  ;  indeed  it  is  very  doubt- 
ful if  he  were  ever  Bishop  of  Cashel  at  all.  There  is  no 
reference  made  to  a  Bishop  of  Cashel  before  this  period,  so 
fur  as  we  know,  in  any  of  our  ancient  authorities.  It  was  the 
seat  of  the  temporal  royalty,  but  it  had  not  yet  become  the 
seat  of  spiritual  authority.  The  Four  Masters  say  that 
Cormac  was  King  and  Bishop,  but  they  do  not  say  he  was 
Bishop  of  Cashel.  The  Annals  of  Ulster  call  him  King  of 
Cashel,  but  do  not  call  him  *  bishop '  at  all.  The  Qwonicon 
Scotoruin  describes  him  as  "  King  of  Cashel,  a  most  excel- 
lent scribe,  a  bishop,  and  an  anchorite ;  *'  but  makes  no 
reference  to  his  See.  Keating  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  the 
first  who  calls  Cormac,  not  Bishop,  but  Archbishop  of  Cashel. 
In  fact  down  to  the  j^ear  a.u.  1101,  Cashel  was  simply  a 
royal  dun,  which  gave  its  name  to  the  kingdom  of  South 
Munster.  There  was  up  to  that  time  no  church  or  monastery 
at  Cashel,  of  which  we  have  any  information.  But  in  that 
year  a  remarkable  event  took  place,  thus  recorded  by  the 
Four  Masters :  "  A  meeting  of  Leath  Mogha  was  held  at 
Caiseal  by  Muircheartach  ()'Briain  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
laity,  and  O'Dunan,  noble  bishop  and  chief  senior  with  the 
chiefs  of  the  clergy  ;  and  on  this  occasion  Muircheartach 
O'Briain  made  a  grant,  such  as  no  king  had  ever  made  before, 
namely,  he  granted  Caiseal  of  the  kings  to  the  religious,  with- 
out any  claim  of  laymen  or  clergymen  upon  it,  but  the  religious 
of  Ireland  in  general."  Here  we  find  at  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century,  that  for  the  first  time  in  its  history, 
Cashel  was  given  up  for  religious  purposes,  and  ceased  to  be 
the  royal  residence  of  the  southern  kings.  We  find  down 
to  that  tmie  frequent   mention  in  our  Annals  of  the  kiug^ 


CORMAC  MAC  CULLINAN.  607 

and  royal  heirs  of  Casliel,  but  of  no  Bishop  of  Cashel; 
Thenceforward,  however,  w;e  hear  of  the  Archbishops,  but  not 
of  the  kings  or  tanists  of  Cashel.  The  thing  appears  to  have 
been  brought  about  in  the  following  way. 

In  consequence  of  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  Casliel, 
the  prelates  of  Emly,  in  whose  diocese  it  was  situated,  began 
to  claim  metropolitan  jurisdiction  over  all  Munster,  especially 
when  the  O'Brian  family  began  to  claim  the  sovereignty  of 
Ireland  during  the  eleventh  century.  Hence  we  find  that 
Domhnall  Ua  Heni  is  called  in  the  Chro7iicon  Scotoruni 
*  Archbishop  of  the  men  of  Munster '  (Anno  1094).  Celsus, 
the  Primate,  was  anxious  to  oblige  the  King  of  Munster, 
and,  moreover,  O'Dunan,  successor  of  O'Heni  (from  a.d.  1094- 
1118),  was  the  personal  friend  and  admirer  of  Celsus.  Hence 
St.  Bernard  tells  us  that  Celsus  consented  to  establish  de  novo 
a  second  metropolitan  See  in  Ireland,  subject,  however,  to 
the  primatial  See  of  Armagh,  O'Dunan  was  the  first  who 
de  jure^  if  it  can  be  so  called,  enjoyed  the  metropolitan 
dignity  in  the  South  of  Ireland ;  and  we  know  that  8t. 
Malachy  was  anxious  to  obtain  the  pall  for  the  new  See  of 
Cashel,  as  well  as  for  his  own  primatial  See  of  Armagh.  And 
it  was  doubtless  to  provide  a  sufficient  endowment  and  a 
becoming  See  for  the  new  metropolitan  that  the  king  made 
over  his  own  royal  fortress,  and  a  part  of  his  mensal  estates 
for  that  purpose. 

King  Murtogh  O'Brian  was  succeeded  in  the  year 
A.D.  1119  by  Cormac  Mac  Car  thy,  a  pious  and  munificent 
prince.  He  did  not  reside  at  Cashel,  for  it  was  now  church 
property ;  and  it  is  highly  probable  the  *  noble  senior  and 
chief  bishop  of  Munster '  had  already  established  his  epis- 
copal palace  on  the  famous  Bock.  He  was  not  yet,  however, 
formally  recognised  as  archbishop,  for  he  was  present  at  the 
Synod  of  Fiadh  Mic  -<^nghusa,  which,  according  to  the  Four 
Masters,  was  held  in  a.d.  1111,  and  he  is  there  simply 
described  as  '  noble  senior  of  Erin,'  and  as  Bishop  of  Munster, 
or  as  others  have  it.  Bishop  of  Cashel.  He  was  the  first 
prelate  who  bore  that  title  de  jurey  and  he  was  a  man  who 
in  every  respect  seems  to  have  been  worthy  of  the  eminent 
dignity  to  which  he  was  now  elevated.  He  died  at  Clonard 
in  the  year  a.d.  1117,  according  to  the  Four  Masters,  who 
describe  him  as  "  the  head  of  the  clergy  in  Ireland  (in  merit) 
and  lord  of  the  alms  deeds  of  the  West  of  Europe." 

If,  as  the  Four  Masters  say,  his  death  took  place  in 
A.D.  1117,  it  was  just  two  years  before  the  death  of  his 
friend  Murtogh  O'Brian,  "  King  of  Munster  and  of  Ireland," 


608      GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

the  munificent  prince  who  gave  over  Ctishel  for  religious 
purposes.  Cormac,  his  successor,  was  not  to  be  outdone  in 
generosity,  so  we  find  that  in  a.d.  1127  he  began  to  build 
the  beautiful  church  on  the  Rock  of  Cashel,  which  has  ever 
since  been  known  as  Cormac's  Chapel.  It  is  sometimes 
ascribed  to  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan,  but  Petrie  conclusively 
shows  that  it  was  begun  about  a.d,  1127  by  Cormac  Mac 
Carthy,  and  consecrated  seven  years  later  in  a.d.  1134,  as  all 
our  annalists  declare. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  too,  that  Cormac  Mac  (Earthy,  shortly 
after  the  chapel  on  the  Kock  was  begun,  was  driven  from  his 
throne  by  Turlough  O'Conor,  and  was  compelled  to  take  refuge 
at  Lismore,  and  there  also  "  took  the  staff- bachall " — or 
crozier^ — and  was  honoured  with  the  counsels  and  friendship 
of  St.  Malachy.  Hence  he  is  called  a  bishop-king  by  a  con- 
temporary writer,  Maelbrighte,  in  his  copy  of  the  Gospel 
now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  The  Four  Masters 
also  referring  to  his  murder  in  a.d.  1138,  describe  him  as 
Lord  of  Desmond,  and  Bishop-king  of  Ireland ;  and  add, 
that  he  was  treacherously  slain  by  Turlough,  son  of  Diarmaid 
O'Brian,  a  grandson  of  the  previous  king.  Our  own  opinion 
therefore  is,  that  O'Dunan,  the  noble  senior,  was  the  first 
Bishop  of  Cashel,  that  it  was  Murtough  O'Brian  gave  him 
his  See-lands,  and  that  it  was  Cormac  Mac  Carthy,  himself  a 
King-bishop,  who  built  the  beautiful  chapel  on  the  Bock, 
rather,  however,  as  an  episcopal  oratory,  than  as  a  cathedral 
properly  so  called. 

Now  to  return  to  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan.  He  became 
King  of  Munster  in  the  year  a.d.  900,  when,  as  the  A7i7ials 
of  Ulster  tell  us,  there  was  a  *  change  of  kinf^s'  at  Cashel,  viz. : 
Cormac  Mac  Cullinan  in  the  place  of  Cenngegain,  that  is 
Finnguine — the  former  term  was,  it  seems,  a  nick-name  of  the 
previous  king,  who  became  unpopular  and  was  deposed  by 
the  tribesmen.  Next  year  he  was  murdered,  but  it  was  by 
his  own  kinsmen. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Cormac  was,  as  we  have  said,  a 
bishop  at  this  period.  He  was  not  Bishop  of  Emly,  for  the 
See  was  then  filled.  Neither  was  he  Bishop  of  Lismore,  as 
some  writers  have  asserted,  for  his  namesake,  the  Bishop  of 
Lismore,  lived  until  a.d.  1119.  It  is  not  necessary,  indeed, 
to  assume  that  he  had  any  See.  Hitherto  he  seems  to  have 
been  a  man  of  studious  habits,  as  he  certainly  was  a  man  of 
great  learning.     Being   a  member  of  the   royal    tamily  of 


^  Annals  of  Innisfallen^  anno  1127. 


CORMAC  MAC  CULLINAN.  609 

Munster,  it  would,  so  to  speak,  be  the  right  thing  to  make 
him  a  bishop  ;  but,  in  all  probability,  he  spent  most  of  his 
time  in  retirement  at  Disert-Diarmada,  and  was  no  doubt 
reluctantly  called  to  the  throne,  as  next  in  blood,  by  the  revo- 
lution which  deposed  his  predecessor. 

All  our  annalists  agree  in  representing  Cormac  as  both 
a  pious  and  learned  prince  ;  but  we  cannot  call  him  either  a 
great  king  or  a  great  saint.  That  he  was  a  just  man  accord- 
ing to  the  ordinary  standard,  he  gave  proof  soon  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne  of  Munster.  The  old  rule  of  alter- 
nate succession  between  the  Eugenian  and  Dalcassian  lines 
had,  as  the  learned  Cormac  was  well  aware,  been  scandalously 
violated.  He  resolved,  so  far  as  he  could,  that  justice  should 
be  done  wheft  his  reign  would  come  to  an  end.  Calling 
around  him  the  chiefs  both  of  Desmond  and  Thomond,  he 
reminded  them  of  the  ancient  rule  of  alternate  succession, 
and  confessing  that  the  Eugenian  line  hitherto  had  enjoyed 
more  than  they  were  entitled  to  of  the  sovereign  power,  he 
besought  the  princes  of  his  own  house  to  consent  to  the  succes- 
sion of  a  Dalcassian  prince  to  the  throne  of  Munster.  The 
princes  of  Desmond  listened  in  respectful  silence,  and  pre- 
tended to  assent  to  the  proposed  arrangement,  but  afterwards 
declined  to  carry  it  out. 

The  seven  years'  reign  of  Cormac  was  full  of  stirring 
events.  The  first  or  second  year  of  his  reign  was  marked  by 
*'  the  expulsion  of  the  Grentiles  from  Ireland,  i.e.,  from  the 
fortress  of  Ath-Cliath,''  as  the  Annals  of  Ulster  express  it. 
They  had,  for  some  years,  been  losing  ground  on  the  eastern 
coasts,  but  at  this  period  met  with  such  a  crushing  disaster 
from  Cearbhall,  King  of  Leinster,  that  all  the  foreigners  fled 
from  Dublin,  half-dead  with  terror,  having  left  most  of  their 
ships  behind  them.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  ^  forty  years' 
rest,'  which  poor  Ireland  then  enjoyed  from  their  perpetual 
incursions.  No  doubt  colonies  of  Danes  still  remained  in  the 
great  sea-port  towns,  which  they  had  built ;  but  they  were 
too  much  broken  down  by  defeat  to  risk  any  new  enterprises, 
and  gladly  confined  themselves  within  their  walls,  spending 
their  time  rather  in  trade  and  commerce  than,  as  hitherto,  in 
war  and  rapine. 

No  sooner,  however,  did  the  native  princes  once  more 
breathe  freely,  than  they  turned  their  arms  against  each 
other.  Flann  Sionna,  son  of  Maelsechnaill,  was  then  King 
of  Ireland.  He  had  already  reigned  more  than  twenty  years 
as  Ard-righ  ;  and  what  is  more  wonderful  still,  he  was  des- 
tined to  reign  sixteen  years  more,  and,  strangest  of  all,  to  die 

2q 


GIO      GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

iu  his  bed.  He  was  a  restless  and  ambitious  prince,  and 
seems  to  have  inherited  all  the  ancestral  jealousy  of  the  South 
of  Ireland.  In  a.d.  904  he  made  a  wanton  raid  into  Ossory. 
Next  year  he  led  a  hosting  against  Munster,  and  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Cearbhall,  King  of  Leinster,  he  plundered  all  the 
Golden  Vale,  from  Gowran  to  Limerick.  The  men  of  Munster 
were  now  fairly  roused,  and  even  the  Bishop-king  was  put 
upon  his  mettle.  He  levied  a  great  army,  and  marched 
northwards  to  meet  the  troops  of  Flann  and  his  allies  in  a 
fair  fight.  The  rival  hosts  met  on  the  same  field  of  Magh 
Lena,  which  had  witnessed  the  great  battle  between  Conn  the 
Hundred  Fighter,  and  Eoghan  Mor.  Once  more  it  was 
North  and  South  arrayed  against  each  other  in  fratricidal 
strife,  whilst  Danish  colonies  still  held  all  the  ports  of  the 
kingdom.  Of  old  the  North  was  victorious  at  Magh  Lena  ; 
but  now  fortune  favoured  the  men  of  Munster.  Flann  and 
his  allies  were  completely  defeated,  and  driven  ofi"  the  field. 
Not  content  with  this  victory,  the  King-bishop  crossed  the 
Shannon,  and  marching  into  the  very  heart  of  Connaught 
defeated  and  plundered  the  Connacians,  who  were  allies 
of  Flann.  The  hostages  of  the  western  provinces  were  carried 
off  in  triumph,  and  the  fleets  of  Munster  sailing  up  from  Kil- 
laloe  plundered  the  islands  of  Lough  Ree. 

So  far  no  blame  can  be  thrown  on  the  King-bishop,  He 
had  merely  defended  his  own  territories,  and  chastised  the 
insolence  of  an  aggressive  foe.  But  the  victors  were  now 
grown  wanton  from  success,  and  resolved  to  carry  their 
triumphant  arms  into  Leinster,  as  they  had  already  done  into 
Connaught.  The  pretext  for  this  wanton  invasion  was  the 
recovery  of  the  old  Borrumean  tribute,  which,  it  was  alleged, 
the  Leinster  men  had  not  paid  for  200  years,  and  which  the 
chiefs  of  Munster  were  now  determined  to  exact.  Cormac 
was  himself  entirely  opposed  to  this  unjust  war.  He  felt,  no 
doubt,  that  this  alleged  non-payment  of  the  tribute  was  merely 
a  pretext  for  a  war  of  conquest.  But  his  subjects  were  full 
of  confidence  from  previous  success;  and,  moreover,  he  was 
urged  on  to  battle  by  his  evil  genius,  Flaithbeartach,  abbot 
of  Inniscathy,  a  member  of  the  royaL  house  of  Munster,  and 
subsequently  King  of  Cash  el. 

This  restless  ecclesiastic  was  the  real  author  of  all  the 
evils  that  followed.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  headstrong 
and  impetuous  man,  fond  of  strife  and  prodigal  of  blood. 

Cormac's  greatest  fault  was  weakly  yielding  against  his 
own  better  judgment  to  the  counsels  of  this  evil  adviser,  who 
urged  him  to  prosecute  a  war  which  Cormac  in  hit^  own 


CORMAC  MAC  CULLINAN.  61] 

conscience  believed  to  be  unjust.  The  Leinster  King  haC. 
sent  an  embassy  to  Cormac  offering  to  submit  the  questions 
at  issue  to  the  decision  of  a  friendly  conference — mean- 
time asking  a  cessation  from  arms,  and  offering  to  give  as  a 
hostage  the  abbot  of  Cormac's  own  monasterv  of  Disert- 
Diarmada.  Cormac  was  willing  to  accept  these  terms  ;  but 
the  abbot  of  Inniscathy  spurned  them  and  declared  he  would 
alone  light  the  Leinster  men.  "  Then/'  said  Cormac,  "  I  will 
not  desert  you,  but  I  feel  the  issue  of  this  battle  will  be  fatal 
to  me  and  mine."  Thereupon  he  made  his  will,  leaving  rich 
gifts  in  gold  and  vestments  to  many  churches,  and  desiring 
that  his  body  should  be  buried,  if  possible,  at  Cloyne  ;  if  not, 
in  Disert-Diarmada,  where  he  was  educated,  and  had  spent 
so  many  quiet  and  happy  years  before  he  was  called  to  bear 
the  burden  of  a  crown. 

The  battle  was  fought  at  Ballaghmoon,  close  to  the 
ancient  Campus  Albus,  where  the  great  Synod  was  held  in 
A.D.  630  with  reference  to  the  Paschal  question.  On  this 
historic  field  the  old  quarrel  of  North  against  South  was  once 
more  to  be  fought  out.  Flann,  the  King  of  Erin,  and 
Cathal,  son  of  Conor,  King  of  Con  naught,  came  to  aid  the 
King  of  Leinster  with  all  their  forces.  On  the  other  side 
were,  besides  Cormac  and  his  chiefs,  Ceallach,  King  of  Ossory 
who,  like  Cormac  himself,  had  suffered  much  from  Flann's 
previous  incursions,  and  other  subordinate  kings.  From  the 
first  the  tide  of  battle  turned  against  the  South.  The  gallant 
chieftains  of  Leath-Mogha  would  not  desert  their  king,  but 
they  had  no  stomach  for  the  fight.  Ceallach  of  Ossory  fled 
ingloriously  from  the  field,  and  it  is  said  that  one  Munster 
prince,  a  friend  of  the  king,  turned  his  horse's  head  from  the 
foe,  crying  out  bitterly,  "  It  is  a  battle  brought  on  by  clerics 
— let  the  clerics  fight  it  out.''  Cormac's  horse,  it  is  said, 
slipped  in  the  blood  pools,  and  fell  upon  his  rider,  who  was 
thereupon  seized  and  beheaded  by  a  soldier  of  the  North ,  on  a 
stone  which  is  still  shown  at  Ballaghmoon.  The  nobles  of 
the  South  fell  thick  around  him,  and  the  White  Field  was 
made  red  with  the  blood  of  the  men  of  Munster.  Amongst 
the  slain  were  several  abbots  and  other  ecclesiastics  whc 
had  followed  the  King-bishop  to  the  field  ,  but  Flaherty, 
abbot  of  Inniscathy,  the  author  of  all  the  mischief,  succeeded 
in  effecting  his  escape. 

The  head  of  Cormac,  after  the  battle,  was  carried  by  some 
soldiers  to  King  Flann,  but  he  rebuked  them  for  their 
brutality,  and  ordered  the  body  of  his  fallen  foe  to  be 
sought   for   on    the   field   of  battle,    and   buried   with   the 


612      GAEDIIMC  S(,'[100LS  AND  SCHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 

head  at  Disert-Diarmada,  which  was  not  far  from  the  fatal 
field.i 

IV. — Writings  of  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan. 

Cormac  Mac  Culiinan  is  described  by  the  Four  Masters 
'*  as  a  king,  a  bishop,  an  anchorite,  a  scribe,  and  profoundly 
learned  in  the  Scotic  tongue."  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal 
adds  that  although  he  had  been  married  to  the  celebrated 
Gonnlaith,  daughter  of  Flann,  his  conqueror,  he  had  always 
lived  a  perfect  virgin,  sleeping  covered  only  with  his  thin 
tunic,  and  frequently  immersed  in  cold  water  whilst  chanting 
his  pt^altery.  We,  however,  are  more  concerned  with  the 
king's  writings  than  with  his  penances.  Enough  of  his  works 
still  remain  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  Mastery'  statement,  that 
he  was  profoundly  versed  in  the  Scotic  tongue,  and  we  may 
add,  not  only  in  the  language,  but  in  the  laws,  the  literature, 
the  history,  and  the  antiquities  of  his  native  country. 

Cormac's  Glossary  is  a  work  that  is  now  well  known  to 
Irish  scholars,  thanks  to  the  diligent  labour  of  John  O'Donovan 
and  of  Dr.  Whitley  Stokes,  by  whom  it  was  translated  and 
published  in  1868,  The  book  is  now  a  rare  and  dear  one, 
but  invaluable  for  a  student  of  the  Celtic  language  and  litera- 
ture. It  contains  quotations  from  Latin  authors,  from  Irish 
chronicles,  and  from  the  poems  of  our  native  bards  and  oUaves. 
There  are  also  numerous  references  to  the  laws,  romances, 
druidism,  and  mythology  of  ancient  Erin.  From  another 
point  of  view  the  work  is  interesting,  not  so  much  for  its 
philological  learning,  as  because  it  shows  the  extent  and 
variety  of  the  scholarship,  cultivated  in  our  Irish  Schools 
during  the  ninth  century.  As  O'Curry  says — '*  The  author 
,'of  the  Glossary)  traces  a  great  many  of  the  words,  either  by 
derivation  from,  or  comparison  with,  the  Hebrew,  the  Greek, 
the  Latin,  the  British,  and  (as  he  calls  it)  the  Northmantic 
language,  and  it  contains  at  least  one  Pictish  word — Cartait 
— almost  the  only  word  of  the  Pictish  language  that  we 
possess."^  There  is  no  work  in  any  living  European  language 
that  gives  such  evident  proof  of  high  culture  in  the  ninth 
century  as  this  most  interesting  monument  of'Celtic  learning. 

A  second  great  work  that  has  been  usually  attributed  to 
Cormac  is  the  Psalter  of  Caiseal.  O'Donovan  in  his  learned 
Introduction  to  the  Book  of  Rights  exphiins,  we  think,  very 
satisfactorily  the  conflicting  statements  that  have  been  made 

^  KeatiBg.  '  See  Lectures  on  AIS.  Afattnals. 


WrUTlNGS  OK  CORMAC  MAC  CULLINAN.  613 

by  Irish  scholars  with  reference  to  this  famous  compilation. 
Colo^an  and  Keating,  two  eminent  authorities,  both  ascribe  to 
Cormac  Mac  CuUinan  the  composition  of  that  noble  work, 
*'  which,"  says  Colgan,  "  has  always  been  held  in  the  highest 
estimation."  On  the  other  hand,  Connell  Macgeoghegan, 
the  translator  of  the  Annals  of  Clonmacnozsey  ascribes  it  to 
Brian  Boru,  and  that,  too,  in  the  mos»t  formal  language. 
Stranger  still,  Colgan  himself,  in  another  passage  attributes 
the  famous  Chronicle  called  the  Psalter  of  Caiseal  to  St. 
Benignus,  the  favourite  disciple  of  St.  Patrick ;  but  he 
cautiously  adds  that  Benignus  began  its  composition — 
inchoavit  et  composuit — which  can  be  well  reconciled  with 
what  he  says  of  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan's  share  in  the  work. 
In  a  word,  Benignus  began  it,  and  made  it  suitable  to  his 
own  time  ;  Cormac  enlarged  and  perfected  it,  making  all  the 
necessary  changes  in  point  of  language  and  matter,  which  the 
lapse  of  350  years  imperatively  demanded ;  and  finally,  in 
the  time  of  King  Brian  Boru  it  may,  as  Macgeoghegan 
asserts,  have  been  still  further  corrected  and  enlarged  to  suit 
the  needs  of  the  time,  and  then  formally  approved  of  by  that 
monarch,  as  well  as  by  his  bishops  and  his  nobles. 

St.  Benignus,  though  born  in  Meath,  was  of  Munster 
origin.  St.  Patrick  sent  him  to  preach  especially  in  those 
districts  which  he  did  not  himself  visit.  Hence  Benignus, 
we  are  told,  went  through  Kerry  and  Corcomroe  in  his 
missionary  labours;  but  particularly  devoted  himself  to  South- 
western Connaught,  and  built  his  chief  church  at  Kilbannou, 
near  Tuam.  He  also  specially  blessed  that  province,  the 
natives  of  which  still  affectionately  revere  the  memory  of 
the  gentle  saint  with  the  sweet  voice  and  winning  gracious 
ways. 

Now,  when  the  Munstermen  heard  of  the  preference  and 
the  blessings  which  Benignus  gave  to  Gal  way,  they  were 
jealous,  and  complained  that  he  slighted  his  own  kindred. 
So  to  please  them,  Benignus  went  down  to  Caiseal,  and 
remained  there  from  Shrovetide  to  Easter,  composing  in  his 
own  sweet  numbers  a  learned  book,  which  would  immortalise 
the  province  of  his  kinsmen,  and  be  useful,  moreover,  both  tc 
her  princes  and  to  her  people. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  Psalter  of  Caiseal,  the 
great  Domesday  Book  of  the  South,  written  in  verse,  and 
recording  the  sub-divisions  of  the  kingdom,  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  its  various  sub-kings,  the  gifts  they  were 
entitled  to  receive  from  the  King  of  Caiseal,  the  boundaries  of 
their  territories,  and  so  forth.   A  portion  of  this  primitive 


(314       GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS  AND  SOHOLARS  OF  ANCIENT  ERIN. 


Psalter  of  Caiseal  appears  to  have  been  embodied  in  the 
existing  work,  the  authorship  of  which,  although  not  in  its 
present  form,  has  been  rightly  attributed  to  the  same 
St.  Benignus. 

Cormac  Mac  Cullinan  in  his  own  day  undertook  to  re-edit 
this  Psalter  of  Caiseal^  and  no  man  was  better  qualified  ibr 
the  purpose,  both  by  his  office  and  by  his  learning.  In  the 
accomplishing  of  his  task  he  was  assisted  by  his  secretary, 
Selbach,  the  Sage,  a  Munster  poet,  whom  Colgan  describes 
as  a  man  of  singular  piety  and  learning,^  and  also  by  ^ngus, 
another  sage,  of  whom  nothing  else  is  known.  Several  poems 
have  been  likewise  attributed  to  Cormac,  but  their  authenticity 
is  very  doubtful. 

Colgan,  Keating,  and  Sir  James  Ware  all  speak  of  the 
Psalter  of  Caiseal  as  extant  in  their  own  time  ;  but  it  has 
since  unhappily  disappeared,  although  a  very  considerable 
fragment  is  contained  in  a  MS.  now  in  the  Bodleian  Library 
of  Oxford.  That  MS.  was,  O'Donovan  tells  us,  transcribed 
in  A.D.  1453  for  Mac  E-ichard  Butler,  by  Shane  O'Cleary, 
doubtless  a  member  of  the  famous  antiquarian  family  of  that 
name.  It  contains  several  ancient  poems  and  other  treatises 
which  undoubtedly  formed  part  of  the  Psalter  of  Caiseal  as 
compiled  by  King  Cormac. 

Besides  his  share  in  the  composition  of  the  Psalter  of 
Caiseal,  Selbach,  Cormac's  learned  secretary,  is  also  said  to 
have  been  the  author  of  a  work  well  known  to  Irish  scholars 
as  the  Naoimli- Senchus,  or  poetical  history  of  the  saints  of 
Erin.  It  is  one  of  the  authorities  which  Michael  O'Clery 
constantly  quotes  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal ;  and 
Colgan  expressly  attributes  its  authorship  to  Selbach  the 
Sage,  or,  as  he  calls  him  in  Latin,  Selvacius,  and  he  fre- 
quently cites  that  work  under  his  name.'-  The  Naoimh- 
Senchiis  has  also,  but  with  less  probability,  been  attributed 
to  -^ngus  Ceile  De,  of  whom  \Ve  have  already  spoken. 

There  is  an  excellent  copy  of  this  ancient  poem  in  the 
Book  of  Lcacan  ;^  there  was  another  copy  in  the  Burgundian 
Library  of  Brussels,  which  is,  we  believe,  now  in  the 
Franci>*can  Convent,  Merchants'  Quay,  Dublin. 


^  Ada  SS.,  page  6. 


See  Acta  SS.,  page  6,  n.  x,         ^FoL  6S,  b.  a. 


CHAPTER     XXI N— [continued). 

OTHEH   DISTINaUISHED    SCHOLARS    OF    OUR 
GAEDHLIC  SCHOOLS. 

I. — Gaedhlic   Scholars  of   the  Sixth  and  Seventh 

Centuries. 

*'  I'd  rather  turn  one  simple  verse 
True  to  the  Gaelic  ear, 
Than  classic  odes  I  might  rehearse 
With  Senates  list'ning  near." 

—M'Gee. 

Besides  Cennfaeladh  and  Cormac  Mac  Cullinan,  there  were 
from  the  sixth  to  the  seventh  century  at  least  twelve  or 
thirteen  other  Graedhlic  writers,  whose  names  cannot  be 
passed  over  without  some  notice  in  a  work  like  this.  Our 
account  of  these  writers,  however,  must  necessarily  be  very 
brief,  for  in  many  cases  little  or  nothing  is  known  of  the 
history  of  their  lives,  and  to  a  great  extent  their  writings  are 
still  unpublished.  O'Curry^  and  O'Reilly^  are  the  two 
principal  authorities  in  this  part  of  our  subject. 

The  first  on  O'Curry's  list  is  Amergin  Mac  Awley 
(Amalgaidh),  the  author  of  the  celebrated  work  known  as  the 
Dinnsenchus.  This  ancient  and  highly  interesting  topo- 
graphical poem  was,  it  is  said,  compiled  at  Tara,  so  early  as 
the  year  a.d.  550,  that  is,  during  the  reign  of  Diarmaid 
Mac  Cearbhaill,  but  it  has  certainly  received  some  additions 
from  later  hands. 

Amergin  himself  is  described  as  chief  poet  of  that 
monarch  ;  but  according  to  O'Reilly,  he  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  another  Amergin  Mac  Awley,  who  flourished 
towards  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  and  was  the  author 
of  some  law  tracts,  copies  of  which  are  still  extant  in  the 
library  of  Trinity  College.  The  Dinnsenchus  has  been 
recently  published  in  fac  simile  by  Professor  Atkinson  of 
Trinity  College.  The  work  is  specially  interesting  and 
valuable  on  account  of  the  incidental  historical  references, 

^  Manuscript  Materials,  Lecture  iii.,  page  53,  and  Manners  aud  Customs, 
Vol.  ii.,  pages  90-178. 

*  Irish  Writers,  page  xlvii.  to  page  Ixxxv. 


()16  OTHKll   DISTINGUISHED  SCHOLARS. 

which  it  contains,  and  the  topographical  inioimation  which 
it  supplies.  The  stories  themselves,  though  in  many  instances 
far-fetched  and  improbable,  are  not  without  their  value  in 
illustrating  the  habits  and  thoughts  of  our  Celtic  ancestors. 
Copies  of  this  ancient  tract  are  found  in  \h.Q  Book  of  Leinster^ 
the  Book  of  Ballymote,  and  there  is  also  an  imperfect  copy 
in  the  Book  of  Leacan,  which  shows  the  value  that  was  set 
upon  it  by  our  ancient  scholars  The  published  fac  simile 
copy  is  taken  from  the  Book  of  Leinster. 

Of  Dalian  Forgaill,  who  flourished  towards  the  end  of 
the  sixth  century,  we  have  already  spoken  in  connection 
with  the  Columbian  Schools.  Besides  the  Amhra  Cholum- 
chille^  which  is  still  extant,  Dalian  also  composed  an  Amhra, 
or  Elegy,  on  the  death  of  St.  Senan,  or  Senanus,  of  Scattery 
Island,  in  the  estuary  of  the  Shannon.  He  was  recognised 
during  his  life  as  chief  poet  of  all  Erin,  and  he  appears  to 
have  been  on  terms  of  friendly  intimacy  with  Columcille. 
His  death  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  a.d.  598,  shortly  after 
that  of  Columcille  himself. 

Senchan  Torpeist,  then  §,  young  poet  of  known  talents, 
was  called  upon  to  pronounce  the  usual  bardic  elegy  on  the 
death  of  the  Chief  Poet  of  Erin,  and  acquitted  himself  so 
creditably  that  he  was  unanimously  chosen  to  take  the  vacant 
chair  of  Dalian  Forgaill.^  He  was  not  insensible  to  the 
responsibilities  of  his  high  office ;  and  hence,  according  to 
the  accoimt  in  the  Book  of  Leinster ,  shortly  after  his  accept- 
ance of  the  post  of  chief  poet,  he  called  a  meeting  of  all  the 
Files  of  Erin  in  order  that  they  might  take  measures  to 
recover  the  lost  work  known  as  the  Cuilmenn,  and  which,  it 
appears,  contained  the  only  complete  copy  of  the  celebrated 
historical  tale  known  as  the  Tain  bo  Chuailgne.  How  it 
was  recovered  is  told  in  prose  by  0' Curry,  and  by  Ferguson-^ 
in  a  poem  of  marvellous  imaginative  power,  which  might 
have  been  fitly  pronounced,  if  written  in  Gaedhlic,  by 
Senchan  himself.  Senchan  flourished  during  the  first  half 
of  the  seventh  century,  and  though  his  travelling  scliool  was 
a  large  one,  he  appears  to  have  always  found  a  welcouie  in 
'■/he  court  of  the  King  Guaire  the  Hospitable,  who  dwelt  at 
Durlus,  near  (rort,  in  the  county  Galway.  O'Reilly  says 
that  one  of  Senchan's  poems,  in  which  he  celebrates  the 
victories  of  Fergus  Mac  iioy,  is  siiii  extant  in  tne  Book  of 
Leacan, 

^  See  O'Curry,  page  "-'9. 

»  Tlie  "  Tain-Quest"  in  the  Lays  of  the  Western  GaeL 


GAEDHLIC    SCHOLARS,  ETC.  617 


If. — Gaedhlic  Scholars  of  the  Ninth  and    Tenth 

Centuries. 

The  ninth  was  more  remiirkable  than  the  eighth  century 
for  Gaedhlic  scholars  of  distinction.  Of  these  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  was  Maelmura  of  Fathan,  called  also 
Maeimura  of  Othan,  for  it  is  the  same  name  when  the  letter 
F  is  aspirated  and  omitted  as  silent  in  the  pronunciation. 
Maelmura  merely  means  servant  of  Mura,  the  patron  saint 
of  Fathan.  Tne  parish  of  Fahan,  which  takes  its  name 
from  St.  Mura's  ttncient  monastery  near  the  village,  is 
situated  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lough  Swilly,  under  the 
shadow  of  Slieve  Snaght,  the  loftiest  mountain  of  Inishowen. 
The  death  of  Maelmura  is  noticed  by  the  Four  Masters, 
A.D.  884,  and  he  is  described  as  "  a  truly  intelligent  poet, 
and  erudite  historian  in  the  Scotic  language.'^  The  Masters 
also  quote  a  rann^  which  declares  that — - 

•*  There    trod   not  the   charming   earth,    there    never   flourished   at 

affluent  Tara, 
The  great   and  fertile  Erin  never   produced  a  man  hke  the  mild 

fine  Maelmura ; 
There  sipped  not  death  without  sorrow,  there  mixed  not  a  nobler 

face  with  the  dead  ; 
The  habitable  earth  did  not  close  over  a  historian  more  illustrious." 

These  testimonies  are  extracted  from  the  Leabhar  Gabhala 
of  the  O'Clerys,  and  sufficiently  show  the  estimation  in 
which  Maelmura  was  held  by  our  ancient  Celtic  scholars. 

There  is  a  poem  published  in  the  Irish  Nennius^  which 
is  attributed  to  Maelmura,  and  which  r<  ally  appears  to  be  a 
composition  of  very  considerable  merit.  The  language  is 
very  striking,  and  the  Gaedhlic  original  has  a  stately 
rhythm,  as  well  as  much  vigour  both  of  thought  and 
language.  It  contains  3B5  lines,  and  purports  to  give 
poetical  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Gaedhil,  "  men  of  high 
renown  in  stiff  battles,  whom  the  mighty  stream  of  Ocean 
wafted  hither  to  Erin."  These  epithets  are  quite  Homeric, 
and  are  not  lavished  with  the  prodigality  too  common  to  our 
Irish  bards,  but  employed  with  discriminating  intelligence  to 
lend  a  poetic  vigour  to  the  historical  narration.  There  is 
another  poem  of  Maelmura  quoted  by  O'Reilly  in  praise  of 
Tuathal  Techtmar,  whom  he  describes  with  similar  vigour  as 
a  flowing  ocean,  in  strength  a  lion,  a  wily  serpent,  and  a 
wounding  warrior. 

In  another  poem  he  gives  a  catalogue  of  all  the  monarchs, 

^  Page  221. 


1)18  OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  SCHOLARS. 

of  Erin  from  this  Tuathal  to  Flann  8ionna,  the  reip^ning 
king  in  his  own  time.  It  is  highly  probable  that  Maelmura 
was  educated  at  the  monastic  School  of  Fahan,  which  from 
its  foundation  by  St.  Mura  seems  to  have  been  a  very  cele- 
brated establishment.  The  founder's  Book  and  Bell  were 
long  treasured  as  precious  relics  in  Inishowen. 

Flann  Mac  Lonan  was  another  celebrated  historical  poet, 
who  flourished  during  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  century. 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  native  of  South  Connauglit,  and 
beld  the  high  office  of  Chief  Poet  of  Erin  during  the  earlier 
years  of  the  reign  of  Flann  Sionna.  He  is  described  as 
Flann  O'Guaire  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster ;  and  the  Genealo- 
gies of  the  Hy-Fiachrach  represent  him  as  ninth  in  descent 
from  Guaire  Aidhne,  the  celebrated  king  of  the  Southern 
Hy-Fiachrach,  who  flourished  during  the  first  half  of  the 
seventh  century.  It  was  from  the  same  stock  that  the 
O'Clerys  derived  their  descent,  so  that  a  love  of  poetry  and 
history  seems  to  have  been  hereditary  in  that  tribe.  It  is 
evident  also  from  the  writings  of  Flann  that  he  was  patron- 
ised by  Lorcan,king  of  Thoraond,  the  grandfather  of  Brian 
Boru,  and  also  by  his  son,  Cinnedigh,  the  father  of  the  hero 
of  .  Clontarf.  This  King-poet,  as  he  is  called,  met  with  an 
untimely  end.  He  was  assassinated  by  the  Ui  Fothaith  at 
Loch-Dachaech  in  Desmond.  Locb-Dachaech,  the  Lake  of 
the  two  Blind  Men,  appears  to  be  a  part  of  the  estuary  of 
Waterford  Harbour '}  but  what  motive  can  have  instigated 
the  sons  of  Corrbuidhe  to  murder  the  harmless  poet  does  not 
appear.  He  is  described  by  the  Four  Masters  as  the  Virgil 
)f  the  race  of  Scota — the  Milesian  Irish — Chief  Poet  of  the 
Gaedhil,  and  the  best  poet  that  was  in  Ireland  in  his  time. 
The  A  nnals  of  Ulster  give  the  true  date  of  his  death  at  a.d. 
895,  where  they  record  how  "  Flann,  son  of  Lonan  O'Guaire, 
was  slain  by  the  Desi  of  Munster," 

Copies  of  three  poems  written  by  Flann  still  remain  in 
manuscript.  The  first  is  a  poem  of  eighty-eight  verses,  cele- 
brating a  great  victory,  which  Lorcan  of  Kincora  gained  over 
Flann  Sionna,  the  King  of  Erin.  The  second  also,  contain- 
ing forty-eight  verses,  celebrates  the  warlike  exploits  of  the 
same  hero,  and  the  third  describes  his  royal  residence  of 
Kincora  so  rich  in  wealth,  and  harvest  stores,  and  so  beauti 
fully  situated  on  the  Shannon  just  where  Lough  Derg  con- 
tracts its  waters  to  force  a  pa^^sage  through  the  hills  of  Ara 
to  the  sea. 


^  O'Donovan's  Tour  Masters,  a.d.  891— note. 


^\EDHL1C  SCHOLARS,  ETC.  619 

The  two  most  distinguisbed  poet-bistorians  of  the  tenth 
century  were  Cinaeth  O'Hartigan  and  Eochaidh  O'Flinft. 
Cinaetii  is  described  by  Tighernach  as  the  chief  of  the  learned 
men  of  Leath  Cuinn.  He  was  also  Chief  Poet  of  Erin,  and  was 
the  son  of  Cernach  the  Haughty,^  who  was  grandson  of  Aedh 
Slaine,  High  Kin^  of  Tara.  Sprung  from  the  royal  race  of 
the  Southern  Hy-Niall,itwas  only  natural  that  Cinaeth  should 
devote  his  talents  to  celebrate  the  ancient  glories  of  the  then 
deserted  Tara,  and  of  the  heroes  and  heroines  who  once 
thronged  its  waste  and  silent  halls.  These  poems  are  pre- 
served in  the  Dinnsenchus,  and  are  especially  valuable 
for  the  information  they  contain  with  reference  to  Tara  and 
the  reign  of  Cormac  Mac  Art.  He  also  gives  an  account  of 
the  origin  of  Aicill,  and  of  the  Book  which  takes  its  name 
from  the  hill,  and  has  been  published  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  Brehon  Law  series.^ 

Eochaid  O'Flinn  was  a  still  more  celebrated  poet-historian, 
and  it  is  quite  evident  from  the  care  that  was  taken  to  pre- 
serve his  numerous  compositions  that  his  works  were  very 
highly  valued  by  all  our  ancient  Celtic  scholars  We  find 
copies  of  his  poems  in  the  collections  at  all  the  great  schools, 
and  preserved  by  our  greatest  scholars.  They  are  to  be  found 
in  the  DinnsenchuSy  the  Book  of  Invasions^  the  Book  of 
Leacan,  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  the  Book  of  Glendaloch,  as 
well  as  in  several  other  compilations  and  manuscripts.  One 
of  the  most  important  of  these  is  a  chronological  poem  con- 
tained both  in  the  Book  of  Leinster  and  the  Book  of  Leacan, 
in  which  the  writer  gives  a  list  of  the  Ulster  Kings  from 
Cimbaoth  to  Fergus  Fogha.  Tighernach  recognises  the 
historical  authority  of  this  poem,  which  he  follows  in  his  own 
great  work,  and  which,  so  far  as  it  goes,  seems  to  have  been 
his  chief  source  of  information  both  for  his  facts  and  his 
dates,  at  least  as  regards  the  kings  of  Emania.^  In  another 
poem  he  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  inv^ion  of  Ire- 
land by  Partholanus,  which  has  been  copied  into  the  Book  of 
Invasions  by  the  O'Clerys. 

Keating,  too,  borrows  largely  from  the  poems  of  O^Flinn, 
of  which  a  very  full  list  may  be  seen  in  O'Reilly's  Writers,^ 
but  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  reproduce  here.  We 
must  not  suppose  that  O'Flinn  and  his  contemporaries  drew 
largely  on  their  imagination  for  the  contents  of  those  poems. 


^  Annals  of  Ulster,  a.d.  974  and  663 
^  See  page  24  of  this  present  work. 
*  See  O'Curry's  Lectures,  p.  521.  *  See  O'Reilly,  page  Ixiv. 


620 


OTHKR  DISTINGUISHED  SCHOLARS. 


They  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  They  simply  put  in  form  the 
bardic  traditions  that  were  handed  down  in  writing  with  the 
greatest  care  from  time  immemorial.  If  they  had  dared  to 
invent  anything  new  to  their  learned  contemporaries,  they 
would  at  once  have  been  dismissed  from  the  office  of  Chroni- 
clers of  Erin,  and  would  besides  have  been  severely  punished. 
It  is  evident,  too,  that  they  had  earlier  documents  which  they 
made  use  of  in  the  composition  of  their  own  poems,  but  which 
were  all  unfortunately  lost  during  the  Danish  invasions. 
There  was,  however,  always  a  regular  succession  of  these 
poets  whose  duty  it  was  to  get  by  rote  the  historical  tradi- 
tions of  their  predecessors,  which  were  thus  preserved  for 
posterity. 

III. — Gaedhlic  Scholars  of  the  Eleventh  Century. 

Mac  Liag,  Secretary  of  Brian  Boru,  held  that  office  during 
the  reign  of  Brian  in  the  kingdom  of  Thomond,  and  his 
extant  work — The  Wars  of  the  Gaedhill  with  the  Gaill — 
shows  how  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  he  discharged  his 
official  duties.  It  was  one  of  the  very  earliest  compositions 
of  this  character  written  in  prose  ;  but  when  he  wishes  to  be 
particularly  eloquent  and  impressive,  and  rise  to  the  dignity 
of  some  great  theme,  he  has  recourse  to  poetry.  To  record 
the  events  of  his  own  time  in  Thomond  was  not,  however,  his 
only  duty  and  his  only  task,  although  it  was  undoubtedly  his 
primary  work,  for  the  vigorous  and  warlike  Brian  kept  his 
hands  as  a  contemporary  chronicler  pretty  full  of  work.  His 
^  Lament'  for  Brian  after  the  battle  of  Clontarf  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  pathetic  poems  to  be  found  in  any  lan- 
guage. Even  Clarence  Mangan  could  not  reproduce  all  the 
touching  pathos  of  the  original. 


**  Oh,  where,  Kincora  !  is  Brian  the  Great  ? 

And  where  is  the  beauty  that  once  was  thino  ? 
Oh,  where  are  the  princes  and  nobles  that  sate 
At  the  feast  in  thy  halls  and  drank  the  red  wine  ? 

"  Thev  are  gone,  those  heroes  of  royal  birth, 

Who  plundered  no  churches,  and  broke  no  trust, 
'Tis  weary  for  me  to  be  living  on  earth, 
When  they,  oh,  Kincora,  lie  low  in  the  dust. 

"  I  am  Mao  Liag,  and  my  home  is  on  the  L«ke  ; 

Thither  often  to  that  palace  wliose  beauty  is  fled. 
Came  Brian  to  ask  mo,  and  I  went  for  his  sake, 

Ob,  my  grief  that  I  should  live  and  Brian  be  dead." 


GAEDHLIC  SCHOLARS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY.        621 

Neither  Colgan,  Keating,  nor  the  Four  Masters  expressly 
name  Mac  Liag  as  the  author  of  the  Wars  of  the  Gaedhill 
with  the  Gaill}  Dr.  Todd,  the  editor  of  that  work  in  the  Rolls 
Series,  declares  that  Dr.  O'Connor  had  no  sufficient  authority 
to  justify  him  in  attributing  the  work  to  Mac  Liag,  and 
declines  to  do  so  himself,  although  he  admits  that  the  work 
was  originally  compiled  by  one,  who  was  either  an  eye- 
witness of  the  battle  of  Clontarf,  or  who  had  certainly 
derived  his  information  from  those  who  were  eye-witnesses. 
Our  own  opinion  is  that  although  there  is  no  direct  evidence 
to  prove  that  the  book  was  written  by  Mac  Liag,  the  cir^ 
cumstantial  evidence,  to  which  we  cannot  now  refer  at  lengthy 
is  entirely  in  favour  of  that  supposition. 

This  work  is  exceedingly  valuable  as  the  trustworthy 
record  of  a  contemporary  writer  during  one  of  the  most 
important  epochs  of  Irish  history,  and  its  careful  perusal 
will  be  found  to  throw  much  light  on  the  history  of  that 
period.  The  author  is  much  too  fond  of  indulging  in  high- 
flown  descriptions,  and  of  unduly  multiplying  bombastic 
compounds.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  notwithstanding  this 
wordiness,  he  frequently  writes  in  a  spirit  of  genuine  eloquence, 
as  for  instance  when  he  describes  the  Danish  oppression  in 
Ireland,  and  "the  excess  of  their  thirst  and  hunger  for  the 
brave,  fruitful,  nobly-inhabited,  cataractful  rivers  and  bays, 
and  for  the  pure,  smooth-plained,  sweet-grassy  land  of  Erinn." 
He  tells  how,  if  there  were  but  one  milk-giving  cow  in  the 
house,  she  durst  not  be  milked  for  an  infant  of  one  night, 
nor  for  a  sick  person,  but  must  be  kept  for  the  steward,  or 
baiKfi",  or  soldier  of  the  foreigners.  And  however  long  he 
might  be  absent  from  the  house,  his  share  or  his  supply 
durst  not  be  lessened  ;  "  although  there  was  in  the  house  but 
one  cow,  it  must  be  killed  for  the  meal  of  one  night,  if  the 
means  of   a  supply  could  not  otherwise  be  procured.''^ 

But  the  good  sword  of  King  Brian  soon  changed  all  that. 
*'  He  conquered,  exterminated,  enslaved,  and  bondaged  them, 
so  that  there  was  not  a  winnowing  sheet  from  Benn  Edair  to 
Tech  Duinn  in  Western  Erin,  that  had  not  a  foreigner  in 
bondage  on  it,  nor  was  there  a  quern  without  a  foreign 
woman.  So  that  no  son  of  a  soldier,  or  of  an  officer  of  the 
Gaedhil,  deigned  to  put  his  hand  to  a  flail,  or  any  other 
labour  on  earth  ;  nor  did  a  woman  deign  to  put  her  hands 
to  the  grinding  of  a  quern,  or  to  knead  a  cake,  or  to  wash  her 


^  Its  Irish  title  is  Cogadh  Gaedhil   re  Gallaibh» 
^  See  page  51. 


♦l22  OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  SCHOLARS. 

clothes,  but  had  a  foreign  man  or  a  foreign   woman  to  woi  k 
forthem."! 

This  is  no  doubt  a  highly-coloured  des(jription,  but  it  is 
graphic  in  its  details,  and  gives  us  valuable  information  as 
to  the  state  of  social  life  at  that  period. 

Equally  graphic  and  interesting  is  the  sketch  which 
Mac  Liag  gives  of  the  great  achievements  of  Brian  Boru. 
He  tells  how  after  Brian's  royal  visitation  throughout  Eriu, 
all  his  enemies  were  brought  into  subjection,  and  the  country 
enjoyed  a  period  of  profound  peace  and  much-needed  repose. 
He  enforced  the  law  with  a  strong  hand,  and  repressed 
trespass,  robbery,  and  murder.  *  He  hanged,  killed  and 
destroyed^  all  thieves,  robbers,  and  plunderers  throughout 
Erin.  He  banished  or  enslaved  the  foreigners  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land — their  stewards  and 
collectors,  their  swordsmen  and  their  mercenaries,  their  tall 
and  comely  youths,  and  their  fair  and  graceful  maidens 
became  the  bond-servants  of  the  victors.  It  was  then  that 
Erin  enjoyed  such  peace  and  security  that  a  lone  woman 
journeyed  from  Tory  Island  in  the  north  to  Cliodhiia's  loud- 
voiced  wave  in  the  south  of  Erin,  carrying  a  golden  ring  on 
the  top  of  the  wand ;  yet  no  man  ventured  to  rob,  or  to 
insult  her.  This  blessed  period  of  justice  and  peace,  so  rare 
in  Erin,  has  been  celebrated  both  by  ancient  and  by  modern 
bards.^ 

Nor  was  Brian  less  enlightened  and  munificent  in  culti- 
vating the  arts  of  peace.  He  erected  many  noble  churches 
and  church  towers  in  Erin,  as  at  Killaloe,  Iniscaltra,  and 
Tuam  Greine,  where  the  remains  of  the  buildings  erected  by 
Brian  are  still  to  be  seen.  He  constructed  several  bridges, 
causeways,  and  high  roads  He  strengthened  all  the  royal 
fortresses  of  Munster  both  in  the  islands  and  on  the  main- 
land. He  sent  professors  and  masters  to  teach  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  also  to  buy  books  in  foreign  countries,  and  bring 
them  home  from  beyond  the  great  sea.  This  was  all  the 
more  necessary  as  the  writings  and  the  books  in  every 
church  and  sanctuary  of  Erin  where  they  were,  were  all 
burned  or  thrown  into  the  lakes  and  rivers  by  the  plundering 
Danes,  It  was  Brian  himself,  who  from  his  own  resources 
gave  the  means  of  purchasing  this  new  supply  of  books 
beyond  the  seas. 

Such  was  Brian  Boru,  a  hero  in  peace  and  in  war,  the 

^  See  page  117. 

^  It  was  this  uarrativs  that  inspired  Moore's  beautiful  lyrio — *•  Rich  and 
Rare." 


GAEDHLIC  SCHOLAKS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH   CENTURY.        628 

sword  and  sliield  of  his  country,  during  whose  glorious  reign 
Ireland  reached  the  zenith  of  her  power  and  prosperity. 
Mac  Liag  died  shortly  after  his  royal  master  in  a.d.  1016. 

Cuan  O'Lochain  was  another  very  celebrated  scholar  who 
flourished  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  eleventh  century. 
His  writings,  his  talents  as  a  statesman,  and  his  tragic  end 
have  all  contributed  to  his  celebrity.  The  family  which 
derived  its  descent  from  Cormac  Gaileng,  son  of  Tadhg, 
grandson  of  Ollioll  Olum,  was  at  first  settled  in  the  territory 
of  Ely  ;  but  afterwards  removed  to  Gailenga  Mor,  on  the 
borders  of  Meath  and  Longford.  This  territory  took  its 
name  from  Cormac  Graileng,  and  retains  it  to  the  present  day 
in  the  name  of  the  barony  of  Morgallion,  which  is  merely 
another  form  of  Gailenga  Mor.  It  appears  that  the 
O'Lochains  were  chiefs  of  this  district,  and  that  the  poet's 
family  was  held  in  high  esteem  in  Meath. 

After  the  death  of  King  Malachy  II.  (Maelseachlainn), 
in  the  year  a.d.  1022,  an  interregnum  of  twenty  years  inter- 
vened, during  which  there  was  no  recognised  High  King  of 
Erin.  A  joint  government  was  established  during  the 
interregnum  ;  and  it  is  said  the  regencj^^was  administered  by 
Cuan  O'Lochain,  the  Chief  Poet  of  Erinn,  and  Corcran 
the  Cleric;  or,  as  it  is  quaintly  put  in  Macgeoghegan's  Annals 
of  Clomnacnoise — "  a.d.  1022 — After  the  death  of  King 
Moylesleaghlyn,  this  kingdom  was  without  a  king  for 
twenty  years,  during  which  time  the  realm  was  governed  by 
two  learned  men,  the  one  called  Cwan  O'Lochan,  a  well- 
learned  temporall  man,  and  chiefe  poet  of  Ireland ;  the 
other,  Corcran  Cleireagh,  a  devout  and  holy  man,  that  was 
chief  anchorite  of  all  Ireland,  whose  most  abiding  was  at 
Lismore.  The  land  was  governed  like  a  free  state,  and  not 
like  a  monarchie  by  them."  It  is  curious  that  we  find  no 
reference  to  this  interregnum  in  any  of  our  Annals,  and  hence 
the  truth  of  Macgeoghegan's  statement  has  been  questioned 
by  certain  writers.  But  O'Curry  shows^  that  the  same  state- 
ment is  made  in  the  Book  of  Leinster,  an  almost  contempora- 
neous record,  although  it  is  there  stated,  probably  by  a  mistake 
of  the  scribe,  that  this  joint  government  continued  for  forty 
or  fifty  instead  of  for  twenty  years. 

It  was  the  form  of  government,  however,  not  the  two  gover- 
nors themselves,  which  continued  for  twenty  years,  for  the 
poet-regent  was  soon  slain  by  the  men  of  Teffia  on  the  borders 
of  his  native  territory  in  the  County  Longford.       The  sword 


^  Manners  and  CustomSy  Vol.  ii. ,  page  J  3b. 


624  OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  SCHOLARS. 

of  justice,  which  the  great  Brian  had  wielded  so  well,  was 
broken  at  Clontarf  and  buried  in  the  hero's  grave.  Once 
more  outrage  and  lawlessness  with  the  evil  spirit  of  discord 
spread  throughout  the  land.  We  know  not  the  motive  or 
circumstances  of  this  great  crime  perpetrated  by  the  men  of 
Teffia,  but  Providence  itself  avenged  tlie  poet's  death.  Ac- 
cording to  one  authority^  God  manifestly  wrought  a  poet's 
power  upon  the  parties  who  killed  him,  for  they  were  put  to 
a  cruel  death,  and  their  bodies  putrified  until  the  wolves  and 
vultures  devoured  them — a  fitting  end  for  the  wretches  who 
violated  the  sacred  person  of  the  poet.  Macgeoghegan  says 
that  he  was  killed  by  one  of  the  land  of  Teffia,  and  he  most 
probably  had  heard  the  living  local  tradition  ;  **  after  com- 
mitting which  evil  fact,  there  grew  an  evil  scent  and  odour 
of  the  party  that  killed  him,  so  that  he  was  easily  known 
amongst  the  rest  of  the  land.  His  associate  Corcran  lived 
yett,  and  survived  him  for  a  long  time  after  " — that  is  until 
A.D.  1040.2 

O'Curry  gives  a  very  full  account  of  six  historical  poems 
of  which  Cuan  O'Lochain  was  the  author.  One  of  them 
to  which  we  have  already  referred^  gives  an  exceedingly 
interesting  account  of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  and  of  his  great 
palace  at  Tara,  which  the  poet  describes  with  great  fidelity 
and  minuteness.  It  has  been  printed  in  Petrie's  Antiquities 
of  Tara  Hill.  Another  highly  interesting  poem  of 
O'Lochain  gives  an  account  of  the  *  prohibitions  '  and  *  pre- 
rogatives *  of  the  High  King  of  Tara,  and  the  provincial 
sub-kings.  This  poem  may  be  seen  in  the  Book  of  Rights, 
edited  by  O'Donovan.  Some  of  the  prohibitions  certainly 
savour  of  a  pagan  and  superstitious  origin,  as,  for  instance, 
when  the  High  King  is  forbidden  to  alight  on  the  plain  of 
Bregia  on  a  Wednesday,  or  to  traverse  Cuillenn  after  sunset, 
or  to  launch  a  ship  on  the  Monday  after  May-day.  But  his 
privileges  are  innocent  enough — to  have  the  salmon  of  the 
Boyne,  which  was  a  royal  river  ;  to  eat  the  fruit  of  Man,  and 
the  deer  of  Luibnech;  to  get  the  bilberries  of  Bri-Leith, 
and  the  cresses  of  the  river  Brosnach  ;  to  drink  of  the  spring 
water  of  Tlachtga,  and  hunt  the  hares  of  Naas.  Cuan's 
legendary  poems  on  the  Shannon  are  also  highly  interesting, 
but  we  cannot  refer  to  them  further  at  present. 

Errard  Mac  Coise  was  chief  poet  to   King  Malachy  II., 
who  died  in  a.d.  1022,  and  hence  he  was  a  contemporary 

*  The  Annah  of  Lough  C^,  A.D.  1024.       *  Annals  of  Ulster  and  Four  Masters. 

•  Chapter  II.,  page  21. 


GAEDHLIC  SCHOLARS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTURY-        625 

both  of  Mac  Liag  and  Cuan  O'Lochain.  Both  Mac  Liag  and 
Mac  Coise  were  natives  of  Hv-Many,  in  the  County  Galway, 
and  appear  to  have  been  rivals  in  genius,  but  intimate  friends 
and  associates  in  social  intercourse.  One  of  Mac  Coise's 
most  interesting  works  is  a  poetic  dialogue  between  the  two 
poets,  which  reveals  their  friendship,  their  talents,  and  their 
common  love  for  the  history  and  antiquities  of  Erin.  He 
appears  to  have  died  the  year  after  his  royal  master  in 
A.D.  1023. 

Flann  of  the  Monastery,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  justly 
celebrated  of  all  those  poet-historians  of  ancient  Erin. 
O'Eeilly  calls  him  **  Abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  Bute,"  and 
gives  a  list  of  fourteen  considerable  historical  poems  still 
extant  in  manuscript,  of  which  he  is  the  reputed  author.  It 
does  not  appear,  however,  that  Flann  was  either  an  abbot  or 
a  monk  in  holy  orders,  althouQ:h  he  certainly  sojourned  and 
taught  at  Monasterboice,  in  the  County  Louth,  just  as  his 
contemporary,  Conn-na-m-Bocht,  did  at  Clonmacnoise.  The 
death  of  Flann  is  marked  in  the  Chronicon  Scotormn  at 
A.D.  1054;  and  he  is  described  as  Ferlegind,  or  professor  of  the 
monastery,  and  "  the  last  sage  of  the  Gaedhil  both  in  reading 
and  history."  In  the  Annals  of  Ulster  he  is  called  Chief- 
lector  of  Monasterboice  and  historical  sage — sai  senchusa — 
of  Erin,  under  date  of  a.d.  1056,  which  is  the  true  date. 
The  Four  Mastersalso  describe  him  as  a  lector  of  the  monastery 
of  Buite,  and  the  '  paragon  ' — sai  egna — of  the  Gaedhil 
in  literature,  in  history,  in  poetry  and  in  science.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  here  we  have  a  complete  list  of  the  subjects 
taught  in  what  may  be  called  the  schools  of  general  literature 
in  ancient  Erin.  In  the  Book  of  Aicill}  as  we  have  already 
seen,  it  is  expressly  state.]  that  Cennfaeladh  attended  three 
schools  in  Tuaim  Drecaiiu,  a  School  of  Literature  {leigind)^  a 
School  of  Law  {feinechriis)yBX).(\.  a  School  of  Poetry  [filidechta) ; 
these  schools  were  held  in  different  houses,  and  taught  by 
three  different  professors.  Cennfaeladh  was  a  soldier,  and, 
therefore,  a  layman,  and  hence  there  is  no  reference  here  to 
a  School  of  Divinity,  of  the  Canons,  or  of  the  ISoripmres.  In 
the  subjects  taught  by  Flann  at  Monasterboice  we  find  no 
reference  to  the  feinechas  or  Brehon  Laws,  because  there 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  School  of  Law  in  the  Monastery 
of  Buite.  But  there  was  clearly  a  School  of  General  Literature, 
and  a  School  of  Poetry,  and  although  Flann  is  described  as 
chief  professor  in  the  former  school,  he  is  also  said  to  have 
been — ai  d  his  writings  prove  that  he  was — an  accomplished 

1  Brehon  Laws,  Vol.  iii.,  p«  89. 

2  11 


G2r>  OTHER  DlSTINOnSHRD  S(;H0KARS. 

poet.  As  Ferlegind,  it  is  clear  that  his  duty  was  to  teach 
classics,  including  in  that  term  the  vernacular  Gaedlilic 
tongue  ;  for  it  is  described  as  one  of  the  four  principal 
languages  of  the  world.  These  are  Gacdhlic,  Latin,  Greek, 
and  Hebrew.  We  have  already  I'urnished  abundant  proofs 
of  the  cultivation  both  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  our  Irisb 
schools ;  and  they  tried  their  hand  at  Hebrew  also,  but  we 
cannot  say  much  for  their  success  in  studying  that  difficult 
language,  which  was  then  almost  entirely  unknown  in  the 
Western  Empire. 

It  is  quite  evident,  too,  that  great  attention  was  paid  in 
these  schools  to  the  careful  and  systematic  cultivation  of  the 
Gaedhlic  tongue.  This  would  be  essential  not  only  for  the 
successful  study  of  the  classical  languages,  but  also  for 
success  in  the  Schools  of  Poetry  and  of  Law,  on  both  of  which 
80  much  attention  was  bestowed. 

We  have  abundant  evidence  on  this  point.  Besides 
those  scholars  already  referred  to  as  Ferlegind,  in  a.d.  937 
is  recorded  by  the  Four  Masters  the  death  of  "  Finnachta,  son 
of  Ceallach,  Comarb  of  Doire,  bishop  and  doctor  in  the 
Bearla  Feine."  This  is  the  second  bishop  of  Derry  referred 
to  in  our  Annals,  and  it  will  be  observed  that  he  is  not 
described  as  bishop  of  Derry,  but  as  comarb  of  Derry,  i.e.^ 
of  Columcille,  who  happened,  on  account  of  his  merit,  to  be 
raised  to  the  episcopal  rank,  although  his  official  title  is 
abbot  of  Doire- Columcille.  It  is  evident  that  he  must  have 
been  a  man  of  great  learning,  especially  in  native  literature, 
as  he  is  described  as  a  saoiy  or  doctor,  in  the  bearla-feinc. 
O'Donovan  thinks  that  by  this  is  understood  the  ancient 
technical  dialect  of  the  Brehon  Code,  and  Thady  O'Eoddy 
translates  the  expression  as  "  the  law  or  lawyers*  dialect." 
Zeuss^  with  more  probability  regards  it  as  the  ancient  written 
tongue  of  the  Men  of  Erin,  which,  in  process  of  time,  became 
corrupted,  and  varied  into  different  dialects.  The  ancient 
tongue  of  the  Men  of  Erin  was,  as  the  evidence  of  the  glosses 
in  existing  MSS.  proves,  a  language  which,  in  the  words  of 
Zeuss,^  was  a  language  regulated  by  fixed  rules  and  determi- 
nate inflections.  It  was  the  language  of  the  bards  and 
scholars  up  to  the  ninth  century,  but  the  ravages  of  the 
Danes,  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  ancient  monarchy  caused 
various  dialects  to  spring  up,  and  destroyed  the  fixity  and 
purity   of  the  ancient  tongue  of  the  Feine.     There  were, 


^  Giammatica,  p.  xxxiv. 

•  "Lingua  formis  suis,  3t  regulis  oertis,  oiroumacriptH." 


GAEDHLIC  SCHOLARS  OF  THE  ELEVENTH  CENTUFIY.        627 

however,  still  many  scholars  who  gloried  in  cultivating  the 
pure  and  ancient  language  of  Erin — the  language  of  its 
Bards,  its  Brehons,  and  its  Sages — and  these  men  came  to  be 
regarded  in  course  of  time  as  recognised  authorities  on  the 
ancient  tont;ue,  and  h'^nce  were  called  saoi,  or  sages,  in 
language.  Such  was  Finnachta,  abbot  of  Berry,  and  suc- 
cessor of  Columcille ;  and  such  also  was  Flann,  of  whom  we 
have  just  been  speaking. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  Flann  cultivated  the  study  both 
of  our  native  and  general  history  with  marked  success,  so 
that  he  came  to  be  recognised  as  one  of  our  highest  authori- 
ties both  by  his  contemporaries  and  by  his  successors. 
O'Curry^  gives  a  very  full  and  interesting  account  of  Flann's 
most  important  work — the  historical  Synchronisms.  "We 
need  not  discuss  the  subject  here  beyond  observing  that  this 
treatise  by  itself  furnishes  a  clear  proof  of  the  wide  range  of 
historical  studies  cultivated  in  the  schools  of  ancient  Erin. 
The  work  is,  in  fact,  as  O'Curry  observes,  an  abridgment  of 
universal  history,  and  certainly  goes  to  show  that  the  author 
was  not  only  an  accomplished  Gaedhlic  scholar,  but  also  that 
he  must  have  been  familiar  with  the  principal  Greek  and 
Latin  historians,  both  pagan  and  Christian. 

Of  Flann's  personal  history  little  is  known.  He  was  of 
Munster  extraction,  but  seems  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Eastern  Bregia,  where  his  great  ancestor  Tadhg,  son 
of  Cian,  son  of  OllioU  Olum,  had  established  himself  as 
early  as  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era.  We  need 
not  enter  into  any  details  regarding  his  historical  poems.^ 
Although  highly  interesting  these  subjects  will  never  become 
popular,  until  the  study  of  our  ancient  Gaedhlic  tongue  shall 
be  more  generally  cultivated  both  in  our  schools  and  in  our 
homes.  Most  ot  these  poems  are  preserved  inthe  Book  oj 
LeinsteVy  and  several  of  them  are  to  be  found  in  the  other 
great  Gaedhlic  repositories  of  our  ancient  literature.  It  would 
be  difficult,  says  O'Curry,  to  over-estimate  the  historical  value 
of  some  of  those  poems.  "They  are  precisely  the  documents 
that  supply  life  and  the  reality  of  details  to  the  blank  dryness 
of  our  skeleton  pedigrees.  Many  a  name  lying  dead  in  our 
genealogical  tracts,  and  which  has  found  its  way  into  our 
condensed  chionicles  and  annals,  will  be  found  in  these 
poems,  connected  with  the  death,  or  associated  with  the 
brilliant  deeds,  of  some  hero  whose  story  we  should  not 
willingly  lose ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  many  an  obscure 

1  S^e  O'Ourry's  Lectures — Manners  and  Custujns—Yol.  ii.,  p.  lo'k, 
^Lectures,  Vol.  i.,  p.  53. 


628  01II1SR    DISTINGUISHED   SCHOLARS. 

historical  allusion  will  be  illustrated,  and  many  an  historical 
spot,  as  yet  unknown  to  the  topographer,  will  be  identified, 
when  a  proper  investigation  of  these  and  other  great  historical 
poems  preserved  in  the  Book  of  Lemster  shall  be  undertaken 
as  a  part  of  the  serious  study  of  the  history  and  antiquities 
of  our  country.^" 

Fhimrs  monasterv  and  school  were  founded  about  the 
beginning  of  the  sixth  century  by  St.  Buite  or  Boetius,  who, 
like  Flann  himself  was  sprung  from  the  race  of  OllioU  Olum, 
and  is  said  to  have  died  on  the  same  day  (December  7,  a.d.  521) 
on  which  St.  Columba  was  born.  \\^.  travelled  much  in  Italy, 
Germany,  and  Britain  and  then  returned  to  found  a  monastery 
which  was  to  be  the  place  of  his  resurrection,  in  his  nativ 
district.  Though  founded  so  early  in  the  fertile  plains  of 
Louth,  we  do  not  find  that  St.  Buitd's  monastery  produced  any 
distinguished  scholars  down  to  the  periou  of  Flann  himself, 
whose  learning  has  made  it  so  celebrated.  That  it  was, 
however,  always  a  place  of  considerable  wealth  and  influence 
is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  highly  interesting  remains  which 
still  exist  at  Monasterboice.  These  include  a  portion  of  the. 
walls  of  two  very  ancient  oratories,  a  round  tower,  and  two 
sculptured  High  Crosses,  one  of  which,  locally  known  as 
St.  Boyne's  Cross,  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  very  finest 
of  its  class  in  Ireland. 

Of  Gilla  Coemhain,  whose  latest  poem  was  written  in 
A.D.  1072,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  at  length.  Like  Flann 
and  Mac  Liag,  he  was  a  historical  poet  and  a  cultured 
Gaedhlic  scholar.  A  Chronological  Poem  composed  by  Gilla 
Coemhain,  in  a.d.  1072,  has  recently  been  published  with  a 
translation  by  Dr.  AVhitley  Stokes^  The  reader  will  readily 
perceive  that  the  author  of  this  poem  was  a  writer  of  consider- 
able culture  and  of  very  general  information. 

IV. — Discipline  of  the  Lay  Colleges 

The  discipline  in  our  ancient  schools  was  neither  so 
elaborate  nor  so  minute  as  in  modern  seminaries ;  still  in  many 
respects  it  was  perhaps  more  satisfactory.  In  the  monastic 
schools  the  great  principle  of  obedience  was  the  fundamental 
rule,  the  observance  of  which  from  a  sense  of  religious  duty 
rendered  the  observance  of  all  other  rules  easy  and  even 
pleasant 

^  iAdoXxaxQ^-- Manners  and  Customs — Vol.  ii.,  page  157. 
*  IHpartite,  Rolls  Serie.s,  Vol.  ii.,  page  530. 


DISCIPLINE  OF  JHE  LAY  COLLEGES.  629 

But  in  the  lay  professional  schools,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  the  law  took  formal  cognisance  of  the 
relations  between  the  professor  and  his  pupils.  It  established 
the  general  principles  which  were  to  guide  these  relations^  and 
severely  punished  any  grievous  infraction  of  these  principles 

In  the  Senchus  Mor^  we  find  the  following  important 
passage : — "  The  social  connection  that  is  considered  between 
the  foster-pupil,  and  the  literary  foster-father  is,  that  the 
latter  is  to  instruct  him  without  reserve,  and  to  prepare  him 
ior  his  degree,  and  to  chastise  him  without  severity ;  to  feed 
and  to  clothe  him  whilst  he  is  learning  his  lawful  profession, 
unless  he  obtains  it  (food  and  clothing)  from  another  person 
— and  such  has  been  the  custom  from  the  school  of  Fenius 
Forsaidh  onwards.  On  the  other  hand,  the  foster- pupil  is  to 
assist  his  tutor  in  poverty,  and  to  support  him  in  his  old  age  and 
(to  give  him)  the  honour  price  of  the  degree  for  which  he  is 
being  prepared,  and  all  the  gains  of  his  art  whilst  he  is 
learning  it,  and  the  first  earning  of  his  art  after  leaving  the 
house  of  his  tutor ;  and  moreover,  the  literary  foster-father 
has  power  of  judgment,  and  proof,  and  witness,  upon  his 
foster-pupil,  as  the  father  has  upon  his  son,  and  the  Church 
upon  the  tenant  of  the  Church  lands.*' 

The  principles  enumerated  in  this  passage  are  eminently 
just  in  themselves  ;  they  were  well  suited  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  times,  and  admirably  calculated  to  put  down  a  mercenary 
spirit,  and  foster  the  growth  of  tender  affection  between  the 
pupils  and  their  master.  As  we  have  already  shown,  the 
professional  schools  were  to  a  great  extent  peripatetic ;  and 
when  actually  on  their  rounds  the  pupils  were  to  be  fed,  and 
lodged,  and  taught  by  the  master.  He  was  bound  to 
communicate  all  his  knowledge  and  all  his  art,  both  theore- 
tical and  practical,  to  his  pupils  without  reserve  ;  and  thus 
prepare  them  for  their  professional  degree  or  formal  admis- 
sion to  the  ranks  of  the  Bards,  Brehons,  Chroniclers,  or 
Readers,  as  the  case  might  happen  to  be.  He  might  chastise 
the  pupil  for  misconduct,  but  in  so  doing  the  teacher  was  not 
to  be  unduly  severe,  so  as  to  cause  injury  to  the  mind  or 
body  of  his  scholar.  He  was  also  to  supply  him  with  food, 
clothing,  and  lodging,  except  provision  were  otherwise  made 
for  these  purposes.  The  law  even  prescribes  the  quality  of 
the  food  to  which  the  pupil  is  entitled  as  a  matter  of  right. 
No  professor  in  ancient  Erin  could  keep  a  Do-the-Boys  Hall 
with  impunity.     The  teacher  was  a  literary  foster-father, 

^  Vol.  ii.,  X)£ige  ^49. 


630  OTHEK  DISIINGUISHEU  SCHOLARS. 

and  as  such,  be  was  bound  by  the  laws  of  fosterage  to  supply 
wholesome  food  in  abundnniie  to  his  pupils  according  to  the 
rank  of  their  parents.  ''  What  are  their  victuals  ?  Stirabout 
{lithe)  is  given  to  them  all,  but  the  flavouring  was  to  be 
different/'  It  was  salt  butter  for  the  sons  of  inferior  grades ; 
fresh  butter  for  the  sons  of  chieftains  ;  honey  for  the  sons  of 
kings.  The  stirabout  of  oat-meal  might  be  made  on  water, 
or  on  butter-milk,  or  on  new  milk,  and  given  to  the  different 
chisses  in  like  manner. 

On  the  other  hand  the  teacher,  or  professor,  was  amply 
provided  for.  That  provision  of  the  law  which  compelled 
the  foster  pupils  to  assist  their  tutors  in  poverty,  and  main- 
tain them  in  old  age,  was  an  admirable  institution,  calculated 
to  preserve  the  most  kindly  feelings  between  both  all  through 
their  lives.  Then  the  honour  price  of  the  degree,  and  the 
first  fees  earned  after  obtaining  it,  were  no  doubt  consider- 
able, in  order  to  enable  the  professor  to  maintain  his  pupils 
at  home,  whenever  ^hey  were  not  at  free  quarters  during 
their  learned  excursions  and  other  official  visits. 

Corporal  punishment  was  certainly  not  unknown  in  the 
monastic  schools,  as  well  as  in  establishments  of  later  date  ;  it 
was  sometimes  found  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  corporal 
punishment  even  when  dealing  with  young  '  saints.*  We 
are  told  in  the  Life  of  St.  Colman  Ela  of  Lynally  in  the 
King's  County,  that  he  once  punished  St.  Baithen,  the 
nephew  of  St.  Columcille  and  his  successor  in  the  abbacy  of  Hy, 
for  neglecting  his  studies.  The  boy  thereupon  fled  from  the 
church,  in  which  the  school  it  seems,  was  taught,  to  the 
woods,  no  doubt,  to  hide,  and  avoid  both  his  lessons  and  the 
chastisement  of  his  master.  There  he  saw  a  man  building 
one  of  the  circular  wicker-work  houses  then  very  common, 
and  observed  that  although  he  only  worked  one  rod  at  a  time, 
the  wicker- wall  rose  up  steadily  to  the  roof.  "  Ah,"  he 
said,  "  if  I  only  learned  a  little  each  day,  I  too  should  grow 
learned."  Then  he  took  shelter  from  a  shower  under  the 
spreading  branches  of  an  oak  tree.  While  standing  beneath 
the  boughs  he  observed  a  drop  of  water  dripping  from  a  leaf 
and  falling  on  the  ground.  He  made  a  hole  with  his  heel 
on  the  spot  where  the  drop  was  falling,  and  soon  noticed 
that  the  hole  was  filled.  Here  he  made  a  similar  mental 
reflection,  and,  vowing  that  never  again  would  he  neglect  his 
daily  task,  he  returned  to  his  master  and  grew  up  to  be  a 
very  learned  and  a  very  holy  man.^ 

»  O'Curry,  M.  #  C— Vol.  ii.,  p.  33, 


DISCIPLINE  OF  THi:  LAY  COLLEGES.  6Bl 

We  have  not  in  the  foregoing  pages  by  any  means 
exhausted  the  list  of  our  ancient  Schools  and  Scholars.  But 
we  have  sought  to  notice  all  the  more  frequented  schools, 
and  the  most  celebrated  scholars  of  ancient  Erin,  who  flour- 
ished in  their  native  land.  It  would  require  a  separate 
volume  to  do  justice  to  the  history  of  the  Irish  monks,  who 
bore  the  name  and  fame  of  Scotia  to  so  many  foreign  coun- 
tries^  in  which  the  memory  of  their  virtues  and  their  learning 
is  still  fondly  cherished.  In  these  pages,  however,  we  have 
said  enough  to  vindicate  the  right  of  ancient  Erin  to  that 
glorious  title,  by  which  since  the  twelfth  century  she  hat 
been  known  to  the  scholars  of  all  Europe — INSULA  SANC- 
TORUM ET  DOCTORUMi-The  Island  of  Saints  and 
Scholars. 


^  The  earliest  authority  we  know  for  the  first  part  of  this  title  is  the 
aucient  author  of  St.  Alban's  Life  : — '*  In  hac  insula  tot  viri  eximiae 
sanctitatis  fuerunt  quod  Insula  Sanctorum  nomine  appropriate  dicebatur." 
The  corresponding-  Irish  form  was  litis  net  Naomh.  Marianns  Snotus,  in  hia 
Chronicle,  also  calls  it  by  the  same  title — Insula  Sanctorum — under  date  of 
the  year  696,  but  which  is  really  a.d.  o89.  See  Heeves'  notes  in  the 
Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology^  vol,  vii.,  p.  228. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


Abb  AST,  St.,  comes  to  School  of  Beg- 
Erin,  157  ;  visits  Rome  with  his 
uncle,  St.  Ibar,  157. 

Abban,  priest,  baptizes  St.  Finnian, 
195. 

Abbot,  jurisdiction  of,  in  an  Irish 
monastery,  98,  99. 

Achadh  Duirbchon,  church  of, 
founded  by  St.  Finbarr,  477. 

Achaia,  life  of  Sedulius  (poet)  at, 
32-33. 

Adamnan,  ninth  abbot  of  Ion  a, 
little  known  of  his  early  youth, 
336 ;  descent  of,  337  ;  curious 
story  told  of,  337,  338 ;  g'oes  to 
lona,  338 ;  made  abbot  of  lona, 
339  ;  pays  a  visit  to  Ireland,  339, 
340 ;  a  second  visit,  34-1,  342 ; 
returns  to  lona,  and  writes  Life 
of  Columbkille,  342 ;  pays  a  third 
visit  to  Ireland  and  promulgates 
the  "Lex  Innocentiae,"  342,537; 
the  works  of,  343  ;  death  of,  345  ; 
his  relics  brought  to  Ireland, 
345. 

Aedh  Gruaire,  murders  high  steward 
of  King  Diarmaid  Mac  Ccrbhaill, 
218 ;  the  king  seeks  revenge  and 
is  cursed,  218. 

Aedh  Finn,  and  his  daughter  Grelges, 
227. 

Aedh,  son  of  Brendan,  prince,  grants 
a  site  for  School  of  Durrow,  301. 

Aedhan,  bishop  of  Mayo,  539. 

-^ngus,  king  of  Munster,  grants 
Aran  Islands  to  St.  Enda,  169. 

iEngus,  the  Culdee,  descent  and 
early  life  of,  405  ;  lives  a  solitary 
and  penitential  life  at  Dysert- 
Enos,  406 ;  goes  to  monastery  of 
Tallagh,  407 ;  his  identity  dis- 
covered, 408 ;  writings  of,  408- 
412  ;  Dr.  Stokes  on  his  writings, 
412  ;  death  of,  413. 

Agha  (Achad-Finglass),  monastery 
of,  St.  Fintanof  Clonenagh  at,  403. 

Aghold  (Achadh  Abhail),  Saint 
Finnian  builds  a  church  at,  199. 


Agilbert,  bishop  of  Paris,  a  student 
in  Ireland,  595. 

Agilulph,  king  of  Lombardy,  St, 
Columbanus  at  the  Court  of,  377. 

Aidan,  Saint,  bishop  of  Ferns,  427. 

-^ sent  to  preach  in  Northumbria, 

527  ;  appointed  bishop  of  Lindis- 
fame,  527. 

Ailbe  of  Emly,  St.,  ordained  by  St. 
Patrick,  150 ;  Life  of,  as  given  in 
the  Salaman'ca  MS.,  151;  preaches 
the  Gospel  in  Conn  a  light,  152  ; 
the  Life  of  St.  Declan  regarding^ 
153  ;  evidence  against  the  authen- 
ticity of  Lives  of  St.  Ailbe  and 
St.  Declan,  156. 

Ailbhe,  daughter  of  Cormac  Mac 
Art,  poem  attributed  to,  28. 

Aileran  (the  Wise),  St.,  writings 
attributed  to,  206,  207. 

Ailill,  abbot  of  Mungret,  death  of, 
510. 

Ainraire,  king,  grants  site  for 
School  of  Derry,  to  St.  Columba, 
299. 

Alcuin,  distinguished  scholar,  a 
student  at  Clonmacnoise,  272, 
273. 

Aldfrid,  king  of  Northumbria,  re- 
leases the  Irish  captives  at  inter- 
cession of  Adamnan,  340  ;  spends 
his  youth  in  Ireland,  468,  469. 

Alexander  III.,  Pope,  convokes  a 
general  Council  to  Rome,  442 ; 
safeguards    the    independence   of 

.  the  Church  in  Ireland,  443  ;  con- 
ceives a  strong  regard  for  St. 
Laurence  O'Toole,  443. 

Alexandria,  Christian  school  at, 
188. 

Alithir,  abbot  of  Clonmacnoise,  270. 

Alphabet  Ogham,  history  of,  13 ; 
invention  of,  14 ;  letters  of,  16 ; 
inscribed  on  rods  or  tablets  of 
wood,  15. 

.Alphabets, or  catechisms  of  Christian 
doctrine,  St.  Patrick  writes, 
63,  64. 


634 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


Amer«j:in,  poet  judge,  6. 

Anna^lidown,  monastery  of,  founded 
by  St.  Brendan,  219. 

Annals  of  Four  Masters,  quoted,  18, 
26,  58,  et  seq. 

Ulster,  quoted,  148. 

Clonmacnoise,  quoted,  218. 

Innisfallen,      copies     of,      503, 

.")04. 

Annegfray,  monastery  of,  8t.  Colum- 
banus  established  at,  373. 

Apostles,  Twelve,  of  Erin,  visit  St. 
Finnian  at  Clonard,  201. 

Aran,  Isles  of,  j^eojjfraphical  descrip- 
tion of,  169-172 ;  inhabitants  of, 
172;  Pag-an  remains  in,  172-177; 
the  stronghold  of  a  warrior  race, 
176,  177;  St.  Enda  founds  a 
monastery  on,  177  ;  visited  by 
numbers  of  saints,  177,  178  ; 
ancient  churches  in,  181-187. 

Art,  Celtic,  at  Clonmacnoise,  550- 
565. 

Art  the  Solitary,  slain  at  battle  of 
Magh  Mucruimhe,  17. 

Artificers  of  St.  Patrick,  66. 

Asicus,  St.,  an  artificer  in  metal 
work,  66,  161  ;  placed  over  church 
of  Elphii),  161 ;  goes  into 
Donegal,  161  ;  death  of,  162. 

Asterius,  Turcius  Ruffus,  Consul, 
34. 

Athens,  School  of,  under  a  pagan 
professor.  Saints  at,  189. 

Auxilius,  bishop,  accompanies  St. 
Patrick  to  Ireland,  59,  80  ;  founds 
a  church,  60 ;  present  at  first 
Irish  Synod,  60. 

Baithen,  abbot  of  lona,  remarkable 
for  his  spirit  of  prayer,  331  ;  sent 
to  govern  the  monastery  of  Hetb, 
332  ;  death  of,  332  ;  character  of, 
.i33. 

Ballaghmoon,  battle  of,  611. 

Bangor,  description  of,  367,  368. 

Bards,  application  of  the  term,  6  ; 
functions  of,  7  ;  fined  for  extor- 
tion, 7  ;  qualifications  required  to 
become  chief -poet,  7,  8 ;  chief 
duty  of  Historic  Poet,  8,  601  ; 
course  of  studies  required  by  law, 
to  become  Chief  Poet,  8  ;  some 
distinguished  Poets,  8-10;  St. 
Patrick's  alliance  with,  56,  67  ; 
St.  Columba  protects  the,  320- 
323. 

Barinthus,  monk,  tale  told  to  St, 
Brendan  by,  215. 

Barry,  Gerald,  cited,  197. 


Bede,  Chronicles  of  Picts  and  Scots, 
quoted,  166,  167,  296,  et  seq. 

Beg- Erin,  island,  St.  Ibar  builds  an 
oratory  on,  156 ;  no  longer  an 
island,  158,  159  j  the  Danes 
plunder,  158. 

Boliaarius,  scholastic  or  general  ? 
poem  attributed  to,  38. 

Benignus,  Saint,  Member  of  Com- 
mission of  Nine,  54 ;  meeting 
with  St.  Patrick,  54 ;  writings 
attributed  to,  55, 116,  117  ;  elected 
as  choirmaster  by  St.  Patrick, 
58;  death  of,  59,  96,  116  ;  brief 
story  of  his  life,  114,  115  ;  descent 
of,  159  ;  monastery  of  Kilbannon 
established  by,  159,  642. 

Beoit,  father  of  St.  Ciaran,  259. 

Berach,  Saint,  favourite  disciple  of 
St.  Kevin,  421. 

Bernard,  Saint,  Vita  Malachiae, 
quoted,  393,  394,  395  ;  at  Clair- 
vaux,  St.  Malachy  meets,  396. 

Bishops,  pre- Patrician,  in  Ireland  ; 
the  existence  of  discussed,  150- 
155. 

Bishops  and  Abbots,  lay,  395,  396. 

Bite,  bishop,  placed  over  Church  of 
Elphin,  161. 

Blaithmac,  Saint,  dies  a  martyr, 
347. 

Bob  bio,  monks  of,  copy  poems  of 
Sedulius,  35  ;  St.  Columbanus 
founds  monastery  of,  378. 

Bodkin,  Christopher,  archbishop  of 
Tuam,  540. 

Books,  pre-Patrician,  now  lost,  29. 

Caroline,  published  S86 ;  re- 
futed by  Pope,  387. 

Book  of  Armagh,  quoted,  58,  59,  60, 
et  seq. ;  history  and  contents  of, 
122-124;  now  in  Trinity  College, 
124. 

Aicill,  introduction  to,  quoted, 

24  ;  motive  for  which  it  was 
written,  26. 

Ballymote,  quoted,  22,  23. 

Durroio,  contents  of,  304  ;  now 

in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  305. 

Kelts,    history    of,    309,    310  ; 


now  in  Trinity   College,  Dublin, 
310. 

—  Leinsttr,  quoted,   3,  21,    27,  et 
seq. ;  described,   140. 

—  Lismore,  history  and   descrip- 
tion of,  473,  474. 

Rights     (Leabhar  Nag-Ceart), 


authorship  of,  attributed  to  St. 
Benignus,  97  ;  quoted,  54,  259  ; 
history  and  contents  of,  116,  117. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


635 


Book  of  Hymns,  reference  to  Saint 
Brigid  in,  135. 

Borumha,  or  cow  tribute,  remitted, 
341,  428. 

Bothchonais,  church  of,  situation  of, 
353. 

Brandon  Hill,  St.  Brendan  builds  an 
oratory  on,  214 ;  description  of, 
214. 

Brecan,  Saint,  tomb  of,  discovered 
in  Aran,  183  ;  descent  of,  183  ; 
and  St.  Enda,  184 ;  church  of, 
184. 

Bregentz,  St.  Colurabanus  and  his 
monks  at,  376,  377. 

Brehons  the,  during  pre-Christian 
period,  11  ;  in  the  reign  of  Conor 
MacNessa,  11  ;  Senchus  Mor,  com- 
piled from  legal  maxims  of,  12. 

Brehon  Laws,  reformed  by  St. 
Patrick,  52-6G  ;  sources  to  which 
they  owed  their  existence,  52  ; 
motives  that  prompted  the  revision 
of,  63. 

Brendan,  of  Clonfert,  Saint,  birth  and 
descent  of,  210;  baptized,  210; 
fosterage  of,  211  ;  progress  in 
learning,  211  ;  visits  school  of  St. 
Jarlath,  nearTuam,  212,  543,  544; 
an  angel  appears  to,  213 ;  per- 
forms a  miracle,  213  ;  receives  the 
order  of  priesthood,  213  ;  builds  an 
oratory  on  Brandon  Hill,  214;  his 
wanderings  through  the  Atlantic, 
215  ;  returns  home,  216  ;  founds  a 
monastery  on  Inis-da-druim  (Coney 
Island),  215  ;  visits  Wales  and 
lona,  217  ;  other  places  visited 
then,  217,  218  ;  and  St.  Ruadhan 
curse  Tara,  218  ;  founds  a  church 
in  Leinster,  218  ;  founds  monas- 
teries of  Anuaghdown  and  Inchi- 
quin,  219 ;  founds  a  monastery 
on  Inishgloria,  219,  220;  founds 
monastery  of  Clonfert,  220,  221  ; 
death  of,  221  ;  poems  attributed 
to,  222  ;  baptizes  St.  Fursey,  227  ; 
at  school  of  Ross,  491. 

Brendan,  of  Birr,  Saint,  founds  his 
monastery  at  Riverstown  (Biorra), 
622. 

Brian  Boru,  place  of  his  burial,  113; 
and  Maelsuthain  O'Cearbhaill, 
601  ;  repairs  church  of  Iniscaltra, 
621  ;  achievements  of,  622. 

Bricin,  Saint,  Life  of,  602,  603. 

Brigid,  Saint,  "the  mother  of  all 
the  Saints  of  Erin,"  125;  parentage 
of,  127-129 ;  memorials  of,  at 
Faughart,  128,  129  ;  birth  of,  129  ; 


receives  the  religious  veil,  129,  130; 
founds  school  of  Klildare,  130,  131  ; 
character  of,  131  ;  tradition  re- 
garding, 132  ;  death  of,  132;  first 
of  six  Lives  of,  133-135  ;  second 
Life  of,  135-137 ;  remaining  four 
Lives  of,  137. 

Brogan  Claen,  Saint,  Life  of  St. 
Brigid,  attributed  to,  1 37. 

Bronach,  mother  of  bt.  Mochae,  123. 

Buildings,  connected  with  an  Irish 
monastery,  94-97. 

Buite,  monastery  of,  Flann  of,  625, 
627  ;  founded,  628. 

Buite,  Saint,  founds  a  monastery, 
628. 

Burke,  MaoWilli am,  plunders  monas- 
tery of  Mayo,  540. 

Caelestius,  monk,  not  of  Irish  origin, 
39  ;  no  evidence  to  show  he  was 
either  a  Briton  or  Scot,  41  ;  his 
early  life,  41. 

Caemhin,  of  Annatrim,  Saint,  under 
care  of  St.  Columba  of  Terryglass, 
400. 

Csesar  :  De  Bello  Gallico,  quoted, €-4. 

Caimin,    Saint,     descent    of,    517 
writings  attributed  to,   617,  518 
his  influence  over  public  events,518 
characteristic  story  told  of,  61iS. 

Cairell,  bishop,  placed  over  convent 
of  Tawnagh,  12G. 

Caimech,  Saint,  member  of  Com- 
mission of  Nine,  54 ;  and  monastery 
of  Ro^nat,  167. 

Caius  Julius  Solinus,  Polyhister,  283. 

Calphurnius,  father  of  St.  Patrick, 
44  ;  descent  of,  70. 

Cannech,  Saint,  at  Glasnevin,  297. 

Canons,  most  celebrated  of,  attributed 
to  Synod  of  Patrick,  Auxilius  and 
Iserninus,  60,  61. 

Caplait,  Druid,  converted  to  the  faith 
of  Christ,  51. 

Carmen  Paschale,  work,  description 
of,  36. 

Carthach  the  Elder,  Saint,  trains 
St.  Carthach  the  Younger  at  his 
monastery  of  Slieve  Mis,  448. 

Carthach  the  Younger,  Saint,  birth 
and  descent  of,  447 ;  receives  his 
early  training  at  monastery  of 
Slieve  Mis,  448 ;  founds  a  monastery 
at  Kiltulach,  448  ;  visits  monas- 
teries of  Bangor,  Landelo  (now 
LynaUy),and  Clonfert-Molua  (now 
Kyle),  448  ;  founds  a  monastery 
at  Rahan,  449  ;  expelled  from 
Rahan,   460;    his  journey  to  the 


636 


GE^ERAL    INDEX. 


south,  451,  452  ;  founds  monastery 
of  Lisraore,  4o3  ;  retires  from  com- 
munity life  before  death,  454  ;  one 
of  his  strikins^  miracles,  454,  455  ; 
rule  of,  455-457. 

Cassian,  John,  monk,  founds  school 
of  St.  Victor,  190  ;  sketch  of  his 
life  and  writing's,  181  ;  the  moat 
celebrated  disciple  of,  191. 

Cassiodorus,  senator,  statesman,  and 
monk,  eulogises  Sed  alius  (poet),  35. 

Cathdldus  of  Tarentum,  Saint,  the 
Life  of,  457;  place  of  his  birth, 
458,459;  descent  of,  459;  difference 
of  opinion  about  date  of  his  birth, 
459,  460 ;  in  school  of  Lismore, 
460 ;  made  bishop,  461 ;  his  Irish 
See  not  determined,  462  ;  g-oes  on 
a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  462  ; 
reforms  the  licentious  people  of 
Taranto,  andbeconii  s  their  bishop, 
463,  464  ;  death  of.  'J  4;  relics  of, 
464  ;  writings  and  piophecy  attri- 
buted to,  465. 

Cathedral  of  Armagh,  113. 

Cathedral  of  Tuara,  old,  described, 
557,  558. 

Cathmael,  Saint,  early  life  of,  197. 

Ceallachan,  king  of  Cashel,  plunders 
monastery  of  Clonfert,  243. 

Ceddi,  bishop  of  lona,  death  of,  345. 

Ceile  De,  or  Culdee,  the  appellation, 
405. 

Celestine,  Pope,  commissions  St. 
Patrick  to  undertake  his  mission 
to  Ireland,  48. 

Cellach,  son  of  Cormac  Mac  Art, 
abducts  the  daughter  of  Sorar,  24. 

Celsus,  Saint,  driven  by  usurpers 
from  the  See  of  Armagh,  395 ; 
death  and  burial  at  Lismore,  471. 

Celtic  Scotland^  quoted,  163. 

Cennfaeladh,  at  the  battle  of  Magh 
Rath,  603 ;  at  school  of  Tuaim 
Drecain,  603  ;  treatises  composed 
by,  603,  604. 

Chad,  Saint,  educated  in  Ireland, 
593 ;  appointed  to  the  See  of 
Lichfield,  594 ;  death  of,  594. 

Chalice  of  Ardagh,  description  and 
history  of,  562-564. 

Charlemagne,  king,  Dungal's  letter 
to  on  the  two  solar  eclipses  said 
to  have  taken  place  in  a.d.  810, 
382-384;  convenes  Synod  of 
Frankfort,  386. 

pharles  the  Bald,  patronises  John 
Scotus  Erigena,  578,  579 ;  the 
Pope's  letter  to  regarding  Scotus, 
684. 


Christianity,  knowlerlge  of,  in 
Ireland,  in  third  century,  26. 

Chronicler.(  Historic  poet),  duty  of,  8. 

C/ironicon  Scotorum,  work,  history* 
of,  278-280.  ^ 

Church,  Irish,  St.  Patrick's  provi- 
sions for  training  a  native  ministry 
in,  58. 

Churches,  ancient,  in  Aran,  181- 
187 ;  ruined,  at  Clonmacnoise, 
266-269. 

Church,  Nuns',  at  Clonmacnoiae, 
description  of,  552,  553  ;  founded 
by  Dervorgilla,  wife  of  Tiernan 
O'Korke,  553. 

Cian,  son  of  OilioU  Olum,  branches 
of  family  of,  160. 

Ciaran  of  Olonmacnoise,  Saint, 
descent  of,  269 ;  is  baptized  and 
receives  his  early  training  at 
hands  of  deacon  Justus  at  Fuorty, 
259 ;  at  Clonard,  259  ;  at  Aran, 
179 ;  founds  two  churches,  261  ; 
founds  school  of  Clonmacnoise, 
262  ;  death  of,  263 ;  his  festival 
day  still  celebrated,  264 ;  leads 
an  extremely  ascetic  life,  265. 

Cill  Cluana,  church  of,  founded  by 
St.  Finbarr,  477. 

Cin  Droma  Snechta^  book,  29. 

Cir,  poet,  9. 

Claudius,  bishop  of  Turin,  an  ex- 
treme Iconoclast,  389  ;  his  reply 
to  the  letter  of  the  pious  Abbot 
Theodemir,  390  ;  Dungal's  treatise 
against  the  doctrine  of,  390,  391. 

Clonard,  relics  at,  205. 

Clonmacnoise,  ruined  churches  at, 
266-270  ;  Celtic  Art  at,  550-665. 

Cluaninis,  monastery  of,  St.  Colum- 
banus  at,  372. 

Cluain  Imaine  (Clonamery),  St. 
Brendan  founds  a  church  at,  218. 

Cobthac,  professor  of  Kildare,  death 
of,  138. 

Coelan  (Chilien),  monk,  a  Life  of 
St.  Brigid  attributed  to,  137. 

Coemell,  mother  of  St  Kevin, 
descent  of,  414  ;  family  of,  415. 

Coemhain,  Gilla,  poet,  628. 

Coemlug,  father  of  St.  Kevin,de8oent 
of,  414  ;  family  of,  415. 

Cogitosus,  monk  and  writer,  cited, 
127  ;  his  Life  of  St.  Brigid,  135- 
137. 

Coirpri  Lifechair,  assumes  sove- 
reignity of  Erin,  24. 

Colga,  king  of  Munster,  causes 
St.  Cathaldus  to  be  made  Bishop, 
461. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


(537 


Colgan,  professor  of  Clonmacnoise, 
272 ;  story  which  proves  he  was 
a  diligent  student  of  St.  Paul's 
Epistles,  272  ;  his  position  in 
Clonmacnoise,  273  ;  writings  of, 
273,  274. 

Colleges,  discipline  of  lay,  628- 
631. 

Colman  of  Cell  Riada,  Chamberlain 
of  St.  Patrick,  65. 

Colman  of  Dromore,  Saint,  placed 
under  training  of  St.  Mochae, 
143 ;  goes  to  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly, 
143 ;  again  visits  Noendrum, 
144 ;  the  first  teacher  of  St. 
Finnian  of  Moville,  246. 

Colman,  abbot  of  Moville,  Saint, 
regarded  as  the  author  of  a  Latin 
hymn,  255 ;  English  translation 
of  this  hymn,  by  Denis  Florence 
M-Carthy,  255,  256. 

Colman,  king  of  North  Leinster, 
and  St.  Fintan  of  Clonenagh, 
402,  403. 

Colman  of  Mayo,  Saint,  receives  his 
education  in  lona,  526  ;  appointed 
Bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  527 ;  on 
the  Easter  Controversy,  at  Con- 
ference of  Whitby,  527-529  ;  de- 
feated at  "Whitby,  by  Wilfrid, 
529 ;  leaves  Northumbria  and 
retires  to  island  of  Innisbolfin, 
529 ;  founds  monasteries  of 
Innisboffin  and  Mayo,  530  ;  in- 
teresting memorials  of,  in  Innis- 
boffin, 531,  532  ;  death  of,  533. 

Columba  of  Terry  glass.  Saint,  Fintan 
of  Clonenagh  placed  under  care  of, 
400 ;  founds  a  temporary  estab- 
lishment at  Clonenagh,  401  ; 
descent  and  early  youth  of,  513, 
514;  at  Clonard,  514;  visits  to 
Rome  and  England,  51  i;  founds 
three  churches,  514  ;  established 
at  Iniscaltra,  514,  515;  again 
visits  Clonard,  515;  death  of,  515; 
his  body  buried  first  at  Iniscaltra 
afterwards  transferred  to  Terry - 
glass,  516. 

Columba,  Saint,  a  typical  Celt,  291  ; 
birth  and  descent  of,  292  ;  his  early 
life  and  training,  293  ;  at  Moville, 
294 ;  places  himself  under  the 
instruction  of  a  Bard,  294,  295  ;  at 
Clonard,  296  ;  at  Glasnevin,  296  ; 
returns  to  his  native  territory,  297; 
founds  school  of  Derry,  298,  299  ; 
personal  description  of,  300 ; 
founds  school  of  Durrow,  301 ; 
irteresting     incidents     connected 


with,  302;  writeti  Book  of  Durrow, 
304  ;  School  of  Kells,  founded  by, 
307,  writing  of  Book  of  Kells 
attributed  to,  309 ;  and  battle  of 
Cuil-Dreimhne,  310 ;  ordered  to 
leave  Ireland  for  the  sin  of  urging 
his  kinsmen  to  fight  this  battle, 
311;  sets  sail  for  Alba,  312; 
island  of  lona  (Hy)  granted  to, 
316  ;  protects  the  Bards,  320-323  ; 
subsequent  history  of,  323  ;  death 
of,  324-326  ;  writings  of,  326-328  ; 
poems  and  prophecies  attributed, 
to,  329;  Lives  of,  330,  331. 

Columbanus,  Saint,  date  of  his  birth, 
371;  earlylifeof,  371,  372  ;  leaves 
his  home,  and  goes  to  Monastery 
of  Cluaninis,  372 ;  admitted  to 
Bangor,  372 ;  with  some  com- 
panions, go  first  to  England,  from 
thence  to  Gaul,  372  ;  preaches  the 
Gospel  through  the  towns  and 
villages  of  Gaul,  373 ;  and  his 
companions  get  established  at 
Annegray,  373  ;  founds  a  monas- 
tery at  Luxeuil,  374  ;  and  his 
monks  have  to  bear  a  sore  trial, 
374,  375  ;  driven  from  Luxeuil, 
376 ;  and  his  monks  establish 
themselves  at  Bregentz,  376;  leaves 
Bregentz,  crosses  the  Alps,  and 
founds  monastery  of  Bobbio,  377  ; 
death  of,  378  ;  writings  of,  378- 
380. 

Columbian  schools,  sacred  learning 
in,  318,  319. 

Comgall,  Saint,  at  Glasnevin,  297  ; 
birth  and  parentage  of,  365  ;  his 
early  vouth,  365  ;  becomes  a  dis- 
ciple of  St.  Fintan,  366-402  ;  pays 
a  visit  to  Clonmacnoise  and  receives 
the  priesthood  there,  367  ;  founds 
school  of  Bangor,  367 ;  visite^l 
there  by  St.  Columba  and  some  of 
his  followers,  368 ;  performs  a 
miracle,  368  ;  pays  a  return  visit 
to  Columba,  369  ;  death  of,  310. 

Commission  of  Nine,  members  of,  54 ; 
real  authors  of  Senchus  Mor,  55. 

Conall  Derg,  king,  family  of,  164. 

Conall,  king,  grants  the  island  of 
lona  to  St.  Columba,  316  ;  descent 
of,  317. 

Conall,  Saint,  bishop  of  Ross,  492. 

Conchessa,  mother  of  St.  Patrick, 
44. 

Oonchobhar  (Connor),  deprives  poets 
of  exclueive  privileges,  7. 

Conference,  Paris,  production  of, 
388. 


638 


GENKRAL    INDEX. 


Confession  of  St.  Patrick,  evidenoo 
in  favour  of  its  authenticity, 67, 68; 
the  Saint's  motive  in  writing,  69  ; 
ret'orenoo  to  Saint's  personal  liis- 
tory  and  Apostolic  labours  in,  70- 
72 ;  shows  he  was  a  native  of 
Britain,  72. 

Cong,  members  of  O'DufFy  family 
buried  at,  539  ;  remains  of  the 
abbey  of,  658,  559 ;  Rory 
O'Connor  retires  to  monastery  of, 
to  die,  659,  560. 

Conla  Cainbrethach,  distinguished 
judge,  mentioned  in  introduction 
to  Seiic/iiis  Mor,  11. 

Conlath,  Saint,  selected  by  St.  Brigid 
to  govern  her  churches  and  monas- 
teries, 181  ;  an  artificer  in  metsl 
work,  137. 

Conmach,  Pi-imate  of  Armagh,  gets 
the  clergy  exempted  from  military 
service,  410. 

Conn  the  Hundred  Fighter,  descen- 
dants of,  16. 

Conn-na-ni-Bocht,  holy  man,  de- 
scendants of,  280. 

Convention  of  Drumceat,  the  three 
questions  considered  at,  321,  322. 

Coolbanagher,  cLuich  of,  St.  ^ngus 
beholds  a  vision  of  angels  at, 
407. 

Oorban  gives  AruTi  up  to  St.  Enda, 
177. 

Core,  king,  member  of  Commission 
of  Nine,  54. 

Corca  Laighde,  territory  of,  490  ; 
race  of,  490. 

Coru'ac,  son  of  Diarmaid,  king  of 
Hy-Kinsellagli,  and  St.  Fintan  of 
Clonenagh,  402,  403. 

Cormac,  king  of  Hy-Bairrche,  re- 
tires to  Bangor  before  his  death, 
370. 

Cormac,  bishop  and  abbot  of  Glen- 
dalough,  death  of  recorded,  425. 

Coroticus,  king,  difference  of  opinion 
regarding,  73  ;  the  Book  of  Armagh 
regarding,  75. 

Cosgrach,  professor  of  Kildare,  death 
of,  138. 

Council  of  Nice,  second,  on  image 
worship,  385  ;  censured  at  Synod 
of  Frankfort,  386  ;  at  Paris  Con  • 
ference,  388. 

Crimthan,  king,  82. 

Cronan,  of  Roscrea,  Saint,  founds 
monastery  of  Roscrea,  523  ;  a 
specimen  of  the  miracles  given  in 
his  Life,  623  ;  t)\Q  Book  of  Dimma^ 
623,  524. 


Cross  of  Tuam,  described,  654,  565, 
656. 

Cross  of  Cong,  history  and  de- 
scription of,  560,  561. 

Crozier  of  Lismore,  description  of, 
472,  473. 

Cnanna,  Saint,  descent  of,  466  ;  goes 
to  the  school  of  Ruhan,  466 ;  founds 
monastery  of  Killcooney,  466 ; 
made  abbot  of  Lismore,  46b  ;  death 
of,  467. 

Cuil-Dreimhne,  battle  of,  260,  310, 
311  ;  story  of,  regarded  by  some 
as  the  invention  of  a  later  age,  31 1  ; 
site  of,  312. 

Cuilmen,  book,  29. 

Cuimine  the  Fair,  abbot.  Life  of 
Columba  attributed  to,  330 ;  the 
Paschal  Epistle  attributed  to, 
334. 

Cumraian  (the  Tall),  Saint,  birth  of, 
229  ;  in  St.  Finbarr's  school,  230.; 
his  appointn\ent  to  Clonfert,  230, 
231  ;  characteristic  story  told  of, 
231  ;  his  relations  with  King 
Domhnall,  232 ;  the  part  he  played 
in  the  Paschal  Controversy,  233 ; 
and  the  Synod  of  Magh  Lene, 
236,  237  ;  analysis  of  his  Paschal 
Epistle,  237-240;  probably  the 
author  of  Liber  de  Mensura  Foeni- 
tentiarum,  240,  24l  ;  death  of,  241. 

Cummian  Finn,  Saint,  writings  of, 
241. 

Daqhda,  king  and  poet,  8. 

Dagobert,  king  of  Austrasia,  a  pupil 
in  college  of  Slane,  590. 

Daire,  king,  member  of  the  Com- 
mission of  Nine,  54  ;  remarks  on, 
55  ;  grants  a  site  for  Cathedral  of 
Armagh  to  St.  Patrick,  111,  112. 

Dairinis,  Island  of.  St.  Finnian  visits, 
195-198. 

Dalian  Forgaill,  chief  bard,  re- 
organises and  reforms  the  Bardic 
Order,  323  ;  compositions  of,  616, 

Danes,  the,  plunder  Armagh,  120. 
burn  and  pillage  Louth,  149 : 
plunder  Beg-Erin,  158 ;  plunder 
Clonard,  207  ;  Olonmacnoise,  274, 
275;  Glendalough,  429;  Ross,  493; 
Mungret,  510  ;  Iniscalrra,  521. 

Darerca,  mother  of  St.  Ciaran,  259. 

Darinia,  sister  of  St.  Enda,  169. 

Dathi,  king,  mentioned,  28. 

David,  Saint,  birth  and  parentage 
of,  196  ;  founds  a  great  college, 
196;  appointed  archbishop,  196, 
197. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


639 


Dearbhforgaill,  dies   in  pilgrimage 

at  Glendalough,  430. 
Death  of  St.  Columba,  324-326. 

Declan,  Saint,  Life  of,  153  ;  evidence 
against  its  authenticity,  155. 

De  Grray,  John,  bishop  of  Norwich, 
269. 

De  Lacy,  Walter,  refounds  monas- 
tery of  Clonard,  208. 

De  Mensura  Orbis  Ten-arum,  treatise, 
account  of  its  contents,  281,  282, 
284-290. 

Demetrias,  Epistle  of  Pelagius  to, 
41. 

De  Rochford,  Simon,  transfers  See 
of  Meath  to  Trim,  208. 

Derry,  See  of,  established,  357. 

Dervorgilla,  wife  of  Tiernan 
O'Korke,  builds  a  church  at 
Clonmacnoise,  553. 

Dialoerue  of  the  two  Sages,  circutn- 
Ktances  which  led  to,  9. 

Diarmaid,  king  of  Meath,  makes 
gi-ants  to  Clonmacnoise,  271. 

Diarmaid,  bishop  of  Iniscaltra,  521. 

Dicuil  the  Geographer,  his  treatise 
De  Mensura  Orhis  Terrarum^  281  ; 
personal  history  of,  282  ;  where 
and  by  whom  he  was  educated, 
282-284  ;  sources  from  which  he 
derived  the  information  contained 
in  his  treatise,  De  Mensura  Orbis 
Terrarum,  v  84  ;  his  reference  to 
the  Irish  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem, 
285,  286  ;  his  reference  to  Iceland 
and  the  Faroe  Islands,  286,  287  ; 
his  reference  to  the  poet,  Sedulius, 
289,  290. 

Discipline,  of  an  Irish  monastery, 
y7-102  ;  of  lay  colleges,  628-631. 

Disert-Diarmada,  monastery  of, 
605. 

Doctor  in  Poetry,  qualifications  re- 
quired in  early  times  to  become, 
7. 

Domhnall,  king,  St.  Cummion's 
relations  with,  232 ;  death  of, 
233. 

Donovan,  chief  of  the  Hy-Fidhyente, 
makes  Mahoun  a  prisoner,  484. 

Dorbene,  abbot  of  lona,  336. 

Drogonus,  archbishop,  translates 
the  relics  of  St.  Cathaldus,  464. 

Druids,  learning  of,  1  ;  religious 
tenets  of,  1,  2  ;  the  British,  2 
places  of  worship,  3 ;  Irish,  3 
worship  of,  3 ;  functions  of,  4 
acquaintance  with  letters,  4 
abodes  of  Irish,  5 ;  idolatrous 
practice  of  sun-worship,  5. 


DrumcuUen,  monastery  of.  Saint 
Carthach  at,  451. 

Duach  Gralach,  descent  of,  226. 

Dubhthach,  chief  poet  and  Brehon, 
member  of  Commission  of  Nine, 
54. 

Dabricius,  bishop  of  Landaflf,  con- 
secration of,  196  ;  his  monastery 
at  Llancarvan,  196. 

Dunchadh,  archdeacon  of  Mungret, 
death  of,  511. 

Dungal,  theologian,  astronomer, 
and  poet,  381  ;  an  Irishman,  382  ; 
place  or  date  of  his  birth  not  fixe&, 
382 ;  his  letter  to  Charlemagne 
on  the  solar  eclipses,  382-384 ; 
opens  a  school  at  Pa  via,  385  ; 
writes  a  book  in  which  he  defends 
the  Catholic  doctrine  regarding 
Iconoclasm,  against  the  trifling  of 
Bishop  Claudius,  390,  391  ;  cha- 
racter of  his  writings,  391,392; 
death  of,  392. 

Dunlaing,  king,  massacres  attentij- 
ants  of  Cormac  Mac  Art,  18. 

Dysertenos,  Saint  JEngus  leads  a 
penitential  life  at,  406. 

Eamhnat,  mother  of  St.  Moling, 
426. 

Ecgfrid,  king,  slain,  and  his  army 
routed,  340. 

Egbert,  Saint,  of  Northumbria, 
comes  to  Ireland,  590  ;  studies  in 
Con  naught,  591  ;  a  vision  appears 
to,  592 ;  sets  sail  for  lona,  592  ; 
death  of,  593. 

Eithne,  mother  of  St.  Colurabkille, 
descent  of,  292. 

Eleyia,  poem  by  Sedulius,  descrip- 
tion of,  37. 

Elitheria,  monastery  of,  founded, 
535,  536. 

Elphin,  monastery  at,  160,  161. 

Embroideresses,  of  St,  Patrick's 
household,  66. 

End  a  of  Aran,  Saint,  descent  of, 
164  ;  conversion  of,  165  ;  gives 
proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his  con- 
version, 165,  ld6  ;  founds  a  mon- 
astery at  Ealleany,  166  ;  repairs  to 
monastery  of  Kosnat,  166-168  ; 
visits  Rome,  168;  death  of,  168  ; 
founds  his  monastery  on  Aran, 
177  ;  is  visited  by  several  of  the 
contemporary  saints,  177,  178 ; 
leads  a  simple  and  austere  life, 
18  ),  181. 

Eochiid,  Tirmcharna,  descent  of, 
2i6. 


640 


GKNERAL    INDEX. 


Eoghan,  king,  111. 

Epistle,  to  Coroticus,  of  St.  Patrick, 
73-75  ;  reference  made  by  the 
Saint  to  bis  own  personal  history 
in,  74. 

Ere,  bishop,  judt^e  in  St.  Patrick's 
household,  65  ;  baptizes  St. 
Brendan  of  Olonfert,  210;  takes 
Brendan  under  his  own  charge, 
211  ;  confers  the  order  of  priest- 
hood on  Brendan,  213;  death  of, 
213. 

Ercuat,  daughter  of  King  Daire,  gets 
enamoured  of  St.  Benignus,  115. 

Erigena,  John  Scotus,  of  Irish  birth 
and  education,  676  ;  the  English 
and  Scotch  strive  to  make  him 
their  own,  677,  578  ;  in  the  palace 
of  Charles  the  Bald,  678,  579; 
witticisms  of,  579  ;  publishes  his 
Liber  de  Prcedestinatione,  681  ; 
alleged  errors  about  the  Real 
Presence,  583  ;  translates  the 
writings  of  Pseudo-Dionysius,  584; 
the  Pope  complains  of  its  publi- 
cation without  the  Apostolic 
sanction,  685  ;  composes  his  work, 
De  Divisione  Naturae,  58(j  ;  this 
Book  condemned,  687 ;  death  of, 
588. 

Esker  Brenain,  church  of,  1 99. 

Etan,  princess  and  poetess,  9. 

Eu  or  Augum,  monastery  of,  St. 
Laurence  O'Toole  in,  444 ;  his 
death  in,  445. 

Fachtna,  Saint,  birth  and  early 
training  of,  490  ;  goes  to  school  of 
Cork,  491  ;  founds  monasteries  of 
Molana  and  Ross,  491  ;  becomes 
entirely  blind,  492  ;  death  of,  492. 

Family,  monastic,  members  of,  152  ; 
virtues  and  penances  practised  by, 
99-101 ;  ordinary  meal  of,  101  : 
ordinary  dress  of,  102. 

Fanchea,  nun,  converts  her  brother 
(St.  Enda),  164,  165. 

Faolain,  father  of  St.  Moling,  426. 

Faughart,  memorials  of  St.  Brigid 
at,  128,129;  Edward  Bruce  buried 
in  churchyard  of,  lii8. 

Faustinus  Arevalus,  admits  that  the 
story  of  Sedulius  (poet),  he  being 
a  Spaniard,  in  fabulous,  31. 

Feargus,  prince,  descendants  of,  226. 

Fedelmith,  king,  and  St.  Finau  Cam, 
498. 

Felire  of  St.  Aengus,  described,  409, 
410,  411;  Dr.  Stokes  on  its  author- 
ship, 412. 


Feis  of  Tara,  national  parliament,  in 

existence  before  time  of  Cormao 
Mac  Art,  19;  object  of,  20;  the 
meetings  of,  20. 

Feliiny  (Fedhlimidh),  father  of  St 
Columbkille,  descent  of,  292.         ^ 

Ferceirtno,  royal  poet,  9. 

Ferdomhach,  professor  of  Kildare, 
death  of,  138. 

Ferdomnach,  scribe,  transcribed  Book 
of  Armagh,  103. 

Fergus,  poet,  member  of  Commission 
of  Nine,  54. 

Fiacc  of  Sletty,  Saint,  descent  of,  81; 
offers  himself  for  the  service  of  the 
Church,  83  ;  founds  two  churches, 
83 ;  his  life  at  Sletty,  84  ;  death 
of,  85  ;    writings  of,  85,  86. 

Finan  Cam,  Saint,  birth  and  descent 
of,  497 ;  founds  monastery  of 
Kinnity,  497;  evidence  which. goes 
to  show  he  was  founder  of  Innis- 
fallen,  497,  498 ;  miracles  attri- 
buted to,  498,  499. 

Finan  the  Leper,  Saint,  commonly 
regarded  as  founder  of  Innisf alien, 
496  ;  evidence  for  and  against  this 
theory,  496,  497,  498  ;  monasteries 
mentioned  in  connection  with,  497. 

Finan,  bishop  of  Lindisfarne,  527. 

Finbarr,  Saint,  history  of  his  birth, 
476  ;  placed  under  care  of  a  holy 
man,  477;  founds  several  churches, 
477 ;  his  retreat  in  Gougane  Barra, 
478,  479 ;  founds  school  of  Cork, 
480;  goes  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome, 
481 ;  death  of,  482  ;  character  of. 
483 ;  writing  of,  484 ;  tragical 
event  which  took  place  in  con- 
nection with  this  writing,  4St,  4S5. 

Finchad,  Saint,  bishop  of  Ross,  492. 

Findath,  mother  of  St.  Fintan  of 
Clonenagh,  399. 

Finding,  father  of  St.  Brendan  of 
Clonfert,  210. 

Findmath,  mother  of  St.  Carthach, 
descent  of,  447. 

Finloch,  father  of  St.  Finnian,  de- 
scent and  family  of,  194. 

Finn  Cummian,  241. 

Finnachta,  king  of  Ireland,  and 
Adamnan,  337,  338  ;  remits  Boru- 
mean  tribute,  341,  428  ;  death  of, 
342. 

Finnachta,  abbot,  626,  627. 

Finnian  of  Clonard,  Saint,  descent 
and  birth  of,  1 94  ;  visits  the  saint.-' 
of  Wales,  19.) ;  their  history,  li^ti- 
198  ;  miracles  performed  in  Wales 
by,  19vS  ;  returns  to  Ireland,  198  ; 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


641 


founds  two  churches,  199  ;  founds 
school  of  Clonard,  199,  200  :  lives 
an  austere  life,  200 ;  visited  at 
Clonard  by  al]  the  distinguished 
saints  of  Erin,  201  ;  the  routine 
of  daily  life  in  school  of,  202  ; 
his  power  of  expounding  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  203 ;  death  of, 
204. 

Finnian  of  Moville,  Saint,  boyhood 
and  education  of,  246  ;  goes  to 
monastery  of  Rosnat  (Candida 
Casa),  247  ;  goes  to  Rome,  248  ; 
returns  to  Ireland,  and  brings  with 
him  copy  of  entire  Bible,  249 ; 
founds  school  of  Moville,  249  ; 
Psaltery,  copy  of,  250,  251  ;  Rule 
composed  by,  for  his  monks,  253, 
254  ;  death  of,  254  ;  was,  it  seems, 
a  bishop,  255. 

Fin  tan  Corach,  Saint,  the  immediate 
successor  of  St.  Brendan  in  Clon- 
fert,  224 :  encourages  the  study 
and  practice  oi  sacred  psalmody, 
225;  death  of,  2-5. 

Fintan,  Munster  prince,  travels  as  a 
soldier  of  fortune  into  North  Con- 
naught,  226  ;  secretly  marries  the 
daughter  of  king  of  Connaught, 
227. 

Fintan  Maeldubh,  raised  to  the 
abbacy  of  Clonenagh,  404. 

Fintan  of  Clonenagh,  Saint,  St. 
Comgall  becomes  a  disciple  of, 
366,  402;  birth  and  descent  of, 
399,  400 ;  placed  under  care  of 
St.  Columba  of  Terryglass,  400  ; 
with  other  saints  found  a  tem- 
porary establishment  at  Clone- 
nagh, 401  ;  founds  a  permanent 
establishment  there.  401  ;  Rule  of, 
401  ;  miracles  of,  402,  403  ;  death 
if,  404. 

Firaull,  father  of  St.  Carthach,  de- 
scent of,  447. 

Fire,  "perpetual,"  of  Kildare,  100, 
iOl. 

Flaithbeartach,  abbot  of  Inniscathy, 
and  Cormac  MacCullinau,  610, 
611. 

Flann,  mother  of  St.  Cummian,  sketch 
of  her  history,  229 ;  dies  a  holy 
nun,  229. 

Flann,  king,  builds  a  church  at  Clon- 
macnoise,  266. 

Flann  of  Monasterboice,  prose  chro- 
nicler, 276. 

Flann  Failbhe,  kindly  receives  St. 
Carthach,  462 :  and  St.  Finan 
Cam,  4. '9. 


Flann   Sionna,  king   of   Ireland  de 
feated   at   battle  of   Magh  Lena,, 
609,  610. 

Fortchern,  Saint,  descent  and  con- 
version of,  194  ;  said  to  have 
founded  a  school,  195  ;  St.  Finnian 
placed  under  care  of,  195. 

Fortunatus,  poet,  cited,  35. 

Fothadh,  poet  and  adviser  of  King 
A.edh,  decides  that  the  clergy 
should  be  exempted  from  military 
service,  41C. 

Fursey,  Saint,  descent  of,  226 ; 
history  of  his  birth,  226,  227; 
baptized  and  trained  by  Saint 
Brendan  of  Clonfert,  227  ;  founds 
a  monastery,  227. 

GABfiREX,  father  of  St.  Fintan  of 
Clonenagh,  399. 

Gelasius,  Pope,  approves  of  writings 
of  Sedulius,  34,  35. 

Primate  of  Armagh,  121 ;  what 

is  known  of  his  family  or  birth- 
place, 358,  359 ;  becomes  abbot 
of  Derry,  359  ;  raised  to  Primacy 
of  Armagh,  359 ;  his  reign  re- 
markable for  two  things,  359 ; 
visits  Munster  and  Connaught, 
360 ;  convenes  and  presides  oyer 
several  Synods,  360-36.i  ;  conse- 
crates St.  Laurence  O' Toole  to  be 
archbishop  of  Dublin,  362,436; 
presides  over  Synod  of  Clane,  362, 
437  ;  death  of,  363. 

Gemuian,  bard,  instructs  Samt 
Columbkille,  294 ;  striking  in- 
cident connected  with,  295. 

Gennadius,  31  ;  cited,  41. 

Gerald,  of  Mayo,  Saint,  placed 
under  St.  Colman's  care,  534  ;  and 
his  brothers  come  to  Ireland, 
634,  535 ;  founds  a  monastery, 
535  ;  attends  a  meeting  at  Tara, 
636,  537 ;  paid  a  visit  by  Saint 
Adamnan,  537  ;  date  of  his  death, 
537. 

Germanus,  Saint,  becomes  bishop 
of  Auxerre,  4  7  ;  leads  a  life  of 
austerity,  47 ;  becomes  the  tutor 
of  St.  Patrick,  47  ;  builds  a  monas- 
tery, 48;  is  accompanied  to  Britain 
by  St.  Patrick,  48  ;  sends  Saint 
Patrick  to  Rome,  49. 

Gildas,  Saint,  teaches  in  School  ol 
Armagh,  118  ;  his  work,  119  ;  his 
meeting  with  St.  Finnian,  195. 

Giraldus,  archbishop,  causes  the 
relics  of  St.  Cathaldus  to  be  en- 
closed in  a  silver  shuine.  4fi4. 

28 


t)42 


GKNKUAL    IXDKX. 


tHondalouj^li,   topography   of,    417, 

418;  oxiHtini^   ruins    at,  4"22-V25; 

the  Danes  at,  1:^0. 
Gobban    Saer,  arnhitoct  or   OUamh- 

builder,  651,  552. 
Godfrey,    king-    of  Danes,  plunders 

country  round  Kells,  348. 
Gontran,  king  of  Burgundy,  receives 

St.    Columbanus     with     a    warm 

welcome,  373. 
Gotteschalk,  monk,  hia  dootrine  on 

Predestination     condemned,   580, 

581. 
Gougane    Barra,    lake,     described, 

478,  479  ;  ruins  on  island  in,  479; 

Father  Denis  O'Mahony  takes  up 

his  abode   in  this  lonely  retreat, 

479. 
Graine,  wife  of  Finn  Mac  Cumhaill, 

Rath  of,  at  Tara,  22. 
Guaire,    king   of   Connaught,    230 ; 

characteristic  story  told  of,    231, 

518;  defeated  in  battle   at   Carn 

Fearadhaigh,  231  ;  at  Carn   Con- 

aile,  27 i  ;  death  of,  271. 
Guigneus,  Saint,  spends  some  time 

in  Aran,  179. 

Hare  Island  (Inis  Ainghin),  Saint 
Ciaran  founds  an  oratory  on,  261, 

Henry  de  Loundres,  puts  out  the 
fire  of  St.  Brigid  at  Kildare,  138. 

Henry  II.,  St.  Laurence  O'Toole 
submits  to,  441,  442 ;  Rory 
O'Connor  formally  and  finally 
gives  up  all  claim  of  Ireland  to, 
442  ;  grants  the  dying  request  of 
St.  Laurence  O'Toole,  444. 

Hincmar,  bishop,  convenes  a  Synod 
at  Quiercy,  where  doctrine  of 
Gotteschalk,  regarding  Predestina- 
tion, is  condemned,  580,  581  ; 
attacked  by  French  theologians, 
681  ;  convenes  another  Synod, 
and  formulates  his  own  doctrine 
on  Grace  and  Predestination, 
582  ;  this  doctrine  sanctioned,  583. 

History  of  S/igo,  quoted,  1. 

Honoratus,  Saint,  retires  to  island 
of  Lerius,  and  subsequently 
founds  a  school  there  ;  becomes 
third  and  last  teacher  of  Saint 
Patrick,  50  ;  made  bishop  of 
Aries,  50  ;  the  disciple  of  John 
Cassian,  191  ;   death  of,  191. 

Honorius  III.,  enrols  St.  Laurence 
O'Toole  as  canonized  S.iint,  44(). 

'*  Honours,"  St.  Patrick  entitled  to 
four,  in  Irish  Churcli,  according  to 
IJook  of  Armag  I,  77, 


Household  of  St.  Patrick,  members 

of,  Go. 
Hy-Briuin,  race,  descent  of,  220. 
Hymn,  St.   Sechnall's,  circiiraslancft 

to    which    it    owed    its     origin, 

77-79. 
Hymn,  *'Sancti  Venite,''  80,  81. 

Iba.k,  Saint,  a  pre-Patrician  bishop, 
15'J;  his  early  training,  15G;  builds 
his  oratory  on  island  of  Beg-Erin, 
15G  ;  is  visited  in  his  island  retreat 
by  crowds  of  disciples,  157  ;  and 
his  nephew,  St.  Abban,  visit  Rome, 
157  ;  death  of,  157. 

Ildelfonsus,  cited,  3  >. 

Illumination,  art  of,  in  monastic 
schools  of  Kildare,  1S9. 

Imar,  king  of  Danes  of  Limerick, 
defeated  by  Brian  Boru,  494. 

Inchiquin,  island,  monastery  in, 
219. 

Inisboffin,  monastery  of,  founded, 
530  ;  situation  of,  531  ;  memorials 
of  St.  Colman  in,  531.  532  ;  dis- 
agreement between  the  Irish  and 
English  monks  of,  533. 

Iniscaltra,  island,  situation  of,  512, 
513  ;  ruined  monuments  still  re- 
maining at,  519,  520. 

Inis-da-druim  (Coney  Island),  St. 
Brendan  founds  a  monastery  on, 
216. 

Inisgloria  (Inis-gluair),  island,  St. 
Brendan  founds  an  oratory  in, 
219  ;  at  present,  220. 

Innisf alien,  island,  description  of, 505, 

Instruction,  course  of,  pursued  by 
Druids,  Bards  and  Breh^ns,  12. 

Instruotioi:,  oral,  communicated  by 
St.  Patrick  to  his  disciples,  62, 
63. 

lona  (Hy),  island,  description  of, 
315,  316  ;  no  trace  of  the  original 
buildings  of  Coluir.ba  at  present 
in,  317;  churches  of  a  later  dutc 
in,  317,  318  ;  becomes  a  celebrated 
place  of  pilgrimage.  346  ;  pillaged 
and  plundered,  34(1. 

Iserninus,  bishop,  ai  companies  St. 
Patrick  to  Ireland,  59,  80  ;  found? 
a  church,  60 ;  present  at  first 
Synod  held  in  Ireland,  60, 

Isidore  of  Seville,  scholar,  fitetl, 
35. 

Itii,  Saint,  the  *'  Brigid  of  Munsttr, 
127  ;  founds  her  (ouvont,  211  ;  St 
Brendan    placed    under  fosteragv 
of.  211. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


643 


Jarlath,  Saint,  founds  college  of 
Cluainfois,  IfiO,  542  ;  descent  of, 
641,  542  ;  builds  a  church  at  Tuam 
da  ghuailau,  544  ;  date  of  his  death 
544  ;  relics  of,  545. 

John  of  Tritenheim,  Beuedictine 
monk,  cited,  30. 

Judges,  ecclesiastical,  taught  their 
duties  by  St.  Patrick,  61. 

Justus  of  Fuerty,  deacon,  St.  Patrick 
gives  his  own  book  of  ritual  to, 
63  ;  baptizes  St.  Ciaran,  259. 

KATHLEEN,genuine  story  of  St.  Kevin 
and,  416. 

Keating,  historian,  cited,  20-24. 

Keller,  Dr.,  recovers  most  auth(mtic 
copy  of  Adamnans  Life  of  St. 
Columba,  33-1,  335. 

Kella,  memorials  of  St.  Columba  at, 
308,  30). 

Kevin  (Coemghen),  Saint,  descent  of, 
414  ;  birth  of,  415  ;  placed  under 
care  of  St.  Petroc,  415  ;  transferred 
to  the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  St. 
TSugenius,  416  ;  flies  to  the  recesses 
of  Glendalough,  416  ;  reasons 
which  induced  him  to  fly  from  his 
native  district,  416  ;  ordained 
priest,  417;  his  bed  in  Glenda- 
lough, 418  ;  life  at  Glendalough, 
418,  419;  leaves  his  cave  in 
Lugduff,  419;  founds  monastery  of 
Glendalough,  420 ;  meets  Saints 
Columba,  Comgall  and  Canice  on 
hill  of  Usnev  in  Westmeath,  421 ; 
death  of,  421. 

Kilbannon,  monastery  of,  established 
by  St.  Benignus,  169,  o42. 

Kilcommin,  old  ruin  at,  231. 

Kilcooney,  monastery  of,  founded, 
466. 

Kildare,  church  of,  description 
of,  133 ;  ancient  buildings  of, 
138. 

KUleany,  monastery  of,  founded,  177; 
existing  remain.s  in  townland  of, 
181,  182. 

Killossy,  church  of,  60  ;  etymology 
of  the  word,  60. 

Kil-mac-nenain  (Kilraacrenan),  St. 
Columba  spends  the  years  of  his 
youth  at. 

Kilmore,  church  of,  146. 

Kilnamanagh,  monastery  of  St. 
Kevin  in,  416. 

Kings,  taught  their  duties  by  St. 
Patrick,  61,  62. 

Kinnity,  monastery  of,  founded  by 
St,  Finan  Cam.  498. 


Labour,   daily,  in  monastery,   102  ; 

religious    exercises,    103;    study, 

103,    104;  manual,    104. 
Laeghaire,   king,    and    his    Di-ui  <s 

overcome  by   St.   Patrick,  50,  51  : 

member  of  Commission  of  Nine.  54. 
Laisren,  abbot  of  lona,  333. 
Laurence,    bishop    of     Canterbury, 

Millitus  of  London,  and  .Justus  of 

Rochester  admonish  the   Irish  on 

their  error*  in  reference  to  Easter, 

235. 
Leahhar  Breac,  quoted,  135, 
Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre,  work,  history 

and  contents  of,  280,  281 . 
Learning,  in  Ireland,  in  the  time  of 

St.  Patrick,  42,  43. 
Legislation,  ecclesiastical,  exercised 

by  St.  Patrick,  61,  62. 
Liber    de    Mensura    Poenitentiarum, 

work,  240  ;  contents  of,  24 1. 
Liberius,  poem  attributed  to,  38. 
Life  Tripartite,  of    St.  Patrick,  de- 
scription of,  88.  89  ;  date  and  pro- 
bable author  of,  89.  90. 
Life  of  St.  Ailbe  of  Emly,  151,  152  ; 

its  authenticity  refuted,  155. 
Life  of  St.  Abban,  quoted,  157. 
Lives,  six,  of  St.  Brigid,  reference  to, 

133-137. 
Lives  of  St.  Columba,  330,  331. 
Llancarvan,   school  of,  St.  Finnian 

in,  196  ;  Irishmen  in,  197. 
Lochru,   chief  Druid,   miraculously 

destroyed  at  prayer  of  St.  Patrick, 

60,  51. 
Loman,  Saint,  converts  St.  Fortchern, 

184  ;  descent  of,  194. 
Lomraan,  king,  and  St.  Patrick,  506, 

507. 
Lonan  Kerr,  Saint,  spends  some  time 

in  Aran,  179. 
Lorica,  of  St.  Patrick,  reason  of  its 

composition,  75,   76 ;  the  Book  of 

Armagh  on,  77. 
Lothaire,   crowned   emperor  by  the 

Pope,  385  ;  appoints  a  conference 

at   Paris,    388  ;  his   letter   to   the 

Pope,  389. 
Lua,  founder  of  Clonfert-Mulloe,  at 

Bangor,  £69. 
Lucbat   the   Bald,  miiraculously   de 

stroyed,  50,  51. 
Lupait,  sister  of  St.  Patrick,  66 . 
Luxeuil,  monastery  of,  established, 

374 ;    St.     ColiTrabanus    and    his 

monks  expelled  from,  375,  376. 

Macaille,  bishop,  gives  the  relitfioiu 
veil  to  St.  Brigid.  1?9 


644 


GENERAL    INDKX. 


Mao  Art,  Cormao,  character  of,  IG  ; 
early  trnining  of,  17  ;  his  narrow 
escape  from  Liighaidh  MaoCon, 
17  ;  avenges  wanton  massacre  of 
luB  attendants  by  Dutilair.i*-,  18  ; 
organizes  a  standing  army,  "  Fenian 
Mditia,"  18;  literary  history  of, 
19-2 ")  ;  convenes  regular  meetings 
of  national  parliament — Feis  of 
Tara,  20  ;  erects  a  parliament 
honse,  20,  21 ;  literary  works  of, 
23-25  ;  death  and  burial  of,  26,  27  ; 
•eems  to  transmit  his  talents  to  his 
daughters,  27,  28. 

Mac  Awley,  Amergin,  poet,  author 
of  the  Dintisenchus,  616. 

Mac  Cairthinn,  bishop,  champion  in 
Saint  Patrick's  household,  66  ;  St. 
Patrick  founds  a  church  for,  130. 

Mac  Carthy,  Cormac,  refounds 
monastery  of  Cork,  486  ;  becomes 
King  of  Cashel,  607 ;  builds  a 
ohapel  at  Cashel,  608 ;  made 
bishop,  608. 

Mac  Cerbliaill,  Diarmaid,  and  his 
palace  at  Tara,  cursed  by  Saints 
Ruadhan  and  Brendan,  218,  307  ; 
slain,  218,  307  ;  and  St.  Ciaran's 
prophecy,  262  ;  and  copy  of  St. 
Finnian's  Psaltery,  250 ;  descent 
of,  306 ;  grants  Kells  to  Saint 
Columbkille,  307  ;  and  battle  of 
Cuil-Dreirahne,  310,  311. 

Mac  Coise,  Errard,  chief  poet,  624, 
625. 

Ma'!  Con,  Lughaidh,  defeats  King 
Art  in  battle,  17  ;  attempts  to 
seize  Cormac  Mac  Art,  17  j  killed, 
17. 

Mac  Concumba,  learned  scribe,  271. 

Mac  Cofse,  lector  of  Ross,  geogra- 
phical poem  of,  494,  495. 

Mac  Creiche,  Saint,  spends  some 
time  in  Aran,  179. 

Mao  Crimthann,  Felim,  holds  a  con  - 
ference  with  Niall  at  Clonfert, 
242  ;  plunders  Clonmacnoise,  275  ; 
retires  to  a  hermitage  before  his 
death,  275  ;  death  of,  276. 

Mac  Cullinan,  Cormac,  his  bequest 
to  Grlendalough,  429;  bequest  to 
Mungret,  610;  birth  of,  604;  called 
to  the  throne  of  Cashel,  606-608  ; 
acquires  his  learning  at  monastery 
of  Disert-Diarinada,  605,  606 ; 
bishop  of  Cashel,  GIO;  stirring 
events  of  his  reign,  609,  GIO  ; 
greatest  fault  of,  610;  slain  at 
battle  of  Ballaglnnoon,  611  ; 
writings  of,  612-614. 


Mac  Cumhaill,  Finn,  poet  and  warrior. 
10  ;  is  general  of  Fenian  Militia, 
19. 

Mac  Duagh,  Colman,  founds  two 
churches,  185. 

Mac  Firbis,  Duald,  scribe,  278, 
279. 

Mac  Gorman,  Finn,  copies  Book  of 
Leinsler,  140. 

Mac  Lenin  Colman,  Saint,  induced 
St.  Brendan  to  give  up  his  worldly 
life,  212. 

Mac  Liag,  Brian  Boru's  secretary, 
work  of,  620,  621. 

MacLonan,  Flann,  historical  poet, 
poems  written  by,  G18. 

Mac  Murrough,  Diarmaid,  forcibly 
carries  away  the  Abbess  of  Kildare, 
138  ;  plunders  and  burns  Clonard, 
207  ;  death  of,  208 ;  his  treat- 
ment of  young  St.  Laurence  O'Toole 
433  ;  attack  on  Dublin,  440. 

Mac  Nadfraich,  Aenghus,  king, 
baptized  by  St.  Patrick,  54. 

Mac  Nessa,  Conor,  becomes  a  bene- 
factor of  the  poets,  10. 

Mac  Nisse,  abbot  of  Clonmacnoise, 
270. 

Mac  O'Cluasaigh,  Colman,  Saint,  the 
tutor  of  St.  Cummian  the  Tall, 
230  ;  his  elegy  on  death  of  St. 
Cummian,  241 ;  death  of,  242. 

Mac  Robartaigh  (now  M'Groarty), 
family  of,  appointed  custodians  of 
casket  which  holds  copy  of  St. 
Finnian's  Psaltery,  252  ;  members 
of,  who  met  their  death  in  defence 
of  this  sacred  charge,  252 ;  Mari- 
anus  Scotus,  a  member  of,  S49. 

Mac  Ua  Lugair,  Dubthaoh,  exhibits 
judgments  and  laws  of  Erin  to  St. 
Patrick,  53  ;  his  alliance  with 
Patrick,  56,  57  ;  his  conversion,  82  ; 
their  meetmg  some  years  later. 
82,  83. 

Mac  Ui  Clusaigh,  Colman,  Saint, 
nothing  known  of  his  personal 
history,  487  ;  a  professor  in  Cork, 
487  ;  hymn  composed  by,  488,  489. 

Maelbrighde,  successor  of  St.  Patrick, 
120. 

Maelcaisil,  abbot  of  Muugret,  death 
of,  511. 

Maelgenn,  chief  of  the  Druids,  sbows 
his  magical  power,  26. 

Maolmuire,  Primate  ot  Aimag  i,  had 
Brian  Boru  and  his  sou  luierrtfd  at 
Armagh,  113. 

Maohuuire,  scribe,  work  oompiled 
by,  280. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


645" 


Maelmura,  of  Fathan,  jtvoems  attri- 
buted to,  G17,  618. 

Maelraan,  Saint,  abbot  of  Tallaght, 
discoverstheidrntity  of  St.-^nj^'us, 
408;  and  St. -^nguB  jointly  writt 
the  Martyrology  of  Tallaght,  408, 
409. 

Maeve,  rath  of,  at  Tara,  22  ;  credited 
with  being  the  author  of  a  poem, 
27. 

Magh  Enna,  plain,  an  angel  app'^ars 
to  St.  Brendan  on,  213  ;  perforins 
a  miracle  there,  213. 

Magh  Mucruimhe  (near  Athenry), 
great  battle  fought  at,  17. 

Magh  Slecht,  St.  Patrick  overturns 
the  idols  of,  51. 

Mahoun,  brother  of  Brian  Boru, 
assassinated,  484  ;  Brian  avenges 
the  murder  of,  485. 

Malachy,  Saint,  birth  and  parent- 
age of,  393 ;  ordained  a  priest, 
393 ;  at  the  College  of  Lismore, 
893  ;  appointed  to  the  abbacy  of 
Bangor,  3  94 ;  builds  an  oratory 
once  again  at  Bangor,  394  ;  made 
bishop  of  Connor,  394  ;  founds  a 
monastery  at  Cashel,  395 ;  tranH- 
f erred  to  the  Primatial  See  of 
Armagh,  395  ;  expels  the  usurpers 
of  the  See  of  Armagh,  396  ;  ap- 
pointed Papal  Legate  for  all 
Ireland,  396  f  death  of,  at  Clair- 
vaux,  397. 

Manchan,  Saint,  shrine  of,  history 
and  description  of,  564,  565. 

Mangan,  Clarence,  poet,  cited, 
28,  29. 

Martin,  Saint,  supposed  relationship 
with  St.  Patrick,  44 ;  joins  the 
imperial  army,  45 ;  life  of  at 
Marmoutier,  45,  46 ;  is  made 
bishop,  45  ;  the  father  of  monas- 
ticism  in  Gaul,  93. 

Mathona,  sister  of  St.  Benignus, 
receives  the  veil  from  Saint 
Patrick,  126  ;  founds  a  church  and 
convent,  126. 

Maur,  Raban,  bishop,  580. 

Mayo,  See  of,  annexed  to  Tuam, 
540,  541. 

Mercartor,  Marius,  cited,  40. 

Michael  the  Stammerer.  Greek 
Emperor,  his  letter  to  Lothaiie, 
388. 

Missal,  Bobbio,  380. 

Mobhi  Clarainech,  Saint,  of  Glas- 
nevin,  296. 

Moehae,  Saint,  Patrick  converts, 
baptizes  and  tonsures,  141 ;  descent 


of,  142 ;  founds  monastery  of 
Noendrum,  142 ;  St.  Colman 
placed  under  the  training  of,  143  ; 
strange  story  concerning,  144, 
145 ;  death  of,  144. 
Mochta,  Saint,  birth  of,  146  ;  founds 
church  of  Kill-mor  (Cella-magna), 
146 ;  works  a  miracle,  147 ; 
founds  school  of  Louth,  147;  St. 
Patrick  visits,  147  ;  Rule  of,  148  ; 
author  of  a  work,  148,  149  ; 
death  of,  148. 

Mochoroy,  Saint,  favourite  disciple  of 
St.  Kevin,  421. 

Mocumin,  Saint,  under  care  of  St. 
Columba  of  Terryglass,  400. 

Moel,  Druid,  converted  to  the  faitJi 
of  Christ,  51, 

Moinenn,  Saint,  the  intimate  friend 
and  ahsociate  of  St.  Brendan,  222  ; 
appointed  by  St.  Brendan  to  rule 
Clonfert,  222  ;  things  concerning 
him  which  are  doubtful,  223,  224. 

Molana,  monastery  of,  founded  by 
St.  Fachtna,  491. 

Moling,  Saint,  descent  of,  426; 
spends  some  time  in  monastery  of 
Glendalough,  426  ;  founds  a  mon- 
astery, 426  ;  had  a  love  of  useful 
labour,  427 ;  his  austerities  and 
virtues  attract  a  great  number  of 
disciples,  427  ;  becomes  bishop  oi 
Ferns,  427  ;  procures  the  remission 
of  the  cow-tribute,  428  ;  writings 
ascribed  to,  428,  429  ;  death  of, 
429. 

Mdlloy,  chief  of  Desmond,  has 
Mahoun  assassinated,  484,  485. 

Monastery,  Irish,  general  view  of, 
91-94  ;  the  buildings  connected 
with,  94-97  ;  discipline  of,  97- 
102;  spirit  of  hospitality  in,  100, 
101;  daily  labour  of,  102-106. 

Monk,  the  true,  91,  92 ;  at  first, 
92. 

Morals  of  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  a 
famous  book  in  the  schools  of 
Ireland,  117. 

Morann,  learned  judge,  mentioned  in 
Senchus  Mor,  11. 

Morini,  Bartholomew  and  Bonaven- 
ture,  wrote  Life  of  St.  Cathaldus, 
457,  458 ;  quoted,  459,  460. 

Mor  Rigan,  queen  and  poetess,  8. 

Moville,  situation  of,  245  ;  in  ancient 
times  famous  for  its  great  religious 
establishments,  245. 

Mucknoi,  bishop,  receives  "  seven 
Books  of  I  he  Law "  from  St. 
Patrick,  63. 


646 


OKNERAL    INDKX. 


Muirg-heas,  abbot  of  Munj^ret,  death 

of,  oil. 
Muiichiii,    Saint,    deHcent    of,    509  ; 

builds  himself  a  cell  and  oratory — 

CiU-Muuohin.  509. 
Murtough,    fathtr   of   St.  Laurence 

O'Toole,  433. 

Naomh  Gilla-iia,  bishop  of  Glenda- 

lough,  431. 
Neehan,  Libeuw,  Saint,  spends  some 

time  in  Aran,  179. 
Nectan,  king,  expels  the  Columbian 

monks  from  his  dominions,  345. 
Neidhe,  poet,  9. 
Nessan,  abbot  of  Cork,  485. 
Nessan  of  Mungret,  ordained  deacon 

by  St.  Patrick,  507  ;    his  visit  to 

St.  Ailbe  of  Emly,  507,  508  ;  death 

of,  508. 
Ninian,  Saint,  said  to  have  visited  St. 

Mochae  at  Noendrum,    143,  246 ; 

founds  school  of    Candida    Casa 

(Rosnat),  247 ;  this  school  under, 

16G-168. 
Noendrum  (Mahee  island),  situation 

of,  141. 

O'BoLCAN,  Nuada,  abbot  of  Tuam, 
death  of,  545. 

O'Brien,  Mui-tough,  retires  to  mon- 
astery of  Lismore,  470;  plunders 
Mungret,  511;  gives  over  Cashel 
for  religious  purposes,  608. 

O'Brolchain  Maelisa,  Saint,  retires 
to  a  monastic  school,  353;  a  teacher 
and  scholar,  353  ;  said  to  have 
founded  an  oratory  at  Lismore, 
354  ;  death  of,  354. 

O'Brolchain,  Aedh,  professor,  death 
of,  354. 

0'Brolchain,Maelbrighde,  bishop  of 
Kildare,  death  of,  354. 

0  Brolchain,  Maelcolaim,  bishop  of 
Kildarg,  death  of,  354. 

O'Brolchain,  Flaithbhertach,  comarb 
of  ColumciUe,  procures  money  and 
renovates  the  monastery  of  Derry, 
355, 366  ;  elevated  to  the  episcopal 
order — See  of  Derry  established, 
357  ;  his  death  as  recorded  by  the 
Four  Master Sy  357. 

O'Brolchain,  Domhnall,  appointed 
to  the  abbacy  of  lona,  358  ;  erects 
a  great  church  there,  358. 

O'Brolchain,  Flann,  abbot  of  lona, 
368. 

O'Cearbhail,  Maelsuthain,  chief,  tba 
intimate  friend  and  couusollor  oi 


Brian  Boru,  601  ;  a  renowned  pro- 
fessor, oOi;  and  the  three  students, 
502,  503  ;  regarfled  as  the  author 
or  compiler  oi  Annals  of  Innisjallen 
;-03. 
O'Cleirigh,  Eoghan,  bishop  of  Con- 
naught,  death  of,  545. 
O'Connor,  Rory,  king,  grants  tithes 
to  Armagh,  121  ;  is  stimulated  to 
resist  the  attack  of  the  Normans 
on  Dublin,  by  St.  Laurence 
O'Toole,  441 ;  formally  gives  up 
his  claims  to  the  kingdom  of  Ire- 
land, 442;  St.  Laurence  O  Toole 
travels  to  England  and  France  in 
the  interest  of,  443  ;  retires  to 
abbey  of  Cong  to  die,  559,  560. 

O'Connor,  Cathal.  founds  a  chapel 
at  Clonmacnoise,  268. 

O'Connor,  Turlough,  fleet  of,  despoils 
Desmond,  495  ;  Celt  c  Art  during 
reign  of,  '47-065;  buildings  erected 
during  reign  of,  5o  7-559  ;  rebuilds 
Cathedral  of  Tuam,  557. 

O'Curry,  cited,  1,  3,  4,  et  seq. 

O'Donnell,  Cathbarr,got  casket  made 
which  holds  copy  of  St.  Finnian's 
Psaltery,  252  ;  death  of,  252. 

O'Donnell,  Manus,  wrote  a  life  of  St. 
Columba,  330. 

O'Drugan,  professor  in  School  of 
Armagh,  death  of,  121. 

O'Dujffys,  the,  547,  550. 

O'Duffy,  Cele,  Bishop  of  Mayo,  539. 

O'Duffy,  Flanagan  Ruadh,  professor, 
death  of,  548. 

O'Dufly,  Domhnall,  bishop  of  Elphin 
death  of,  561. 

O'Duffy,  Muireadhach,  high  bishop 
of  Connaui-'ht.  death  of,  560. 

O'Duffy,  Catholicus,  high -bishop  ol 
Connaught,  death  of,  549,555. 

Oeua,  Saint,  abbot  of  Clonmacnoise, 
270. 

Oengoba,  father  of  St.  .^ngu8, 
descent  of,  405. 

O'Flaherty,  cited,  19,  22,  23,  305,  et 
seq. 

O'FHnn,  Eochaid,  historic  poet, 
poems  of,  619. 

Ogma,  poet,  invention  of  Ogham 
Alphabet  attributed  to,  13. 

O' Gorman,  Florence,  professor  in 
Aimayh,  death  of,  121. 

O'Hagan,  Imar,  archbishop,  rebuilds 
church  of  Armagh,  121. 

O'K  anion,  Canon  : 

Lives  of  the  Irish  Saints^  c^vioie^, 

38. 

Life  of  St.  Briyid,  quoted,  129. 


GE^ERAI-    INDEX. 


647 


O'Hartigan,  Cinaeth,  historic  poet, 
619. 

0 'Hessian,  Hug-h,  high-bishop  of 
Connaught,  549,  555. 

O'Hoisin,  Aedb,  archbishop  of 
Tuam,  545. 

O'Huihair,  Patrick,  a  poet  of  Innis- 
fallen,  504. 

Oisin  (Ossian),  Erin's  greatest  poet, 
10;  story  of  his  relations  with  St. 
Patrick,  57. 

O'Kelly,  Diarmaid,  plunders  monas- 
tery of  Clonfert,  243. 

O'Kelly,  Conor,  founds  a  sepulchral 
chapel  at  Clonmacnoise,  268. 

O'Leathain,  Colman,  Saint,  a  pupil, 
abbot,  and  bishop  of  Lisraore, 
467. 

OUamh  Fodhla,  king,  reigns  and 
dies  at  Tara,  19. 

O'Lochain,  Ouan,  poet,  quoted,  23  ; 
descent  of,  623  ;  slain,  624  ;  poems 
written  by,  624. 

Olum  OllioU,  learned  poet,  poems 
written  by,  10. 

O'Malone  (O'Maeileoin),  GilUchrist, 
work  attributed  to,  279. 

O'Manchan,  Brehon,  death  of,  re- 
corded, 430. 

O'Melaghlin,  Donogh,  prince  of 
Meath,  sentence  of  excommunica- 
tion pronounced  upon,  361. 

0' Moore  Moran,  lector  of  Armagh, 
death  of,  at  Mungret,  oil. 

O'Mordha  Peter,  bishop  of  Clon- 
fert, building-  of  present  church  of 
Clonfert  (now  in  Protestant 
hands),  attributed  to,  244. 

O'Muidhin,  Giolla  Aedha,  abbot  and 
bishop  of  Cork,  486,  487. 

Ona,  harper,  9. 

Organization,  Church,  established 
by  St.  Patrick,  55,  56. 

O'Rorke,  Tiernan,  plunders  Clonard, 
207. 

0  Korke,  Art,  plunders  monastery 
of  Clonfert,  243. 

O'Rorke,  Aedb,  plunders  monastery 
of  Clonfert,  243. 

O'Rorke,  Fergal,  builds  a  tower  at 
Clonmacnoise,   268,  269. 

Oswald,  king  of  Northumbria,  con- 
venes a  Synod  at  Whitby  to 
establish  a  uniform  Easter  usage, 
527-529. 

Ottilo,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  St.  Vir- 
^'ilius  at  court  of,  567. 

O'Toole,  Laurence  (Lorcan),  Saint, 
authentic  life  of,  432  ;  descent  of, 
433  ;     given     as    a    hostage     to 


Dermott  M'Murrough,  433 ;  re- 
leased, 434 ;  placed  under  the 
protection  of  bishop  of  Glenda- 
lough,     434 ;    a   diligent  scholar, 

435  ;  made  abbot  of  Glendalough, 

436  ;  discharges  the  duties  with 
complete  success,  4  36;  consecrated 
archbishop  of  Dublin,  436 ;  his 
election  inaugurates  a  new  era, 
437 ;  reforms  the  people  and 
clergy  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  437  ; 
lives  a  life  of  rigorous  austerity, 
438 ;  spends  Lent  in  the  most 
secluded  spots,  439;  stimulates 
Rory  O'Connor  and  other  native 
princes  to  unite  against  the 
Ncirmans,  441  ;  his  loyalty  to 
Rory  O'Connor,  442,  443,  444; 
attends  a  General  Council  in 
Rome,  and  secures  many  privi- 
leges for  the  Irish  Church,  443  ; 
made  Apostolic  Legate,  443  ;  in 
monastery  of  Eu,  444  ;  death  of, 
445  ;  his  remains  enclosed  in  a 
crystal  case,  445  ;  canonized,  446. 

Paparo,  Cardinal  John,  Papal 
Legate,  constitutes  four  arch- 
bishops in  Ireland  for  the  first 
time,  361. 

Papeus,  Saint,  spends  some  time  in 
Aran,  179. 

Paschal  Controversy,  diversity  of 
practice  existing,  regarding  the 
celebration  of  the  Pasch,  233;  the 
Alexandrian  usage — the  correct 
one,  234  ;  the  Irish  usage,  234, 
235 ;  the  Irish  clergy  are  ad- 
monished by  the  Pope  for  adhering 
to  their  old  usage,  235  ;  the  Synod 
of  Magh  Lene  convened  to  discuss 
the  subject,  236  ;  the  Epistle  of 
St.  Cummiau  the  Tall,  regarding 
the  celebration  of  the  Pasch, 
237-240. 

Paschal  Epistle  of  St.  Cummian  the 
Tall  to  the  abbot  of  Hy,  analysis 
of,  237-240. 

Patrick,  Saint,  education  of,  43-50 ; 
early  years  of,  44  ;  accompanies 
Germanus  to  Britain,  48 ;  visits 
the  island  of  Lerins,  49  ;  sets  out 
for  the  task  of  converting  the  Irish 
to  Christianity,  50 ;  lights  the 
Paschal  fire,  50 ;  miraculous  de- 
struction of  the  chief  Druids  of 
Erin  at  tiie  prayer  of,  51 ;  reforms 
the  Brehon  Laws,  62  j  convokes  the 
men  of  Erin  to  a  conference  at 
Tara,  53 ;  selects  a  Commission  of 


648 


GKNERAL    TNDKX. 


Nine  to  purify  tl:8  pag«n  codo  of 
laws,  55 ;  establishes  a  Church 
organization,  66 ;  establishes  a 
friendly  alliance  with  Arcii-Poet 
of  Erin,  66  ;  commences  to  train 
up  a  native  ministry,  68  ;  accom- 
panied by  bii*hops  and  priests  on 
his  Iri.^h  mission,  59  ;  ecclesiastical 
legislation  of,  61,  02  ;  organizes  a 
peripatetic  school,  62,  63  ;  house- 
hold of,  65  ;  Confession  of,  67-73  ; 
motive  of  in  writing  this  Con- 
fessiv7i,69;  descent  of,  70  ;  escapes 
from  captivity,  71  ;  epistle  to  Coro- 
ticus,  73-75;  the  Lorica  oJ\  75-77  ; 
specimen  of  hymn,  translated,  76  ; 
Sechnall's  hymn  of,  77-81  ;  is 
granted  a  site,  and  founds  school 
of  Armagh,  111,  112 ;  meeting 
■with  St.  Benignus,  114  ;  baptizes 
the  two  sisters  of  Fochlut  wood, 
126  ;  kings'  daughters  come  on  a 
pilgrimage  to,  126,  127. 

Pelagius,  of  British  birth,  40  ;  gives 
expression  to  his  heretical  views, 
40,  41;  his  meeting  with  Caelestius, 
41. 

Petroc,  Saint,  St.  Kevin  placed  under 
care  of,  415. 

Pilgrimage,  Irish,  to  Jerusalem,  testi- 
mony of  Dicuil  the  Geographer 
regarding-,  285,  286. 

Poet,  historic,  chief  duty  of,  8. 

Preface  to  Si.  Jerome's  Commentaries 
on  Jtremias,  passage  in,  misunder 
stood  by  some  Irish  scholars,  39. 

Prosper  of  Aquitaine,  cited,  40. 

Prudentius,  on  the  doctrine  of  Pre- 
destinatian,  581,  682. 

Psalter  of  Caiseal,  612-614. 

Psaltery,  Gallic,  brought  from  Rome 
by  St.  Finnian  of  Moville,  248, 
249  ;  copy  of,  furtively  made  by 
St.  Columba,  250,  310;  eventful 
history  of  this  copy,  250-253;  now 
in  Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  Dublin, 
2-33  ;  inscription  on  casket  which 
encloeies  it,  252,  349  ;  workmanship 
of  casket,  253;  different  custodifins 
of,  252  ;  the  casket  opened  in  1814, 
252,  253. 

IIA.BAJ7  Maue,  bishop,  and  the  monk 
Gotteschalk,  580. 

Rachau,  See  of,  as  mentioned  in 
Life  of  St.  Carthach,  not  deter- 
mined, 462. 

Rahan  monastery  of,  founded  by 
St.  Carthach,  449  ;  St.  Carthach 
expelled  from,  450. 


Richards,  ColonelSolomon, cited,  120. 

Richonau,  monastery  of,  335. 

"  River  of  Trajan,"  testimony  re- 
garding existence  of,  285. 

Riverstown  (Biorra),  monastery  of, 
founded  by  St.  Brendan  the  Elder, 
522. 

Reeves,  bishop,  Adamnan' s  Life  of 
Columba,  quoted,  288,  291,  292. 

Roscrea,  monastery  of,  St.  'Carthach 
in,  451  ;  founded  by  St,  Cronan 
523. 

Rosnat  (Candida  Casa),  monastery 
of,  place  and  time  of  its  founda- 
tion, 1()6-168,  246,  247  ;  St. 
Enda  goes  to  study  at,  168 ;  is 
visited  by  several  other  saints,  167  ; 
St.  Finnian  of  Moville  in,  247. 

Rossa,  member  of  Commission  of 
Nine,  54. 

Ruadhan  of  Lorrha,  curses  king  of 
Tara  and  his  palace,  218. 

Rufinusof  Aquileia(Grunnius),  39. 

Rule  of  St.  Carthach,  463-457. 

Saigher,  St.  Carthach,  at  monastery 
of,  461. 

Saints,  first  order  of,  107 ;  second 
order  of,  107,  108  ;  third  order  of, 
108. 

Saint  Boniface,  on  baptism,  668 ; 
brings  four  charges  against  St. 
Virgilius,  569-571. 

Saltair  of  Tara,  work,  attributed  to 
Cormac  Mac  Art,  23 ;  contents 
of,  23. 

Sancti  Venite,  hymn,  80,  81. 

Sayings  of  St.  Patrick,  87 ;  his 
saying,  "  Deo  gratias,"  112. 

Schools,  Christian,  sketch  of,  188- 
193  ;  the  first,  188  ;  developed  and 
enlarged  in  the  fifth  century, 
190  ;  in  the  West,  190.  191  ;  St. 
Patrick  did  not  himself  establish, 
192,  193. 

Schools,  Organization  of  the  Gaedh- 
lic  Professional,  the  learned  pro- 
fessions, 597-599 ;  Degrees  in 
Poetry,  in  Law,  in  History,  600, 
601. 

School  of  Aran,  St.  Enda  founds, 
177;  saints  who  visited,  177-179. 

School  of  Armagh,  observations  on, 
110,  111  ;  founded  by  St.  Patrick, 
112  ;  other  ecclesiastical  buildings 
at  Armagh,  113;  a  great  theolo- 
gical seminary,  117  ;^ teachers  of, 
118-120;  burned  and  pluudtTod, 
120,  121  ;  rebuilt,  121  ;  the  Book 
of  Armoffh,  122-124. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


649 


Bchool  of  Bangor,  St.  Comgall  of, 
364-370  ;  founded,  367  ;  Saint 
Columba  and  his  followers  visit, 
368 ;  the  holiness  and  miracles  of 
St.  Comgall  attract  crowds  to, 
369  ;  kings  give  up  their  crowns 
and  come  to,  369,  370  ;  Saint 
Columbanus  the  great  glory  of, 
370-381 ;  Dungal,  after  Colum- 
banus, the  greatest  glory  of,  381- 
393  ;  St.  Malachy,  abbot  of, 
303-397. 

School  of  Clonard,  founded  by  St. 
Finnian,  199,  200;  visited  by  all 
the  distinguished  saints  of  Erin, 
201 ;  Oral  Instruction  in,  202  ;  the 
study  of  Sacred  Scripture  in,  202, 
203 :  relics  of  antiquity  at  Clonard, 
205  ;  plundered  by  the  Irish  and 
Danes,  207  ;  refounded,  208  ;  St. 
Columba  at,  295. 

School  of  Cloneuagh,  St.  Comgall 
in,  366,  402,  situation  of,  398, 
399 ;  St.  Fintan  of,  399-404  ; 
founded  by  St.  Fintan,  401  ; 
rigorous  discipline  and  fasting  in, 
366,  401,  402;  St.  iEngus  the 
most  remarkable  scholar  of,  404- 
413. 

School  of  Clonfert,  founded  by  St. 
Brendan,  220,  221 ;  St.  Moinenn 
and,  222-224;  St.  Fintan  and, 
224,  225  ;  St.  Cummian  and,  228- 
231 ;  subsequent  history  of,  242 
243  ;  old  cathedral  of,  243,  244. 

School  of  Clonmacnoise,  situation 
of,  258  ;  founded  by  St.  Ciaran, 
262 ;  ruined  churches  of,  266-269 ; 
inscribed  tombstones  at,  269,  270 ; 
grants  made  to,  271  ;  scholars 
of,  272-274  ;  the  Danes  and  Irish 
plunder,  274,  275 ;  annalists  of, 
276-281  ;  Dicuil  the  Geographer 
likely  trained  at,  281 ;  Celtic  Art 
at,  550-565. 

School  of  Cork,  situation  of,  475, 
476  ;  St.  Finbarr  of,  476-484  ; 
founded  by  St.  Finbarr,  480  ; 
scholars  of,  480 ;  exact  site  of, 
480  ;  crowds  of  holy  men  come  to, 
483  ;    during   the   ninth   century, 

485,  486  ;  refounded  by  Cormac 
Mac  Carthy,  486;  Giolla  Aedh 
O'Muidhin,  abbot  and  bishop  of, 

486,  487  ;  St.  Colman  of,  487-489. 
School    of    Derry,    St.     Columcille 

founds,  298  ;  Coiumcille's  original 
church,  298  ;  Columcille  and 
twelve  monks  set  sail  from,  312  ; 
famous  scholars  of,  352-364. 


School  of  Durrow,  situation  of,  301 ; 
founded  by  St.  Columcille,  301  ; 
interesting  incidents  having  re- 
ference to,  302 ;  Cormac  Ua 
Leathain,  in  charge  of,  303 
copy  of  the  Gospels  {Book  of 
Dzcrrow),  written  at,  304,  305  ;  no 
trace  at  present  of  any  of  the 
ancient  buildingsof,  305;  desolated 
by  Hugh  de  Lacy,  306. 

School  of  Emly,  founded,  131. 

School  of  Glendalough,  St.  Kevin  of, 
414-422;  founded  by  St.  Kevin, 
420 ;  existing  ruins  in  Glenda- 
lough, 422-425;  St.  Moling  of, 
425-431  ;  the  Danes  ravage,  429 ; 
the  native  Irish  ravage,  430  ;  noble 
ladies  go  uu  a  pilgrimage  to,  430 ; 
St.  Laurence  O'Toole,  432-446. 

School  of  Iniscaltra,  situation  of, 
512,  513  ;  St.  Columba  of  Terry- 
glass  established  at,  514  ;  St.  Cai- 
min  of,  517,  518  ;  crowds  of 
students  come  to,  518  ;  the  ruined 
monuments  still  remaining  at  Inis- 
caltra, 519,  520  ;  sculptured  stones 
at,  520,  521 ;  the  Danes  ravage, 
521. 

School  of  Innisfallen,  by  whom 
founded,  496-499  ;  Maelsuthain 
O'Cearbhail,  a  renowned  professor 
of,  502 ;  Annals  of,  503,  504 ; 
poetry  cultivated  in,  504 ;  de- 
scription of  island  of  Innisfallen, 
505. 

School  of  lona,  the  Porta  Churraich, 
314;  description  of  lona,  315,  316 ; 
founded  by  St.  Columcille,  316 ;  no 
trace  of  the  original  buildings 
founded  by  Columcille  at  present, 
317 ;  churches  of  a  later  date  in 
lona,  317  ;  scholars  of,  331-334  ; 
Adamnan,  ninth    abbot   ot,    334- 

347  ;  community  of,  get  a  free 
grant  of  Kells,  346  ;  pillaged  and 
plundered,  346. 

School  of  Kells,  foundation  of,  306, 
307 ;  chief  memorials  of  Columcille 
at  Kells,  308,  309,  the  Book  of 
309,  310  ;  ravaged  by  the  Danes, 

348  ;  head  of  the  Columbian 
houses,  348,  349. 

School  of  Kildare,  St.  Brigid  and, 
125-130  ;  St.  Brigid  founds,  130, 
131 ;  Kildare  becomes  a  great  city 
and  a  great  school,  132  ;  descrip- 
tion of  church  of,  133  ;  preserves 
a  double  line  of  succession — abbot- 
bishops  and  abbesses,  137  ;  ruins 
of,    138 ;    the  perpetual   fire    of, 


650 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


139,  140;  the  art  of  illumination 
in,  140,  141. 
School  of  Lisniore,  founded  by  St, 
Curthnch,  453  ;  St.    Cai  thach    of, 
447-457  ;  St.  Cathaldus,  the  great 
gloiy   of,    457-465  ;    St.    Cuanna, 
abbot  of,   46f),    467;  St.    Colman 
O'Leatliain,  abbot  and  bishop  of, 
4G7,  468  ;  tlie  Danes  ravage,  469  ; 
princes  retire  to,   470  ;  plundered 
and  burned  m  thetwelftli  century, 
471 ;  situation  of,  471  ;   inscribed 
stones  at,  472;  the  erozier  of,  472, 
473  ;  the  Book  of,  473,  474. 
School   of    Louth,    founded   by    St. 
Mochta,    147  ;   St.  Patrick  visits, 
147 ;  burned  and  pillaged  by  the 
Danes,  149. 
School  of    Mayo,   founded    by    St. 
Colman,  530-532;  St.  Colman  of, 
526-533  ;   St.  Gerald  of,  534-537  ; 
St.  Adanmsm  visits,  343,  537  ;  sub- 
sequent history  of,  538-541. 
School  of  Moville,  situation  of,  245  ; 
founded  by  St.  Finniau,  249  ;  St. 
Columcille,  the  most  famous  pupil 
of,  249,  294  ;  St.  Columcille  fur- 
tively copies  tlie  Psaltery  of  St. 
Finnian   at,    250  j     St.    Colman, 
abbot    of,    255 ;    produces  a  dis- 
tinguished   historian  —  Marianus 
Scotus,  the  Chronicler,  256,  257. 
School  of  Mungret,  founded  by  St. 
Patrick,   507 ;   deacon  Nessan  of, 
507,    50 S  ;    St.   Munchin   of,    5 US, 
509  ;  no  trace  of  the  ancient  build- 
ings now,  509  ;  ravaged   by   the 
Danes,  510;   plundered  by   Mur- 
tough  O'Brien,  511 ;  *'the  learniiig 
of  the  Mungret  women,"  511,  512; 
situation  of,  612. 
School   of    Noendrum,    St.   Mochae 
founds,  142  ;  St.  Colman  of  Dro- 
more    at,    143,    144  ;  friendly  re- 
lations existing   between  Bosnat 
(Candida  Casa)  in  Galloway,  and, 
144. 
School   of   Ross,    founded    by    St. 
Fachtna,    491  ;  other  abbots   and 
bishops  of,  492,  493  ;  ravaged  by 
the  Danes,  493. 
School  of  Tuaim  Drecain,  situation 
of,    602 ;   St.  Bricin,    founder   of, 
602,  603 ;  three  schools  at  Tuaim 
Drecain,  603. 
School  of  Tuam,  founded,  541,  542  ; 
situation  of,  543  ;   attracts  crowds 
of    scholars,    543  ;     St.    Brendan 
visits,  543,  544  ;    St.  Jarlath   of, 
541-545. 


Scotus  Marianus,  the  Chronicler, 
date  of  his  b  rth,  256  ;  spiuds  his 
youth  in  Hchool  of  Moville,  256  ; 
ordained  priest,  256  ;  writings  of, 
257  ;  death  of,  257. 
ScotuH  Marianus,  Scribe  and  Com- 
mentator, birth  and  early  youth 
of,  349  ;  leaves  Ireland,  349 ;  and 
his  two  companions  live  as  re- 
cluses in  a  cell,  350  :  remarkable 
for  the  holiness  of  his  life,  351  ; 
his  most  famous  work,  351,  352  ; 
death  of,  352. 
Seanach  Garbh,  abbot,  mentioned  in 

Ulster  Annals,  225. 
Seanross,  church  of,  founded  by  St. 

Cronan,  523. 
Sechnall  (Secundinus),  Saint,  ac- 
companies St.  Patrick  to  Ireland, 
59,  80  ;  descent  of,  77  ;  composes 
a  hymn  in  honour  of  St.  Patrick, 
77,  78  ;  little  is  known  of,  79. 

Seduliiis,  poet,  evidence  that  he  was 
of  Irish  birth,  29-31  ;  mention 
made  of,  in  ancient  MSS.,  31,  32  ; 
travels  of,  38  ;  his  dedication  of, 
the  Carmen  Faschale,  32,  33  ; 
place  and  time  of  his  death,  33  ; 
the  Pope  approves  of  his  writings, 
35  ;  eulogism  of,  by  critics,  35  ; 
author's  remarks  on  writings  of, 
36-38  ;  his  claim  to  be  venerated 
as  a  saint,  38  ;  at  Achaia,  33  ,' 
reference  in  treatise  of  Dicuil  the 
Geographer,  which  settles  the  ques- 
tion of  his  nationality,  289,  290. 

Seduliiis,  bishop  of  Britain,  sub- 
scribed the  Acts  of  the  Council  of 
Rome,  30. 

Sedulius,  Commentator  on  Scripture, 
an  Irishman,  and  a  distinguished 
scholar,  574  ;  other  Irish  scholars 
of  name  of,  574,  575  ;  writings  of, 
574,  575. 

Sen,  ancient  judge,  passes  first 
judgment  respecting  Distress,  11. 

Sencha,  learned  judge,  mentioned  in 
Senchiis  Mor,  11. 

Senchtis  Mor,  quoted,  6,  7,  8,  11,  53, 
et  seq.  , 

Siadhal  (Sedulius),  bishop  of  Dublin, 
death  of,  30. 

Sigebert  of  Gembloux,  cited,  38. 

Sinell  of  Cell  Dareis,  bell  ringer  of 
St.  Patrick,  65. 

Sisters,  the  two — Fedelm  and  Ethno 
— receive  the  religious  veil  from 
St.  Patrick,  125. 

Slaiuge,  king  of  Firbolgs,  the  re- 
puted founder  of  Taia,  19. 


GENERAL   INDEX. 


651 


Slaue,  hill  of,  ahistoricsite,  589 ;  Dag- 
obert,  a  pupil  in  college  of,  590. 

Slieve  Bloom  moiintains,  monas- 
teries founded  round  base  of,  398. 

Stones,  inscribed,  discovered  in  Ire- 
land, 1 3  ;  in  Great  Britain,  1  '6  ; 
summary  of  Mr.  Brash's  conclu- 
sions on,  13,  14;  geographical 
distribution  of,  14. 

Strabo,  Walafridus,  abbot  of  Ricbc- 
nau,  335  ;  compo-es  a  poem  in 
celfcbiation  of  martyrdom  of  St. 
Blaithmac,  347. 

Siiibine,  anchorite  and  scribe,  269  ; 
leamiig  and  death  of,  269,  274. 

Suibhne,  abbot  of  lona,  334. 

Synod,  N  cene,  intervenes  regarding 
the  celebration  of  the  Pasch,  233. 

Sjmod  of  Magh  Lene,  the  Roman 
practice  of  celebrating  the  Pasch 
agreed  to  at,  236. 

Whitby,     the     Easter     usage 

discussed "^at.  527-529. 

Bri  Mac  Taidgh,  356,  357,  361, 

362. 

Holmpatrick,  object  of,  360. 

Kells — four  arcbbishopslegally 

constituted    in     Ireland    for    the 
first  time,  361. 

Synod  of  Melhfont,  object  of,  361. 

Synod  of  Clane — professors  required 
to  graduate  at  school  of  Armagh, 
362. 

Synod  of  Athboy,  main  object  for 
which  convened,  362. 

Ta-DHG,  grandson  of  OUioU  Olum, 
rewarded  for  his  military  service  by 

Cormac  Mac  Art,  18. 
TaUaght,  monastery  of  St.    JEngus, 

conceals    his     own    identity    and 

enters  as  a  lay  brother,  407,  408  ; 

the  Martyrology  of,  408,  409. 
Tara,  ruins  at,  22. 
Taranto,  ancient  city  of,  463. 
Tawnagh,     church      and     convent 

founded  at,  107. 
Teach  Miodhchuarta  —  Parliament 

house — erected  at  Tara  by  Cormac 

MacArt,  20,21;  present  state  of,21. 
Teach  Moling,  monastery,   situation 

of,  426  ;  St.  Moling' 8  life  in,  427. 
Teagusc  na  Riogh,  treatise  ascribed 

to  Cormac  Mac  Art,  23. 
TempuU-na-Skellig,    oratory    of    St. 

Kevin,  419. 
Terryglass,  body  St.  Columba  Mac 

Crirathann  transferred  from  Inis- 

caltra  to,  516. 
Thierry,  king  of  Austrasia,  admon- 
ished by  St.   Columbanus  for  his 


sins,  S?"),  37C  ;  expels  Columtanus 

from  his  kingdom.  375,  376. 
Tneodoric,  king,  retires  to  monastery 

of  Lismore,  407. 
Tighemach,     Boirceach,     abbot     of 

Moville,  death  of,  256. 
Tighernach,  annalist,   personal  his- 
tory of  Annals  of,  277,  278. 
Todd,  writer,  his  St.  Patrick  quoted, 

73. 
Tomrar,  plunders  monastery  of  Clon- 

fert  and  kills  some  of  the  monks, 

242,  243. 
Torbach,  primate   of   Armagh,   got 

Book  of  Armagh  transcribed,  103. 
Torn  a  Eigas,  poet,  poems  attributed 

to,  28. 
Torpeist,  Senchan,  chief  bard,  616. 
Tuam,  cross  of.  description  of,  554 ; 

remains  of  church  at,  557. 
Tuathal  Teacbtmar,  king,  makes  a 

mensal  demesne  for  High  King  of 

Tara,  19. 
Tuathal  Maelgarbh,  king,  slain  by 

Maelmor,  262. 
Turcius    Ruffus   Asterius,   name   of 

two  consuls  of  fifth  century,  one 

of  whom  published  Carmen  Pas- 

chale,  34. 
Turgesius,  plunders  and  burns  Clon- 

fert,  Clonmacnoise,  &c.,  242, 

Ua  Cobthaich,  Muiebdhach,  bishop 
of  Derry,  death  of  recorded,  357. 

Ua  Liathain,  Cormac,  placed  in 
charge  of  Durrow,  303 ;  leaves 
Durrow  without  Columcille's  per- 
mission, 303  ;  founds  a  monastery 
in  Tyrawley,  304. 

Uisneach,  (Usney),  meeting  of  SS. 
Kevin,  ComgaU,  and  Canice,  421. 

XJltan,  Saint,  collects  materials  for 
Life  of  St.  Brigid,  134. 

ViRGiLius,  Saint,  archbishop  of  Salz- 
burg, born  and  educated  in  Ireland, 
566,  567  ;  travels  to  France,  567 ; 
goesto Bavaria,  567;  onthere-bap- 
tism  of  a  catechumen,  568 ;  charges 
brought  against  by  St.  Boniface, 
569-571 ;  on  the  doctrine  of  the 
Antipodes,  570 ;  becomes  bishop  ol 
Salzburg,  672  ;  the  apostle  of  Car- 
inthia,  572 ;  rebuilds  the  monastery 
of  St.  Peter,  572  ;  death  of,  573  ; 
his  tomb  discovered,  573  ;  epitaph 
on  his  tomb,  574. 

Wilfrid,  archbishop  of  York,  defeats 
St.  Colman  of  Mayo  at  tbe  Synod 
of  Whitby,  on  the  Easter  usage, 
577-529. 


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PONTIFCAL  INSTITUTE  OF  MEDIAEVAL  STUPfES 

59  QUEEN-S  PARK  CRESCENT      ' 
TORONTO^S,   CANADA 


1-:i 


VV